Lada Niva 2020: configurations and prices, photos in the new body, owner reviews

Folk wisdom

I still don’t agree to call the people’s favorite Niva by its new name Lada 4x4. Therefore, I will continue to write the word Niva, and mean VAZ all-wheel drive vehicles - right up to the present time.

First, let's talk about the undeniable advantages of this car.

Continues to feed the Russian man

Yes, the French company Renault owns the overwhelming majority of shares in the Volzhsky Automobile Plant. But, despite this, the plant is located on our Russian soil, our workers receive salaries and make the original Russian car - the Niva. Maybe it's not so bad? After all, Moskvich and Volga remained in history...

Old lady Niva has been feeding VAZ workers for more than 40 years. No other model has done this for so long.

Old lady Niva has been feeding VAZ workers for more than 40 years. No other model has done this for so long.

Few cars can boast of the longevity of the Niva.

Few cars can boast of the longevity of the Niva. For almost forty years, the famous Russian SUV has not let its owners get bored

Over the entire production period, the VAZ-2121 has undergone several modernizations. The largest and most interesting occurred in 1993 and 2009. Then the car index changed - first to VAZ-21213, and then to VAZ-21214M. We will tell you what problems owners of the latest generation of SUV, which is now called Lada 4×4, encountered.

The interior creaks, crackles and whines on every bump, no matter what you do to it.

The dashboard from the VAZ-2115 suffers from the backlight switching off without permission and the visor being weakly attached

Electrical package is not provided on cars manufactured before 2013

The 2009 update was purely technical and concerned primarily the chassis of the SUV. As you probably remember, then we changed the geometry of the front and rear suspension, finally transferred the engine to the Euro-3 environmental standard, and soon to Euro-4, installed new mirrors, large headlights and added some cosmetic details in the cabin. Modernization, however, is still ongoing. For example, the body priming system has become more progressive cataphoretic, the interior plastic has become better, Isofix fasteners and new body kit parts have appeared. Finally, they added ABS and even air conditioning. Moreover, innovations also extended to the five-door model, which was produced at pilot production facilities. It is interesting that the popularity of Niva, which one would like to call just that, is not decreasing, but, on the contrary, is steadily growing. Promises to discontinue it, therefore, are not being realized, which cannot but be welcomed, since this Russian SUV is still one of the most affordable on the market and has a number of unique qualities.

ETERNAL THEME

The main problem that any crop driver faces is corrosion. Merciless and inexorable, it will overtake everyone who has been using a Tolyatti SUV for more than two years. Sometimes even one salt-soaked winter season is enough to reveal red streaks and ubiquitous “bugs.” And if the bottom and hidden cavities can be treated with anti-corrosion compounds, then the joints of the roof with the pillars on the VAZ-2131, the edges of the doors and the rear door cannot be saved from repair. But you need to constantly monitor the drainage holes! In general, everything rusts. Headlight rims, fasteners, exhaust system, bottom edges of body panels, wheel arches if fender liners are not installed. And if they are installed carelessly, then the places where they are attached to the body rust. In addition, the color quality varies greatly. And not only from year to year, but also depending on the color. For five- to six-year-old cars, you should pay attention to the condition of the sills and side members. Most likely, there will be no holes there, but if cracks are discovered from merciless use, then holes will soon appear. The area of ​​the body where the transfer case is mounted also requires attention. Recently, the situation has improved significantly, but the six-year warranty against through corrosion promised by the manufacturer can only be achieved by operating the SUV in a dry and warm climate. Residents of the middle zone and the north can be advised not to skimp on anti-corrosion treatment and protective mastics. And still this is only a half measure. Corrosion is inevitable. In the fall of 2020, a “metal” body, that is, primed and painted, with anti-corrosion and bitumen-mastic treatment, cost about 150,000 rubles for a short car, and from 200,000 for a long car.

The flow from the stove to the feet must be directed with a lever

You can install the air conditioner yourself, but buying a car with a homemade installation by unknown craftsmen is risky

THE SHIP IS LEAKING!

