Large companies, like GM, seem to have issues keeping
new model leakage under control. We are not completely naive, so we do
understand that some of these leaks from large automakers are actually
orchestrated by the automaker itself to help drum up interest. Still,
there is the occasional major leak that some disgruntled design team
member decides to plaster all over the Interwebz.
Well,
Lada, a Russia-based company much smaller than GM, but a relative
success in the Russian market, kept its recently unveiled SUV under such
tight lock and key that it took all of us aback when it was debuted at
the Moscow Motor Show. The Xray, as Lada has dubbed this concept SUV, is
nothing like any other SUV it has ever produced and it looks like
something that belongs in a worldwide production model’s lineup. That
said, don’t look for this SUV, or any Lada for that matter, to make its way to the U.S.
The
styling of this crossover SUV is not something you would expect to see
from a budget automaker, like Lada. It does, however, show how Lada’s
eyes are on the future, making its cars more stylish and offering up a
wider range.
Exterior
The Xray boats a very stylish exterior, featuring a pair
of long and thin, horizontally mounted headlights that seem to
integrate with the front grille. Staying true to its name, the front
grille looks almost like an “X” when you look at it straight on. The
front fascia wraps around the horizontally louvered grille, giving the
Xray a very high-end appearance.
The side profile of
the Xray looks almost like a Ford Focus on steroids, as its
shallow-raked windshield swoops up to a sleek roof line. The roof then
travels rearward to a shallow-raked rear glass. The front fenders and
rear quarters don body lines that flow toward the center of the SUV,
then down and to the rear at a sharp angle, giving its side profile some
added character. You’ll notice from the side view that this model only
features a pair of doors, no hidden rear door, like the Nissan Juke.
This could ultimately hurt its stock as an SUV. On the base of the
doors, there is a hockey-stick-like accent piece that is a little out of
place.
The rear end of the Lada is one of the sharpest ones we’ve seen from a
compact SUV. It boasts a pair of hockey-stick taillights and a rear
bumper insert that has cutouts for the dual trapezoid-shaped exhaust tip
flow out of. This insert boasts a long, chrome insert on the top and
two L-shaped chrome pieces surrounding the exhaust tips. Another thing
you’ll find on the rear is that the rear wheel arches stick outward,
giving the SUV an unexpectedly stout stance.
Interior
The interior of the Lada is surprisingly sleek, yet simple. The seats
are triple-tone with a deep brown as their base covering, black inserts
and white piping, They appear to features leather covering, but there is
no official word about that.
The steering wheel boasts a dark-brown rim, three silver
posts and a brown center that matches the seat color. There is a
smattering of control buttons on the steering wheel, but nothing too
overwhelming. The dashboard is an off-white the a seat-colored insert
and black trim.
The center console is decked out in
the same seat color and black, but it tosses in some silver accents on
the gear shifter, and a metal strip on the passenger side of the
console.
The audio controls look very simple and far from
overwhelming. What looks to be an 8-inch LCD screen pops out of the dash
and we can only assume that this is the radio’s interface.
In
all, the interior of this concept is pretty sharp. Having said that, we
would like to see a little more effort put into the dashboard, as it
looks pretty bare, compared to other vehicles in its class.
The A-Class A 45 AMG will have around 370hp and 300 pound-feet of torque. The engine is a twin-scroll turbocharged 2.0 liter codenamed M133 and based on the Daimler 2.0 liter turbocharged powerplant. These figures give it the highest series-production power-per-liter rating in the world. It will be the first AMG engine not built at Affalterbach, but at Daimler’s four-cylinder assembly plant at Kölleda. The Germans will still use the one-man, one-engine principle.
