Technical specifications

To put it simply, the Niva is a light SUV, but taking into account modern terminology, it is even an all-terrain crossover. Carrying a three-door station wagon body, a wishbone independent front suspension and a low weight of 1850 kilos. In addition to this, the Niva is quite compact, which is appreciated in dense city traffic. Oddly enough, the ground clearance of the VAZ brainchild is even greater than that of the Hunter - 22 cm versus 21.

According to its main parameters, Hunter can be considered a classic SUV with a frame structure, a five-door body and leaf spring suspension. The height of the UAZ is a little over 2 meters, but the Niva is 40 cm lower and shorter. The UAZ weighs about two and a half tons (depending on the configuration), which is a somewhat controversial advantage: in one situation it will help to grip “solid ground”, in another it will only land the SUV deeper in the mud.

Both cars can accommodate 5 passengers including the driver, but the presence of two more doors makes the UAZ much more convenient for getting people on and off.

In terms of power plants, there is parity between the cars: both SUVs offer only one engine. The UAZ is driven by a 2.7-liter engine with a capacity of 128 horsepower, the Niva is driven by a 1.7-liter gasoline engine with 83 horsepower.

Please note that the word “dynamics” is practically not applicable to these cars: if the Niva accelerates to a hundred in 19 seconds, then the Hunter will need 35 for this.

If fuel consumption is important to you, then you should prefer the Niva: it consumes 8.3 liters in the combined cycle, while the Hunter consumes more than 13 liters per hundred.

Both cars are equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission. But their drive is different: the UAZ has a plug-in front axle, while the brainchild of the VAZ has permanent all-wheel drive. Another advantage of the Niva is the locking of the center differential, which significantly increases the vehicle’s cross-country ability.

Technical characteristics of Niva and UAZ

The VAZ Niva weighs less, and in general it’s difficult to call such a compact car an SUV; the Niva is a compact 3-door crossover with increased cross-country ability. The Niva's weight is only 1850 kg, and its ground clearance is 22 cm. Hunter's ground clearance is 21 cm.

UAZ Hunter is a classic frame 5-door SUV with springs. Its height is more than 2 meters, which is 40 cm more than that of the Niva. The weight of the UAZ, depending on the configuration, exceeds 2.5 tons. The heavy weight of a car can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.

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In skillful hands, such a jeep will cling better to solid soil, but in inept hands, such a heavy jeep can easily bury itself. Despite the number of doors, both Hunter and Niva can easily accommodate 5 passengers along with the driver. But, it is clear that disembarkation and embarkation of passengers is more convenient in the UAZ.

UAZ or Niva: suspension and addition to the off-road arsenal

UAZ or Niva, what to choose? Hunter's dependent leaf spring suspension transfers vibrations to the body very well. In terms of reliability and driving in mud, there are practically no complaints about it, just as there are no hints of comfort (it’s not for nothing that they called it a “goat”).

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In terms of comfort, the Niva is definitely better. Judge for yourself: there is only a rear dependent suspension, while an independent system is installed at the front, so bumps and bumps are not overcome so harshly. VAZ offers owners some other nice bonuses: power steering, brakes with anti-lock brakes and emergency braking booster. The interior is trimmed with fabric, but there are no other frills here: what the Niva was 20 years ago, it remains the same, except that they began to install an electrical package in front.

With all this, this UAZ is finished even more modestly and minimalistically, one can only say about the power steering and washable floor covering and interior. The scarcity of the basic configuration is to some extent compensated by the possibilities of tuning and purchasing additional equipment (winches, luggage racks, protective bumpers, etc.)

Niva and UAZ off-road

Off-road trip that took place a year ago: Uzbekistan-Tajikistan-Kyrgyzstan. Through cotton fields and melon fields, through Tashkent and Samarkand, through the beautiful Fan Mountains, along the legendary Pamir Highway along Afghanistan, through the highest automobile pass in the USSR, Ak-Baital (4600 meters), to Osh, to the Tien Shan, and finally home through Kazakhstan. A bright, beautiful adventure, with a magical east, hospitable Tajikistan and tough hacking through the mountains of Kyrgyzstan.. See for yourself:

Uzbekistan, cotton fields. The locals are smiling. Picking cotton is forced, but locals can make money here, it seems. happy with this. cotton wool grows in flowers! For the children of the city, this is generally a discovery (-: And then Brilliant Samarkand. Impressed. It’s a pity we didn’t have time to try pilaf, the expedition is still a semi-military thing, there is a schedule, there is a regime.. But nothing, we’ll catch up in Khiva this December. With Samaranda went to Tajikistan. And we were met by the legendary Fan Mountains. Yes, it’s easy to leave your heart here.. It’s hard not to leave. Ksati, people usually come here in the summer. But have you seen the Fan Mountains with golden forests? Hardly..