The joke about the absence of an oil stain under the car, signaling the absence of oil in the car itself, is not so relevant for the modernized Niva, since the most current oil seals were replaced with double ones. And most often the rear oil seal of the transfer case leaked. However, again, oil can ooze from anywhere. From the differential housings of the axles, engine, gearbox and transfer case... There are practically no used Nivas on the market with a clean bottom. On the other hand, the nivovods joke, additional anti-corrosion protection! Practice shows that it is difficult to completely dry the units unless you start the car completely. However, it is necessary to check the levels before or immediately after purchase. In addition to oil, coolant leaks chronically. The culprit is the clamps, which are usually replaced with screw clamps. There were cases when the system's pipes turned out to be of such poor quality that they began to literally dissolve from the inside. The suspension clogged the radiator channels and settled as a dark coating in the expansion tank. Flushing helped only at the beginning of the disaster, otherwise - local overheating of the block head, replacement of the gasket, sometimes even the radiator costing 2000 rubles. If an oil suspension and bubbles appear in the expansion chamber, it’s time to prepare for more expensive repairs, including replacing the cylinder head. This could cost as much as twenty-five thousand. The brakes leak much less often, but the clutch needs a closer look. After 50,000 km, the master cylinder may require replacement.

The headrests of the rear sofa are still listed as an option, and we probably won’t see separate folding of the backrest of the second row.

CHANGE WITHOUT WAITING

In an Italian off-road magazine at the end of the last century there was an article about the Niva, which provided a list of what needs to be replaced immediately after purchase. There were about thirty positions in it. In the first place were the wheel bearings. Now it is fashionable to replace them assembled with a hub with two-row non-adjustable ones, but in fact, with moderate off-road use and quiet driving on broken roads, you can limit yourself to adjustment. Thirty thousand is enough. It was recommended to immediately replace the brakes, along with hoses, discs and pads, with imported ones. Now this is also not so relevant. Much more attention may require the brake force regulator, which turns sour, and the brake drums of the rear wheels, which sometimes have to be split to replace the pads. Experienced owners are looking for drums not made of light alloy, but of malleable cast iron - they are always easy to remove and cost about three and a half thousand per set versus two thousand for the factory version. Cardan shaft crosspieces began to be replaced with CV joints from the beginning of the 2000s. Little by little, as an experiment, and after 2010 – on a massive scale. By the way, now some owners, on the contrary, are replacing “CV joint” cardan shafts with those with crosspieces, explaining this by their greater reliability on off-road conditions. There are three cardan shafts in the Niva, and the long rear one also has a composite one. Not the most durable part in the car... A new one costs from ten thousand rubles for 2131 and from three and a half for a short one. Personally, I recently had a broken intermediate driveshaft - the one from the transfer case to the outboard bearing. It costs about three thousand, but is not sold everywhere. In general, the availability of spare parts in almost every store is one of the most attractive features of the Niva (which cannot be said about the UAZ). The Italians also recommended replacing the ball joints. Now this is not at all relevant, factory ones take quite a long time to take care of, and their service life depends solely on driving style and wheel size. This, however, determines most of the service life of almost all components, parts and assemblies - from bearings to side members.

Cross-country ability can be seriously improved by installing a self-locking differential

IT'S THE SAME AT THE PIANO!

After 2009, nothing radically new appeared under the hood of the Niva. The same 1.7-liter 80-horsepower engine with multipoint injection, which traces its pedigree back to Fiat engines. In the Euro-3 version it costs about fifty-five thousand with attachment, in the Euro-4 version - a little more than sixty. What I mean is that it is not always wise to invest in an engine for comparable money, which, of course, does not eliminate the need to monitor it. The weakest points are the head gasket, and the head itself with the valve mechanism. Hydraulic valve clearance compensators, chain tensioners, stabilizers and attachments may not last up to 50,000 km. In general, if you’re lucky, the engine can easily run 150,000 km before the first major repair. And the key word here is “calmly”... There is no need to rush to overhaul the engine also because the wall of the fourth cylinder becomes very thin when bored, and this means local overheating, a wedge and “the hand of a friend”, which, in fact, is a new overhaul. It’s somehow even awkward to write about the dynamics and traction capabilities. Not long ago, the Germans recognized the Niva as the slowest new production car. And they haven’t yet measured the speed of the “crocodile”... In fact, for city driving and for forays outside the city, not counting highways, the engine is quite enough. Due to the fact that the transfer case is not entirely straight, but 1.2:1 (which makes the overall ratio shorter, compensating for the greater weight), acceleration to 70 km/h is quite brisk. However, on prolonged overtaking this does not help much, since the engine lacks elasticity, which is why you have to switch to third and crank it up. The most decisive ones install a turbine at 0.5 atm. It costs from fifty to ninety thousand with work. “Supercharged” cars drive very decently, while neither resource nor fuel consumption suffer particularly.

