VAZ Niva - the best crossover

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

There are few cars in the history of the Soviet automobile industry comparable to the VAZ Niva in terms of contribution to the global automotive industry. It is very difficult to belittle the role of this car in the development of the car, no matter how highly it is not evaluated, it will still not be enough. It was she who gave a new impetus to the development of jeeps and, in fact, became the world's first crossover. To understand this, it is enough to go back a little and remember the history of the appearance of the car.

The first production car rolled off the assembly line in 1977, although work on it began in 1970. It was created as a cross-country vehicle for rural residents, and during the creation, Soviet designers violated almost all the prevailing stereotypes that existed in the world for such vehicles.

At that time, the jeep in the generally accepted sense should have:

-front wheel drive;

-utilitarian, simple and without unnecessary amenities body;

-soft (tarpaulin) top;

- frame structure and dependent suspension.

So, this VAZ Niva had nothing! The car was with non-switchable all-wheel drive, independent suspensionand a rigid metal body with a level of comfort almost as good as a conventional passenger car. In production, parts from mass-produced cars were used. The car showed excellent cross-country ability and confident behavior on the roads in the city and beyond.

In many cases, during comparative tests with the best SUVs VAZ Niva, being the weakest of them, showed results better than its opponents. The ability of the machine to overcome relatively small sections of bad road on the move led to the emergence of a new term among the testers to characterize this ability - "flying". The car was tested very hard - from the roads and the desert of Central Asia to the mountains and foothills of the Urals, often with a complete absence of roads.

When the mass production of the VAZ Niva began, the price of the model was 9,000 rubles of the time. However, it was extremely difficult to buy it, 80% of the total production was exported. In Germany, the sale of the Niva was carried out in turn, and there was a record for its purchase, in Austria for several years it was the Niva that accounted for 90% of the SUV market.

Despite being sold abroad at a high price, interest in this car has not waned for a long time. He was constantly supported by Niva's victories at numerous rallies, including she was among the winners of the famous Dakar, and also won such prestigious marathons as the Algiers Rally and the Pharaohs Rally. In addition, we can mention the conquest of heights5700 meters and work in Antarctica for several years.

One of the further stages of development was the appearance of the VAZ Niva Chevrolet, when GM bought a modernized Niva, which is being prepared for production in Tolyatti, along with the Niva brand. However, the Niva continues to be produced, however, already under the name Lada 4x4. During this time, the car has gone through several upgrades, and despite the fact that its appearance has remained unchanged, its performance has improved significantly, it is still the favorite car of fishermen and hunters.

To say that the VAZ Niva SUV has introduced a new class of car will obviously not be enough. In many ways, he predetermined and showed the road along which the development of the global automotive industry went on, he was the forerunner of modern crossovers and comfortable SUVs.