Lada Niva set for comeback
As we saw last week, the Lada Niva is an off-road vehicle designed and produced by the Russian manufacturer AvtoVAZ and marketed as the Lada Sport in Iceland, Lada Taiga in Austria, Bognor Diva in South America, in the UK as the Lada Cossack and the rest of the world as the Lada 4x4.
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It was the first mass produced off-road vehicle to feature a unibody architecture with independent front suspension with coil springs and is a predecessor to current CUVs which nearly all follow this format.
It inspired for example the Suzuki, which similarly uses the recirculating ball truck steering box for off-road reliability.
In Russia and Europe, the Niva has been used as an ambulance, a military vehicle, and by various police forces and utility companies. It has also seen service as a vehicle for lifeguards on beaches in the Netherlands.
Transmanche-Link, the commercial consortium that built the Channel Tunnel between England and France, used a fleet of 45 Nivas as part of the logistics in the enormous project.
Each Niva accumulated in excess of 70,000 kilometres off-road during its employment and after construction was completed in 1993, the fleet was sold off to a local dealer.
In Brazil, the Niva was the best-selling off-road vehicle during the early 1990s. In fact, the Niva was so cheap that even with the 85 per cent import value tax, it was less expensive than predominant Brazilian competitors, outselling the Gurgel so much that its production was discontinued in January 1991.
Nivas have been driven on land, up mountains, through mud and underwater. It was the first wheeled vehicle to spend more than 10 years in Antartica, where it was used by the Russian Antarctic Expedition for the transportation of personnel and goods, communication between Antarctic stations, towing boats and covering more than 40,000 km over the years–1990-2001.
The cars were pulled from production in the UK in 1997 but have still been made in Russia, where they remain popular – with Vladimir Putin even turning up to an event in 2009 in a heavily modified Lada Niva, complete with camouflage paint and oversized wheels.
More recently, there are signs to indicate that the Lada Niva may not be fully headed for the sunset after all.
The brand, which was once the butt of many jokes on British roads, is set for a revival after the demise of the iconic Land Rover Defender, which dominated the off-road market for 67 unbroken years.
A London-based auto dealer, Mark Key, has brought the Russian cars back to the UK for the first time in almost 20 years, specialising in the 4x4 Niva model.
He first started importing the cars after he noticed they were the vehicle of choice in mountain skiing resorts due to their off-road performance.
He does not expect Lada Niva to fully replace the much-loved Defender, but has seen a lot of interest from farmers.
"A few years ago I was skiing in the Alps when I noticed that the cars people would drive up to the resorts were not Land Rovers or Range Rovers because they feared they would get scratched.
“Instead they drove Lada Nivas. Now that the Land Rover Defender is winding up, I'm expecting more interest in our Nivas".
The number of new Ladas on British roads and farms is on the rise thanks to its appealing price tag of £13,000 and its superior off-road performance.
While the Lada Niva does not have air conditioning and only comes in left-hand drive, it is less than half the price of the Land Rover Defender.
Moreover, the Niva, unlike its predecessor, now has power steering and can out-perform many of its more expensive off-road rivals.
"The Defender has a place in the hearts of the British public and we wouldn't ever suggest we are filling its boots. We get a lot of interest from farmers because the Niva is light but capable off-road.
“You can pick up a brand new one for £13,000 and if something breaks you can quite literally fix it with a hammer. Parts come from Germany within 48 hours and they're inexpensive.
"I've sold the Niva to the rich and the not-so-rich – landed gentry and customers who have had to scrape the money together - it really does transcend classes. And despite its very outdated appearance, it is almost seen as something of a retro style icon nowadays," explained Mr Key.