In principle, the short Niva is a four-seater car, but only two people are more or less comfortable in it

ERGONOMICS AS A BOURGEOIS PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE

Can anyone explain why the Zhiguli and Niva cannot accommodate a person taller than 178 cm with proportional lengths of arms and legs? Sometimes it seems that these cars were designed for orangutans or aliens. No, of course, it’s convenient for some, but still, before you give money, you need to sit in the Niva. About twenty minutes, changing gears. It’s better to drive two hundred kilometers. I was able to drive mine from Gelendzhik to Minsk in twenty-eight hours only because I changed the front seats to imported ones. In 2009, the instrument panel was replaced with version 2115 with digital LCD indicators of mileage, temperature, voltmeter and clock. The same one has been in the Chevy Niva since the beginning of production. The panel is quite sensible, but the backlight bulbs can burn out once a week. One at a time, two at a time. Besides, it squeaks. It must be said right away that there will always be creaking, knocking and grinding noises in the interior of a used Niva. Even if it is remade into leather or completely replaced with a foreign brand. Only after 2012 the situation became a little better. The seats were also installed from the VAZ-2115, they are stronger than the “eight” ones, but also not very comfortable. They stand low, and the steering column is still offset to the right. Noisy door locks will turn sour if you install central locking and do not use the key for a long time. The wiper gear motor often fails; replacing it will cost about a thousand rubles. Provided that you do the work yourself and the trapezoid will be in order. In general, electricians rarely bother you, except that the rear lights may lose contact, and the generator is rather weak. Therefore, by the way, you should not buy batteries for the Niva that exceed the capacity specified by the manufacturer (55 A/h) - you will be constantly undercharged.

You can finish the story about the problems that a newly minted farmer may encounter with the words from an old commercial: “With all the wealth of choice, there is no other alternative!” It is simply impossible to find an inexpensive, more or less comfortable, passable and acceptable-handling car of the same era at the price of a Niva. Even the UAZ will probably be older. In addition, the VAZ-21214 is an excellent option for a second car, as they say, for pleasure, albeit a peculiar one. And, of course, a good choice for a novice driver. And as for the car for our roads and destinations, for short-term tourism and long-distance expeditions, then the Niva is generally perhaps the best option in terms of the balance of characteristics and budget. The same goes for moderate off-road training. What does moderate mean? But read our series of articles “Return to Niva” - you will find out!

OWNER'S OPINION: EGOR, VAZ-2131M, YEAR 2011

The long Niva was deliberately chosen to drive around the city to the store or on business, to forests, fields, and on vacation with the whole family. Large interior, large trunk, sufficient maneuverability with minimal modification, maintainability and accessibility in every sense of the word. After six months of operation, we took the car to a specialized service center, lifted and replaced half of the chassis, clutch and all transmission seals. Almost fifty thousand parts alone were spent. It turned out that if you do everything en masse, it doesn’t turn out so cheap. And if you do it gradually yourself, it will be more than tolerable for the budget, which, in general, was what was required initially.

Cross-country ability - not increased, but high

The cross-country ability of permanent symmetrical all-wheel drive with reduction gear and locking in the Niva transfer case cannot be overestimated. She visited both poles of the planet, climbed Everest (and reached the 5500 m mark). But these are ceremonial records, and thousands of modest workers ensure the transportation of people and small cargo in our off-road conditions. And what also speaks about the cross-country ability of the car is that in any mud trophy to this day, forty years after birth, along with “Defs”, “UAZs” and “Gelikas”, our dear Niva.

Something constantly breaks: the owner's review of the 5-door Niva 4x4 2131. Its disadvantages and problems

I’m not belittling its merits, but this car is not for me: something constantly breaks in it, cracks, makes noise, squeaks...

I only had Mercedes and BMW cars (not new), but I always had the feeling that something was missing and I wanted something more for primers, turns, forests... Therefore, I chose a car based on the fact that it would be possible to get there anywhere, and without sparing the technology itself. The cheapest option turned out to be the Niva, so I bought it new, only the five-door 2131. The car is a year old, but I think that the 2020 Niva 2131 will be similar. And 2025...