By the way, the border between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan was easy and pleasant. The border guards poured tea and treated me to grapes... It’s hard to imagine such a thing, and especially impossible after passing the Uzbek border, where there is pain, melancholy and humiliation. And a terrible waste of time.

Dushanbe. Here at the market we bought Afghan chains with hooks, because the icy Ak-Baital was waiting for us ahead, and we were on AT tires. And besides, I’m on an old, dead, small AT. Here they cut the chains right in front of you, taking measurements directly from the wheel.

More Pamir Mountains. Coming soon - Gorno-Badakhshan region. By the way, we issued passes on days off, when passes are not issued. The border service went to work, we spent only a couple of hours registering our group. Tajikistan is beautiful and hospitable. ory across the river is already Afghanistan. They say it's the Middle Ages there. But pickup trucks, satellite dishes, military binoculars and modern machine guns are available.

And this is Tajikistan, we left the Pamir Highway to the north, to the mountain villages, where the blue-eyed tribe of Tajiks live, who consider themselves descendants of Alexander the Great. The roads are breathtaking! Rrrrrrr how I want to go back there, to that journey and with that Red Off-road team. The photo also shows Tajik schoolchildren. This is a remote village that can only be reached along mountain roads. Everything is in shape. Lively, cool, normal children.

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By the way, a trader at the bazaar in Khorog (this is the point further) said that her children study in the state. programs in the USA and England. Japanese policeman! View I look at migrants with a little different eyes now.

In the Pyanj riverbed early in the morning. On the right is Tajikistan, on the left is Afghanistan. 150 meters between light and darkness. I couldn’t resist and ran away. One leg here, the other there - they say you can literally end up in this position...

Sources of Gorno-Badakhshan. Narm-Chashma

We left Pyanj for the mountains, and at a mountain pass we finally got a flat tire. The roads here are hellish, but this is for now - everything is being sewn up into normal asphalt. And then we spent the night on a mountain lake. Then a surprise awaited me - my summer diesel engine froze.

Ak-Baital. In Soviet times, for passing this pass three times you were given an order. 4600 meters, here and now it’s not exactly a comfortable ride. I ran up the mountain, I wanted to go even higher... The oxygen in the lungs runs out quickly here, a rather amazing state when you can’t breathe.

And this is a short story about the road through Kyrgyzstan. The road home cannot be simple, and it certainly will not be boring if it is the Red Off-road team and Evgeniy Shatalov. We will return to the Pamirs and Tien Shan next autumn. In the meantime, heal heart wounds from these mountains - on the Aral Sea, in Iran, in Mangistau, and with films from our travels - on YouTube RoadsRoads

Off-road argument

The main aspect of the dispute between UAZ and Niva is off-road driving. Over the decades, many comparative tests have been carried out, but even now it is impossible to say with certainty which car you can drive next. It would seem that the UAZ is designed for driving precisely where there are simply no roads, but the Niva is definitely not much inferior to it in this regard.

When getting behind the wheel of these SUVs, try not to put them “on their bellies” or on bridges, otherwise you will have to run for a tractor to the nearest village or always carry a winch with you. However, in terms of “getting stuck” driving, the Niva is somewhat superior to the heavy UAZ: less weight allows you to not sit down so deeply, and with some skill, in some places you can even get through at speed (but remember that this requires some experience).

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We also went to the bank of the Moscow River, where near the village of Verkhneye Myachkovo several years ago local enthusiasts erected a monument to the Rocket. That's right, with a capital R, because Rocket is the name given to a high-speed hydrofoil motor ship. The first of its kind and extremely successful - about four hundred of these were produced.

It is separated from UAZ and Niva for a decade and a half. Looking at the descendant of the 469 model against the background of the rapid contours of the Rocket, it is difficult to believe that it was born in 1957, and the UAZ in 1972, and not vice versa. And we haven’t yet been in the passenger cabin with anatomical aircraft-type seats.

