VAZ Niva - optimal crossover

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

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

At that time, the jeep in the conventional sense should have:

-containable front-wheel drive;

- Utilitarian, simple and without superfluous conveniences a body;

- soft (canvas) top;

- Frame construction and dependent suspension.

So, Niwa did not have anything of this VAZ!The car was with non-switchable all-wheel drive, an independent suspension and a rigid metal body with a level of comfort almost equal to a conventional car. In production, parts from commercially 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 thecomparative tests with the best SUVs Niva, being the weakest of them, showed better results than its opponents. The ability of the machine to quickly overcome relatively small areas of a bad road caused the testers to have a new term to describe this possibility - "flying". The machine was tested very rigidly - from the roads and deserts of Central Asia to the mountains and foothills of the Urals, often in the total absence of roads.

When the mass production of VAZ Niva began,the price of the model was 9,000 rubles then. Nevertheless, 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 an entry for its purchase, in Austria for several years it was Niva that accounted for 90% of the off-road vehicle market.

Despite the sale abroad at a high price,For a long time the interest in this machine has not weakened. He was constantly supported by Niva's victories on numerous rallies, including she was among the winners of the famous Dakar, and also won such prestigious marathons as "Algerian rally" and "Rally of the Pharaohs". In addition, we can mention the conquest of the altitude of 5,700 meters and work in Antarctica for several years.

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

To say that the SUV Niva presenteda new class of car, will clearly not be enough. He largely predetermined and showed the way in which further development of the world car industry went forward, was the forerunner of modern crossovers and comfortable off-road vehicles.