I’m generally happy with the car, I knew what I was getting into, but the Niva 2131 has some disadvantages and problems, which I’ll tell you about in my owner review (I’m not saying, but I think that the long 5-door and 3-door have similar problems).

1. The stove is very noisy, it blows from under the entire panel, but the air does not reach the side windows. As such, a comfortable temperature regime simply does not exist. Although I realized later that comfort and Niva are incompatible things.

2. When accelerating, the coolant temperature arrow inevitably tends deeper into the red zone, but after running the car, the problem went away.

3. It is impossible to accurately determine the fuel level using the sensor - it shows everything except the exact amount of gasoline.

4. The transfer case constantly howls, and the fuel pump squeaks, a typical problem of the Niva 4x4, judging by the reviews of the owners of 2131 and 2121.

5. Including electrical consumers, the voltage drops noticeably.

6. The driver's door does not close well.

Gradually I realized that if you want to drive a Niva, you will have to get used to all this, and in general, the Niva is a completely new world. Something is always noisy here and refuses to work, and fixing the problems that arise and bringing the car to perfection is a completely thankless task: having gotten rid of the squeal of the transfer case, you are faced with noise in the bridge, etc. The main criterion is that if the car drives, then everything is fine with it. You should only pay attention to those faults that cause the car to stop moving. Another interesting point: each Niva is a unique specimen, just like a manual assembly, each has its own problems and shortcomings about which so many reviews have already been written. For example, in one car the transfer case vibrates and squeals, but in another it does not. This applies to all nodes.

It was a slight retreat. The car became the second one in the family and was used for trips into nature. In the first six months I covered about 5 thousand kilometers in the Moscow region. When the odometer showed 800 km and was in the Moscow region, the headlights went out and an error indicator appeared on the panel. This all happened during the day, I have no experience in repairs, I couldn’t find anything about this on the Internet, so I had to go back in search of a service, which was found a hundred kilometers later. Unfortunately, they couldn't help there either. The only option left was to take the car to the dealer and have the problem repaired under warranty. Fortunately, everything was done - the problem was with some wire, but the car caused a ruined vacation. How Niva 4x4 was able to survive until 2020 and still collect admiring reviews from owners with a bunch of minuses and problems and a couple of pluses is a question.

Replacement of the generator at 3 thousand mileage. At first they convinced me that the generator was working normally; apparently, in order for it to be considered faulty, no current should have been produced at all. By the way, I drew the service’s attention to the squealing of the fuel pump, but they said that if it works, then nothing needs to be done. The quality of spare parts is very low, and if you have to change them, it is better to use original ones, which are installed during assembly. Several times I have encountered the fact that even simple parts, such as reinforced rods, break after a few days. This does not apply to all spare parts, but to many.

As a result, I realized that servicing the Niva requires my own garage, repair skills and a lot of free time, which I did not have. There is only one plus - it’s not far from the dealer. It’s convenient to drive your car in the morning and pick it up after work.

I won’t write much about the positive aspects and advantages of the Niva 4x4 and the long 5-door 2131; the owners have already described them all in their reviews. First of all, excellent cross-country ability already in stock. In the city I don’t even pay attention to bumps and hatches, I stupidly drive straight. Of all the all-wheel drives, the Niva is the cheapest, and for peripherals it’s the best! In the event of a breakdown, it is not difficult to repair; any garage can do it for little money. But with my work and constant traffic jams in Moscow, it’s impossible to do this. In principle, the big one plus is cross-country ability, and then there are the disadvantages and problems without which Niva would not be Niva.

By the way, about rust. The other day a friend showed me a photo of rust on the welds of the front struts. His car is the same as mine, with the same mileage (just not a 5-door). I decided to see how things were going with this for me, and sadness came. Although immediately after purchase I treated it with anti-corrosion agent, as well as the struts, but it didn’t help much - the car is a year old and rust has already set in. I also noticed some rust on the chrome trim on the windows.

Rust is not a minus, it’s a mega drawback on the Niva 2131. I can imagine what will happen in 2020. But these are already problems for the new owner

In short, I decided to sell it; instead, I’d rather buy a Solaris on the machine for my wife. The result of my review from the owner of Niva 4x4 2131 is a good and cheap SUV, and even roomy in the 5-door long version (by the way, another plus besides cross-country ability), but not for me, rather for a certain circle of people who have free time and a desire to delve into the car .

