Extreme drive
By definition, this car cannot provide high speeds: the engine in it is rather weak, we have already mentioned aerodynamics. However, even at relatively low speeds, driving the Niva requires good reaction and nerves of steel: the gearbox knob regularly jams or stops falling into the right grooves, the car constantly skids, and steering becomes necessary even on dry roads on a summer day.
Instrument readings develop intuition well: what exactly the jumping arrows point to can only be guessed by a person who has driven at least a hundred thousand on the Niva.
Additional adrenaline is added by constantly fogging (freezing in winter) windows, which the entire population of the car is busy fighting. There is practically no sound insulation in the car: even when accelerating to 20 km/h, you get the impression that you are in a Boeing taking off.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the extreme inefficiency of the machine. Even on a good track with a smooth surface, the engine will consume the same 8-12 liters
, as in the city. And eight is if you regularly languish over your “horse”, and he is in good shape. The usual standard is about ten.
Purpose
As stated above, the Niva was initially designed for off-road use. The cheapest analogues with such “tractor” cross-country ability cost a lot of money (10 times more), so buying a VAZ 2121 for driving on roads without hard surfaces pays off 100%. Ice, snow-swept winter roads, mud, and deep potholes against which “foreigners” break the suspension are no obstacles for this car. There is only one conclusion - you can drive a VAZ 2121 almost anywhere, even cross the desert.
Design and convenience
Niva 2121 Review. It's worth starting with its interior decoration and convenience for the driver and passengers. Over almost forty years of life on the assembly line, improvements were rarely made to the design.
The body of 21213 Niva is decorated with chrome inserts. The front windows have ventilation windows. The taillights are mounted horizontally. Later they will be replaced with vertical ones, in modified versions.
The tailgate ends inconveniently in the middle of the rear of the body, which does not allow convenient stowage of things, and also creates some problems when transporting long items. Only a bag with tools and spare parts will fit in the trunk of the car. Folding the rear seat does not make the situation much easier, although the trunk volume in this case doubles.
The instrument panel of 21213 Niva is simple and concise. It is very similar to the instrument panel from the VAZ-2106 car: the same round dials on separate blocks, rotating heater deflectors and the proprietary glove compartment lid that opens upward.
The first test of a used Niva off-road can immerse you in zen right in the thick of an ordinary forest
When buying a used Niva, our reader Pavel Kabanov could not even imagine that it would not only turn him into a lifesaver, but also lead to spiritual enlightenment
It all started when I bought a Niva. It seemed like a common thing. And, by the way, it’s very inexpensive. And the Niva is an SUV, so at the first opportunity I dragged it away from public roads. For testing. The ride seemed to be easy - to get to the upper clearing at Sokoliny Stone not far from Pervouralsk. This place is almost sacred to me, covered in the glory of past exploits at annual tourist rallies. In general, I got up in the morning, picked up a friend along the way and drove off. I don’t know if it’s worth stopping at the moment when the driver’s seat suddenly came off the floor? This happened almost immediately after our start. One of the long line of former owners was smart enough to screw the seats from the number nine directly to the floor, and it was on this day that the epic fastener finally came off, leaving behind two wonderful holes through which one could see the asphalt running underfoot. However, this event did not stop us, we are brave. I had to steer and enjoy the dynamic adjustment of the seats in all imaginable planes - this, it seems, is not even available in the Maybach. We passed Severka, turned onto the grader and happily galloped to the clearing. There’s not much to talk about here - seeds are such a road for Niva. We got to the place without any problems. True, it turned out that the clearing was already occupied, and the cars of the “tourists” were quite unusual for these places: TLC 200, Audi Q7, Subaru Forester and it is unclear how the Oka got there. Perhaps she was brought to be sacrificed. Well, I think some classmates are meeting. By the way, they settled down thoroughly - tents, a large canopy over the fire, a bathhouse and even a camp toilet - everything was good, branded. We were a little surprised, but drove on - the well-worn road led into the forest, and I was sure that it would lead straight to the lower clearing. What about us, we have an SUV! The track has been laid, which means someone has already passed by. Let's go! We jump out into the clearing, drive a hundred meters from the forest border and stand up. Well, I think we got a little stuck, but we have an SUV - we’ll jump out now. I put the car in reverse, take off, and stay in place. That's it, we've arrived. We go out and look - there’s nowhere to sit. However, the tires became washed out, the front axle rested on the ground, the wheels were spinning, but to no avail. We suffered for two hours: we let it swing, put branches on it, and even achieved some success - we jumped out of the dug holes, but immediately sat down next to each other - with the front wheels in the holes from the rear ones. Another hour and a half passed. The tires were smoking, all the rubbish was pulled under the wheels. But it didn't change anything. Only a knock appeared. Remembering the possibility of breaking the axle shaft or gearbox, and also that our fuel supply is not unlimited, I decided