The authors of Quto.ru studied the archival price lists of dealers and traced how the prices of affordable Lada models have changed over the past three decades. In 1997, the VAZ-21053 remained the cheapest car: its price tag was 5,640 conventional units — the equivalent of the current 906 thousand rubles, adjusted for inflation. By 2008, the same "Five" was already valued at 150 thousand rubles, which corresponded to 5,200—6,100 conventional units and approximately 554 thousand modern rubles.
In 2012, the last "classic" — the VAZ-2104 station wagon — was sold for 220 thousand rubles, while the Kalina cost 298,900 rubles, and the Largus — 376 thousand. The Lada Granta, which appeared in 2011, was offered from 229 thousand, which, at the current level of inflation, is about 598 thousand. Today, the Granta remains the most affordable car on the market, but the starting price tag has increased to 749,900 rubles.
The current Granta is noticeably richer than the early versions. If the 2011 model had only an 80-horsepower engine, one airbag and unpainted bumpers, then the modern "base" includes a 90-horsepower engine, power steering, ABS, front power windows and a painted body kit — the price change is partly due to the increase in equipment and safety.