The level of technical innovation puts the Rocket on a par with the Niva and its permanent all-wheel drive, unique for the 1970s. Designer Rostislav Alekseev was far from the first to tackle the topic of hydrofoils. A new engineering approach - in particular, the priority to meet the requirements of fatigue strength and the use of lightweight materials (the hull is mainly made of D16 aluminum alloy) made it possible to make the 66-passenger ship faster and more cost-effective than transportation by rail or bus. Rocket with a diesel engine with a power of 1000–1200 hp. I calmly maintained a speed of 55–60 km/h.

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An elegant solution: the engine exhaust is used as a thruster. It extends underwater and can be fully pointed to starboard or port to assist when approaching or leaving the dock. Following the Rocket, from 1957 to 1964, seven more types of hydrofoils were developed, including Meteors and their marine version, Comets.

These ships are still in use, they are being transferred to more modern engines, they are groomed and cherished... But the Rockets were not lucky. A couple seem to have remained on the move in Yakutia, a beautiful example is in circulation in Lithuania, but the last three Moscow ones were disposed of back in 2020.

On a pedestal in Myachkovo there is a Rocket with tail number 102. Its history is a reflection of what is happening in the country. She carried passengers for more than twenty years, and then was converted into a VIP banquet vehicle. In 2007, she was stolen and stranded by a drunk motorman. After this, the ship was hardly used until it ended up in Myachkovo.

As a silent monument to the triumph of Soviet engineering and Russian carelessness. Is it normal when in Lithuania the legacy of the brilliant Alekseev is again “put on the backburner”, but in the capital of Russia it is mainly handed over to non-ferrous metal?

Price issue

In terms of price, the Niva is more attractive than the UAZ: a new car will cost you 465 thousand rubles, while the Hunter is available from 609 thousand. However, it should be noted that the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant regularly holds special promotions and produces anniversary series.

As part of the promotion, for example, the Hunter in the basic configuration is available from 490 thousand, the “Victory” series – from 670 thousand (550 for the promotion), the Trophy configuration – 670 and 550 thousand, respectively.

Additional Variables

On the secondary market, both the VAZ 2121 and the UAZ Hunter can be purchased for around 100 thousand. If you are going fishing or hunting in a remote area, but you don’t want to go to unknown distances in an expensive passenger car, there is an option to buy a used UAZ or Niva “on the spot” and feel free to hit the road. Even if you destroy the car you bought, it will be worth the money spent in full.

When planning a long journey, keep in mind that the Hunter’s trunk is much larger than that of the Niva, which means you can take more supplies, and there will still be room for trophies.

When choosing any of the compared cars, keep in mind that they have virtually no room for modern technology. The owners openly say that the same Niva was frankly outdated 15 years ago, and the manufacturer simply does not see the point in changing anything in it in the presence of the Chevrolet Niva and Urban. But both cars can rightfully be called proven, even verified by time. There are no problems with spare parts, as well as with repairs: the service station has long known how to eliminate various malfunctions of these old-timers. However, for Niva both spare parts and the cost of additional services are somewhat more attractive.

Prices for Niva and UAZ

Lada Niva is cheaper than UAZ Hunter. If we consider new cars, the Niva costs 465,000 rubles, and the Hunter costs 609,000 rubles. There are promotions when the basic configuration of the UAZ Hunter is sold for 490,000 rubles. There are also more advanced configurations - “Pobednaya”, which costs 670,000 rubles, but with a promotion it can be purchased for 550,000. There is also an off-road “Trophy” series, it costs the same.

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But the cost of these cars on the secondary market is approximately the same; you can find good options even up to 100,000 rubles. So if you suddenly decide to go hunting or fishing, then you can take a Niva or UAZ with mileage and feel free to use them for these purposes. As for the trunk capacity, Hunter’s is clearly larger, so there will be room to put trophies.

But we must remember that these cars have long been obsolete, they do not use any modern technologies, which is quite sad and not interesting. But for driving through mud, hunting or fishing trips, these are the best options; you don’t even mind drowning these cars in the mud. Of course, if we are talking about old and inexpensive used cars.

For those who want to see something modern in their Niva, it makes sense to take a closer look at the Chevrolet Niva or the new Niva Urban. Another good thing about Niva and UAZ vehicles is that there are no problems with spare parts and repairs. Any more or less experienced service station employee knows how to repair these cars.