to go after the tractor. The path passed through the upper clearing. The vacationers sat quietly under the canopy and talked peacefully. I came up looking so brutal, with a stupid expression on my face, my hands up to my elbows in mud, my boots covered in pieces of earth. And I say, “Good people, of course, I’m wildly sorry, but we planted a Niva here,” and I glance at the Land Cruiser. - “Perhaps, for fun, you’ll condescend to us mere mortals and give us a little push?” To be honest, given the kind of cars gathered in the clearing, I didn’t really count on mutual understanding and I didn’t expect any other answer other than “wouldn’t you go to hell with your Niva?” However, he was greeted with friendly smiles and a promise to immediately pull as soon as the lecture was over. “You,” they say, “wait a little, or better yet, listen with us, just wash yourself first.” Rejoicing, I ran to get myself in order. I washed my hands, boots, and my face at the same time in the stream. For some reason, deciding that I was at a meeting of family psychologists (and I love psychology), I hurried back. Well, I think I’ll sit for half an hour and let’s go save my pig, which is mired in mud. But the lecture did not last half an hour, or even an hour. And it was about proper nutrition... for yogis. Accordingly, those gathered were yogis. There was the smell of incense, some trinkets jingled in the wind, and a smiling bearded guy was looking at me from a poster on a pole. In a turban and with a beard. And there was a kind of gentle reproach in his gaze: “What are you, young man, frivolous and short-sighted, eating sacred cows, snacking on garlic, and even swearing, apparently. You can’t wait for enlightenment and harmony with the world.” In general, I’m sitting like a native invited to a white people’s dinner, I even took off my cap just in case. I listen and understand that I live in sin and love to eat things that are embarrassing to look at. I shudder under the gaze of the man on the post... Well, then something began to happen beyond the bounds of reason. We got into a snow-white Toyota LC 200, judging by the cleanliness and smell in the cabin, bought not so long ago, and went to save the Niva. God, I can’t explain the calmness of this wonderful man with anything other than faith in karma - we hit tree stumps, scratched the sides with branches, and almost ran over a car at the entrance to the clearing. And even after balancing on the verge of getting stuck, he did not tell me: “Go ahead, guy...”, but made a second attempt to break through to my blue monster. And, imagine, it was a success. They rolled up and hooked up the cables. Considering that the cables were not dynamic, I was waiting for the next issue of the program entitled “Now let’s see how the Niva breaks.” However, it did not break. However, it didn’t work out the first time either – it worked the second time. My blue miracle jumped out of the mud captivity and, provocatively farting with a holey muffler, turned around in the clearing. The savior in a white SUV, without waiting for words of gratitude, waved his hand and drove back. But we, too, are not devoid of moral principles, therefore, when we reached the yogi camp, we loudly shouted “Thank you!” Deciding that there was enough adventure for today, we drove back. Having driven out to the grader, we examined the car and came to the conclusion that no critical damage was visible, but it was probably the muffler that was knocking. However, the adventures continued. As we turned the corner, we saw a Ford Focus floating up to its headlights in a huge puddle, and its owner was fussing around nearby. They managed to drive another Ford to the Focus and were about to pull it. Well, I guess it's karma! Inspired, we go out and ask: “Do you need help?” “No,” they say, “thank you, we’ll handle it ourselves,” and they smile, satisfied. Okay, let’s take out the driver’s seat, put it on the ground, and sit and watch how events will develop. The tractor pulled the cable, the Focus skidded in the water, and things seemed to go well. But suddenly the cable made a “damn!”, and a minute later came from the puddle: “Guys, is there a cable?” Our finest hour has come! We've waited! They picked it up, pulled it, pulled it out. The owner of the Focus says guiltily: “Guys, wait, I’ll follow you further, otherwise it’s scary.” No problem! Whether it took a long time or a short time, the guy scooped water out of the car, loaded his wife and children, and off they went. We reached the village without incident, waved goodbye to them and headed home. We decided to go on gas, since we had to get to the other end of the city, drop off a friend and refuel. We fly, jump through the pits, pass a dam and right in front of the church I hear something break off and begin to scrape along the asphalt. I get out, look under the car and understand: the left linkage, along with the bracket, surrounded by the remains of a rusty platform, lies on the ground. Well, I think, thank God, not on the highway - and I look with inspiration at the church. We tied the rod to the body, somehow drove to a friend’s house and drove the car into the garage. I returned by bus. But I didn’t have a drop of regret or annoyance. The day turned out to be surprisingly full of impressions: we tested our Niva in action, became spiritually enriched and met wonderful people. So even light off-road driving may well be the right path to enlightenment.
Tanks are not afraid of dirt
Test drive of the VAZ 2121 Niva in the city and on the highway leaves much to be desired. The car noticeably yaws from side to side, and when cornering, even at low speeds, the car tends to leave the trajectory, so you should hold the steering wheel tighter. The brake pedal is soft, and the braking distance is obscenely long.
The main advantages are shown in the test drive of the VAZ 21 on rough terrain and off-road.
