The Kaluga brand Tenet, known for its crossovers, has entered a new segment for itself — it introduced the A8 sedan. This is essentially a restyled Chery Arrizo 8, which received a new name and registration at the plant in Shushary near St. Petersburg. An Autonews journalist has already conducted the first test drive of the car.
Exterior and Interior
The design of the A8 evokes strong associations with Audi, the reviewer emphasized. However, the palette of body colors is limited to only three options — competitors offer more.
Inside, after the restyling, there is more order: the central screen has grown to 15.6 inches, the touch buttons below it have been replaced with physical ones, and telematics has become standard. In the second row, there is an unexpectedly large amount of legroom, and passengers have access to heated seats, air vents, and a USB port.
What's under the hood
There are two trim levels, but the engines are different. The entry-level "Prime" features a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine with 150 hp and a seven-speed robotic gearbox. The top-of-the-line "Ultra" has a two-liter engine with 197 hp paired with a classic eight-speed automatic transmission. The younger engine is allowed AI-92 fuel, while the older one requires only 95th.
It is noted that the A8's brake pedal is adjustable. There is no standard option — "comfortable" and "sporty" responsiveness levels are offered, with the former having two additional levels. The reviewer noted that the "comfortable" setting adds unnecessary travel to the pedal and preferred the more informative "sporty" setting.
The Tenet A8 sedan is the brand's first model in this segment: before it, the Kaluga brand was known for its crossovers. Earlier, we reported that Tenet A8 went on sale with special offer prices starting from 2.899 million rubles for the "Prime" version and 3.399 million rubles for the "Ultra". Even earlier, Tenet announced A8 prices without discounts — 2,999,000 and 3,499,000 rubles, noting that the top version with a two-liter turbocharged engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission claims to compete with business sedans like the Toyota Camry.
It was separately reported that the sedan was included in the list of the Ministry of Industry and Trade for taxi operations — other Tenet models were also on the list.
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