Photo and test with editing: media.auto.ru/review/cars/vaz/2131_4x4/20370949/4040618

Versatility

Niva is a small and compact car. It is suitable both for use in a metropolis and for driving on field roads, or even without them. You can use it to drive up to the Bolshoi Theater and take away the carcass of a wild boar. For those who find the usual three-door modification insufficiently spacious, a long-wheelbase five-door modification is available. And on the Niva base, tuning studios made a variety of modifications, ranging from armored ones to monsters on wheels with a diameter almost like the rear wheels of the Belarus tractor. I had to meet Nivas all over Europe. And more often than any other domestic car.

Niva can even serve in the police.

Niva can even serve in the police.

Pros and cons of the updated Lada 4×4: classic Niva and eight try-ons

The classic Niva, also known as Lada 4x4, has undergone three major modernizations over the course of 43 years on the production line. Last year, a new front panel, seats and headliner appeared, improved sound insulation, updated electrics, and the ERA-GLONASS system and driver's side airbag were included in the basic package. But the 1.7 engine (83 hp) and five-speed manual transmission are the same. Prices start at 567 thousand rubles, the Luxury version with air conditioning, alloy wheels, heated front seats and electric mirrors costs 623 thousand. And for “trying it on” we took the updated Niva with the dealer Comfort package (audio system and central locking) and factory camouflage paint for 672 thousand.

Verdict 1

Niva 2020 is audio hell. The door slams like a tin can, the ancient diesel engine itches at idle, and with a wild clang and a hard blow, the transmission howls at all voices and receives torque from the clutch. The power steering whines in the extreme positions of the huge and ridiculous steering wheel, which convulses on every serious bump. The stove is whistling, still weak - whether there is air conditioning here or not. And when you try to drive under tension, unpleasant vibrations shake the entire body at the bottom - normally the engine starts to pull only about three thousand.

And it’s okay that the trunk can only be opened from the passenger compartment using a handle on the left side behind the driver’s back. But if you park the Niva on a bump, then the third door generally jams due to misalignment! The body appears to be plasticine. I wonder what will happen if you hit the current car according to ARCAP rules? Then, in 2002, there were zero points, but at least the front left pillar went only 60 mm.

And the most primitive interior, made without a sense of taste, is a pitiful likeness of that first salon? Did Steve Mattin even see this? Have you ever sat in this riot of cooperative plastic from the dashing 90s? And yes, thank you, the fittings of the new chair no longer dig into the lower back, but my back still ache after a couple of hours.

The only ray of light in the camouflage kingdom is the reactive action on the steering wheel, pure and sincere. But if you touch the wadded brake, the old four-wheel drive will nod - and...

Would you like me to tell you a story, my friend? About Cinderella. In Tolyatti style.

She was the old man’s favorite daughter, but prudent stepmothers came and gave everything to the youngest, from Priora to Vesta and the Logans. But the handsome prince never came. She grew old and ugly, wearing out her cast-offs. And the old man has been dead for a long time, Pyotr “Samykh” Mikhalych Prusov died. We live in an amazing country: what we have, we don’t keep, and when we lose it, we cry. We are rotting the brilliant Niva, the pride of Soviet engineers and designers, the most successful export model. We're getting UAZ cars. Still in need of real all-terrain vehicles like no one else in the world.

But we have Aurus. Or rather, it will. I don't mind spending any money on this.

Verdict 2

The classic Niva is more relevant now than ever. After all, she is a first-class nullifier! I heard it's a trend these days.

But seriously, the Lada 4x4 really perfectly resets all the usual scales of sensations from a car to zero. I drove the “fitting” all-terrain vehicle for almost three days, rushed with my family to the dacha, drove for groceries, and when I returned the Niva to the editor and moved back to my Skoda...

I haven't experienced such dissonance for a long time. The familiar Octavia at that moment seemed like a spaceship to me: incredibly quiet, damn fast and very easy to control. So I give you safe advice: if you are already tired of your still quite new car, try the Niva! The thought of buying a new car will fade away.

The Tolyatti SUV is, of course, a dinosaur that will never go extinct. But in fairness, it must be said that modernization has benefited him. With this nice front panel, you no longer feel like you’re in the eighties, but in the late nineties. I say thank you without irony for the new front seats and human control of the stove. Although in 30-degree heat the air conditioner’s performance is still not enough.