When moving on rough terrain at speed, due to the rather short wheelbase, it is prone to longitudinal swing. Even the installed stiffer suspension does not reduce the galloping effect.
This model is equipped with main gear pairs with a large gear ratio, which, in accordance with the long gears of the four-speed gearbox, gives some advantages in cross-country ability in contrast to later versions and provides better traction characteristics. Therefore, you can overcome a muddy or steep climb under tension, without acceleration, simply by turning on a downshift in advance.
The native element of the three-door Niva is a very rough forest road. This is where the car turns out to be very good. It can pass through ditches and ditches without difficulty, either perpendicularly or diagonally. The suspension travel is quite large, but if diagonal suspension of the wheel occurs and loss of contact with the ground, then we block the differential in the transfer case and continue driving.
The approach and departure angles are quite decent, so climbing a steep hill or fording a stream will not be difficult.
The small geometric dimensions of the car allow you to easily maneuver between trees. Unfortunately, the hydraulic booster so necessary for such a car is missing.
Niva VAZ 2131 “Crocodile” – all-terrain station wagon
Having driven the Krok, I realized that this is a completely special car, to which spare parts from the Niva-three-door fit. I will slowly post my observations, maybe it will help someone choose an inexpensive and very practical car. You immediately come across a lot of skeptics. Orthodox short-lived drivers talk about “geometric cross-country ability.” Where the blood does not pass in non-madness, there is silence. UAZ drivers are burning, they say, there is only one SUV in the world and UAZ is its name. I want a UAZ and somehow it will appear in the stall. But I don’t see any point in changing the Kroc universal for him. There are lovers of foreign cars.
Like, I didn’t save up, why did I get out of the apartment? At the same time, slowing down in front of every bump or bump - suddenly the cutie will get scratched. Old jeepers are an option, but there are fewer and fewer of them left unused and spare parts with service are increasingly more expensive. There is a chance to win half a million capital. Well, belly hunters would be quite a healthy class to switch to local UAZs and Nivas on the hunting grounds... if not for Russian roads. Krok, with a long wheelbase and strong suspension, simply eats them up and provokes them to drive more. This car is a real discovery of Russia for yourself and your family!
Conclusion
These two SUVs have a lot of other advantages and disadvantages, I tried to highlight the main ones. Write in the comments what else is different about these cars. From all of the above, we can draw the following conclusion: If you need a car primarily for asphalt with relatively rare off-road forays, then the Chevrolet Niva will be preferable.
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Specifications
In its modern version, the VAZ 2121 is still distinguished by its small dimensions with a monocoque body. Thanks to the optimal ground clearance, the car provides good cross-country ability, and the elongated body made a convenient five-door configuration possible. However, a three-door version has also been preserved, which has smaller dimensions. Otherwise, the Niva 4x4 2121 remained unchanged, and its technical data can be presented as follows:
- Width – 168 cm.
- Height – 164 cm.
- Length – 372 cm.
- Ground clearance – 22 cm.
- Base – 220 cm.
- Curb weight – 1210 kg.
- Load capacity 400 kg.
- Wheel formula – 4x4.
- Body type – station wagon.
- Transmission – 5-speed manual.
- Fuel - grade AI-92.
Maintainability
The car has been in production for forty years. Many nodes have not been modernized at all. How many spare parts do you think were produced for Niva during this time? In any small shop on the highway far from the city you can buy at least a ball joint or a clutch disc. Again, unification with the classic Zhiguli family plays into the hands of the breeders.
Also interesting: How to remove scratches on bumpers made of plastic and other materials with your own hands
Repair operations have long been studied by our car enthusiasts. The design does not contain particularly large and heavy components and assemblies. Compare the Niva's separate gearbox and transfer case with a giant heavy unit, for example, the Great Wall Hower.
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.
Exterior tuning
After such changes, the appearance cannot be left without modifications. Moreover, the exterior should be reconsidered not only based on the interests of attractiveness, but also for practical purposes. In terms of design, the update should include the installation of a body kit and a front protective structure - the so-called kenguryatnik.
Installing a guardrail should not cause any particular difficulties, and if necessary, you can also add a gate at the back for the spare wheel. Well, as decorative elements, it makes sense to choose an original protective film for body decoration. Again, in addition to its aesthetic function, such a coating will act as a good protection for the paintwork base off-road.
Reinforcement with protective elements
When driving off-road, the car must confidently cope with various obstacles, in which power additions will help it. To minimize damage from water elements, it is necessary to seal the air filter and move the intake outlet to the roof. Next, the ignition system is waterproofed.
And also interesting: The front suspension creaks and grinds. @ Niva 4×4
The main functions of protecting the front part have already been taken over by the body kit and the guard, but protection on the sides is also required for the Niva 2121 car. Tuning provides for this purpose power thresholds, among other things, protruding and supporting elements for the jack. Of course, the SUV's protection extends to the engine.