Lada, apparently, cannot do without annoying miscalculations. For example, the Isofix mounts on the second row are recessed so deeply that the Peg Perego children's booster seat, which installs in all other cars without problems, only latches into place in the “sticky” position in the Niva. The fuse box is now new, but there are no spare parts or tools for removal - to replace the burnt fuse I had to ask my wife for nail clippers.

No, friends, even after modernization, the Niva is not suitable for the role of a daily car. My friend found the optimal format for its use long ago. He converted one Niva from the eighties into a tool for forays into heavy off-road conditions (elevator, locks, “evil” lowering, large wheels, winch), and on the second, bought new from a dealer, he installed a turbocharger and uses it in the village for shooting on local dirt roads. So Niva gives a real buzz.

Yes, and you can reset to zero at least every week.

Verdict 3

A theater begins with a hanger, and a car begins with a key. Niva starts with two keys. They are still different!

Opening and closing the door with this flimsy, bent and jamming little misunderstanding is an unpleasant daily experiment. There is an alarm remote control hanging in a bundle nearby, which seems to be supposed to save me from these body movements, but it doesn’t work.

It is usually customary to praise Niva. For how unpretentious, all-accessible she is, and in general, our everything. But with such ergonomics and driving position on the city streets, I had a hard time. Everything is inconvenient, alienating and uncomfortable. The salon is terrible. Sit - crooked, reach for the lever (although the mechanism itself is pleasant and clear). Driving it like an oldtimer around the testing ground at the big Niv test in honor of the 40th anniversary was great. And now, in the city, it’s torture. There is only one big plus - visibility.

Oh, there's air conditioning and a new dash. New for what year? The mirror adjustment unit and power windows are awesome! It's a pity that for some reason they no longer work.

But in the forest, take your impressions and turn over. Sideways through the mud? Yes please! Over this hill? No problem! Stuck? We turn on the lock and lower, we crawl! Primer, holes? Pfff.

In a few hours with Niva outside the city, I forgot about all its shortcomings. A real fan mobile! Eh, there would be a full-length sunroof here. And “automatic” to forget about the loud howl of the transmission. But instead there is an airbag. One. On the side. In the armchair.

I come home, go out and close the doors with a wretched bent key. If I move to a place where I don’t have to constantly do this every evening, leaving the car at home, then the first thing I’ll do is buy myself a Niva. When? It will take a long time to release it - there is no need to rush.

Verdict 4

The current updates are the best that has been done with the Lada 4x4 over the last decade. Finally, a normal front panel appeared, a more or less modern instrument cluster and a universal climate control unit with three rotating handles. I suggest we stop there. Because any steps to improve global ergonomics, active and passive safety and increase power availability on the current platform are either impossible or very expensive - the plant will not invest in them. Let's leave the Lada 4x4 alone and consider it a national treasure. Let's come to terms with its shortcomings and appreciate its advantages. Without a hint of sarcasm, I call it the best domestic car of the 20th century and I really regret that at the design stage there was no person who dared to oppose Kosygin, a member of the Presidium of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, an ardent supporter of unification. Look, if only the car had a normal transmission, and not an eternal pain in the ass with a separate transfer case.

But the fact that the Tolyatti one was chosen from similar projects proposed by other Soviet factories turned out to be an incredibly far-sighted act! It would always be like this. Our Lada 4x4 is often compared to the Suzuki Jimny, and I completely agree that the Japanese car is more reliable. However, I still choose the Lada, because it is simply more comfortable, it has a larger interior, higher ride comfort and better handling. Well, the fragility is compensated by the low cost of operation and maintainability.

Why don't I buy? Yes, because in my current life I don’t need a Lada 4x4. But when I retire and move to the countryside, it may very well be... I’ll just buy the version without air conditioning: it seemed to me that this unit here is somehow clumsy, bulky and ineffective. In a word, superfluous.

Verdict 5

The Niva is not just a one-off, which, without any restyling, has only increased sales since 2009. Niva is a trendsetter today. You, too, have noticed how much interest in Youngtimers, cars from 30-40 years ago, has increased today? And the Niva from the car dealership is the same young timer! Only without rust on the body and headaches about buying authentic spare parts.

Everything about her has been known for a long time, and the nuances of her character depend only on the condition of a particular specimen. For example, our car with the fashionable Camouflage paint, thanks to the adjusted angles of the front wheels, drove smoothly, even despite the slightly curved Panhard rod in the rear suspension.

And damn, I like her! I love the new front panel with a humane stove control unit and nice instruments. I like the new seat, more adapted to human anatomy, with a side airbag built into it (alas, the Niva will never have a front airbag). Plus air conditioning, large electric mirrors, central locking, electric windows and an on-board computer - for the same $9,500 as 11 years ago, when Niva had no trace of any of this.

Although for me something completely different is important. Now I don’t consider the Niva as the only car for every day (I confess, in 2009 I scolded it from precisely these positions). For me now she is a time machine. Niv's impudent off-road character and forgiving suspension, combined with clear handling, take me back to my rally-raid past. The best way to go back on a weekend 15-20 years ago: remember how great it was to gallop along the cross-country track near Sheremetyevo, checking out the next package of improvements before the race...

For some reason, it seems that there will be more and more such nostalgic buyers among buyers. And not only Niva. For example, I wouldn’t refuse the “new-old” Mercedes 190 or Volvo 240.

Verdict 6

For me, Niva, which I first saw in the 70s of the last century on the way to first grade, is like a mausoleum with grandfather Ilyich. It has been present all my life and regardless of my attitude towards it. Although I have much more in common with Niva.

Once upon a time, my dad had such an all-terrain vehicle, and about fifteen years ago, I had it too: I endured all the hardships and hardships of repairing a new apartment. So I treat Niva as a childhood friend who is not chosen, and willy-nilly I biasedly follow her fate.

In 2009, I remember I was sincerely happy about the retuned suspension, and now I’m happy to refresh my memories. It’s impossible to lead us astray; we don’t care where to go! Especially on a desert dirt road with gullies and toss-ups. Bliss! The number of cars that, in our crossover age, allow you to bludgeon on bad roads like this can be counted on one hand.

Yes, God never sent the old lady a normal engine, sound insulation and relief from transmission tremors. It seems that no new chair can correct the “grasshopper sitting in the grass” position - my right leg and back still went numb after a couple of hours. There are no fewer keys either; you still need to fumble around in the bunch. New salon? Twenty years ago he would have been just right. And now I don’t even know what looks more comical about it - the plug in the former place of the emergency signal or the dimensionality of the antediluvian steering wheel. At least one USB outlet? It's too much. And the lonely side pillow looks like a formal, bureaucratic mockery of common sense.

On the other hand, everything is no worse than the previous disgrace that happened in 1994 after the best, in my opinion, interior with triple steering wheel monograms and round deflectors. In the dark, the inside is no longer a dark cave, and controlling the “climate” is no longer a quest.

But even without this I would not have stopped loving Niva. Utility and the talent to get through where you can’t even go on foot, on a small budget and without fear of ruining the interior with grimy boots and equipment - this is imperishable.

Verdict 7

What did the ideal car of the chairman of the Soviet collective farm turn into? The ideal car for the same chairman, but retired. The collective farm collapsed long ago, young people left for the city and drove around in foreign cars. And the road to the regional center after the rains is just right for Niva. And, most importantly, it can be repaired in any garage, and the prices for spare parts are cheap.

So I had to spend a little money.

As I drive, I enjoy the smooth ride—thanks to the Pirelli Scorpion ATR tires. This is not the oak VLI-5 diagonal, which shamefully hid under the hood as a spare tire. Well, the transmission is humming, that's understandable. Something taps from the right behind - also familiar. But the Niva holds a straight line much better than the Patriot, and in corners you don’t have to wrap yourself around the steering wheel - the hydraulic booster is not ideal, but it copes with the functions. And the dynamics in the city turned out to be not so bad - the main thing is to work faster with the lever and keep the engine speed in the range of 2000-4000 rpm. It doesn’t pull lower, it makes noise higher and it doesn’t go either.

With the pedal to the floor, I reached 140 km/h according to the speedometer, and there was no feeling of flying at the core: the Niva remains under control. But after a two-kilometer high-speed run, there was a smell of smoke coming from under the hood. Remembering how our Hover caught fire on our Aral trip, and on the Niva the grass was smoldering, stuffed between the catalyst and the protection, I climb into the trunk for a fire extinguisher. But the grass turned out to have nothing to do with it - the antifreeze drain pipe from the heater stove had leaked. Drip-drip onto the hot exhaust pipe. I decide to drive slowly - there is a large spare parts store a couple of kilometers away, and there is the necessary hose for 50 rubles. True, I also had to buy a screwdriver for 90 to unscrew the clamps. Hey, return the standard tool to Niva!

Scratching my hands and burning myself on the hot engine, already at dusk I screw on the hose, add water and cross the Niva off the list of possible cars for personal use. By the way, according to tests by the St. Petersburg Fire Service Academy, antifreeze, getting into recesses heated to a temperature of 300-560 ° C, can ignite. So, when buying a Niva, do not forget about the fire extinguisher.

Verdict 8

As the designers say, the car should look so that you would want to wash it with your own hands. You want to not only wash the Niva, but also dirty it yourself. And crumpled - I received the car from my colleagues already in the mud, with a bent Panhard rod and dents on the roof. In general, the Lada 4x4 all-terrain vehicle fulfills any man's desires.

But I don’t want to drive on a straight, flat road on the Niva. Noisy, shaking, hot. Thank you, of course, for the new air conditioning unit, but in order not to cook the passengers, the fan must run louder than the engine.

And there is no escape from thoughts about passive safety. The airbag that the VAZ drivers stuck under the driver’s arm is like a confession: “Dude, we tried everything, but believe me, it’s better to hit the skull with a column straight away.” Nevertheless, I chose the Niva to go to a meeting with another veteran - the Il-2 attack aircraft, a story about which you will find in the same issue.

I chose... and regretted it, because the M4 Don toll highway in company with Niva is full-length torture at the subscriber’s expense. No, it’s much easier and more pleasant to drive a Niva where you won’t find asphalt or other cars for many kilometers around. There is no such “rogue” as the Lada 4x4, and there will never be another one, so I sincerely support the Niva being produced in this form for as long as possible. Only the factory bells and whistles need to be turned in the opposite direction, because no matter the design of the instruments, this car will not become a normal city car for every day.

Although, on the other hand, before our eyes is an example of Ural motorcycles, which in America turned out to be ambassadors of the Russian style - harsh and expensive anti-Harleys. Maybe let Niva be the anti-Gelik? Have you heard that Schumacher himself bought a tuned Lada 4x4? The younger one, it’s true, is Ralph, but the main goal here is to crawl through your vineyards in style. And this is a niche!

And if you look through the eyes of AVTOVAZ strategists, an interesting puzzle emerges. After Lada regained the Chevy Niva and the rights to the historical name, a portal to infinity opened in front of the classic Niva.

Watch your hands. All efforts should be directed towards the modernization and development of the former Chevy Niva, which now, of course, should become simply a Lada Niva and turn into what it was intended to be - a humane and affordable real SUV. The new Niva, which is being prepared for 2023, can then be called Niva Sport - following the example of Discovery - and can be safely turned into an urban crossover without claims to the legacy of the legend. And let the original three-door Niva Classic remain as it is - an inconvenient and archaic, but living symbol. A combat matryoshka - in camouflage, dirt and dents.

Source: autoreview.ru

One big minus is lack of reliability

Everything about Niva breaks down. The only strong part of the car is the body, but it is also prone to corrosion. And corrosion is much more dangerous for a monocoque body than for an SUV body with a frame structure. We must not forget that the car was created on the basis of units of the rear-wheel drive VAZ passenger car family. In the case of an all-wheel drive vehicle, all units are loaded more, and the service life and reliability are lower.

The engine is literally and figuratively the weak point of the Niva. Few “horses” and insufficient resource and reliability.

The engine is literally and figuratively the weak point of the Niva. Few “horses” and insufficient resource and reliability.

Seats

The front seats of the modernized Lada received developed lateral support and a new folding mechanism. How comfortable and practical they are in reality is an open question. A tall person driving will most likely lack longitudinal adjustment. Due to the fact that the front seat backs have become slightly thicker, rear row passengers have less legroom. But the most annoying thing is the insufficient wear resistance of the upholstery. Some SUV owners complain that the seats have become worn out after a short mileage.

Lakirovka (drive2.ru):

Traveled 746 kilometers. Something is wrong with the seat of the updated chairs or my butt.

The driver's seat looks like the car has been driven at least 50,000 km. But in reality - no more than 1000.

The driver's seat looks like the car has been driven at least 50,000 km. But in reality - no more than 1000.

Lada 4×4 is our native Niva. Let's remember why people love her and why they scold her.