The Lada Niva Legend,[3] formerly called the Lada Niva, VAZ-2121, VAZ-2131, and Lada 4×4, is a series of four-wheel drive, small (hatchback), and compact (wagon and pickup) off-road cars designed and produced by AvtoVAZ since 1977. Initially aimed at the rural market, later models also targeted urban users. The three- and later five-door 4×4 hatchbacks were sold under the Lada marque in many markets,[4] and have been in continuous production since 1977.
In the 1990s, three- and five-door wagons on a 50 cm longer wheelbase and an extra-long wheelbase pick-up were added to the range. After the original Land Rover and its successor, the Land Rover Defender, were discontinued in 2016, the Niva became the longest-production-run off-road light vehicle still manufactured in its original form. By the end of 2020, an estimated 650,000 Lada Nivas had been sold globally.[5]
The Lada Niva is the world's first mass-produced off-road vehicle with a unibody construction (fully integrated body and frame).[6] It is the predecessor of current crossover SUVs, most of which are built similarly.
In August 2020, Lada took over production of the 2003 Chevrolet Niva and rebranded it the "new" Lada Niva.[7] In December 2020, the new Niva was further rebranded as the Lada Niva Travel, while the old model was renamed Lada Niva Legend in January 2021.[8][3]
Name
Нива[9] (Niva) is a Russian word that literally means "(corn) field". The name Niva (НИВА) was formed as an acronym from the initials[10] of Niva's chief designers' children: Pyotr Prusov's two daughters and Vladimir Solovyev's two sons.[11]
The Lada Niva was formerly called the Lada 4×4, or the VAZ-2121 in the domestic Russian market. The name was changed after the brand was transferred to General Motors, though AvtoVAZ retained the rights to the equivalent Cyrillic name: Нива.[12] It was also marketed as the Lada Sport in Iceland,[13] Lada Taiga in Austria, and Lada Cossack in the United Kingdom.[14]
History
Prototypes and testing
The Niva was described by its designers as a "Renault 5 put on a Land Rover chassis".[15] Development began in 1971 after the 24th Congress of the CPSU, in which Alexei Kosygin (the then-Premier of the Soviet Union) gave the designers at VAZ and AZLK the task of creating a car suitable for rural areas (specifically for the villagers and farmers of the Soviet Union), since the usual Zhiguli, Moskvitch, and Zaporozhets, intended primarily for ordinary people, were not much of use in the isolated areas that made up a large part of the USSR. In the same year, a team of VAZ designers led by Solovyev began competing with AZLK to work on a "civilized" four-wheel drive vehicle.[16] The new car was partly inspired by the IZh-14 prototype of 1974.
Lada Niva II
1998–2002
GM-AvtoVAZ, a joint venture between AvtoVAZ and General Motors, presented in 1998 the VAZ-2123, a new sport utility vehicle (SUV) based on the old VAZ 2121 engine, transmission and most mechanicals; but with a modern exterior design.
2003–2019
In 2003, the VAZ-2123 was rebadged as the Chevrolet Niva. It features an updated body and 1.7-litre gasoline engine with fuel injection. Although the body and the interiors are new, it is still based on the old VAZ-2121 engine, transmission, and most mechanicals. Its off-road ability is exemplary compared with many modern budget SUVs, having been designed for tough tundra territory.[35]
2020–present
Safety by modern standards
In 2002, the Lada Niva was awarded zero stars out of a possible four by the Russian ARCAP safety-assessment program. The reviewer noted the very rugged body of the car as the only positive aspect in terms of safety. During the safety test, the passenger dummy was hit by the glove compartment hard enough to risk traumatic brain injury.[39]
The reviewers noted that they did not expect a high rating and that the result was natural, as "it would be naive to believe that a 30-year-old design complies with modern requirements for passive safety". They added that a complete modernization of the car would be required to comply with modern safety standards.[40]
Uses
The Niva was the first wheeled vehicle to spend more than 10 years in Antarctica, where the classic VAZ-2121 Niva (Lada Niva 1600) was used by the Soviet Antarctic Expedition for transportation of personnel and goods, communication between Antarctic stations, and towing boats. It covered more than 40,000 km in 1990–2001 and operated at temperatures as low as −54 °C. A Niva also reached the North Pole in 1998, when the lengthened VAZ-2131 Niva was dropped by parachute on ice and successfully completed its route, operating at an average temperature of −30 °C, becoming the first wheeled vehicle to spend time there. It also set the world record of the highest point ever reached by a motorized vehicle, when another VAZ-2131 climbed to the 5200-m-high base camp on Mount Everest in 1998 and even higher just a year later, on 16 September 1999, when a similar Niva belonging to the Saint Petersburg extreme expedition team reached a height of 5725 m on a Tibet mountain during off-roading.[41] There is also visual confirmation of Russian soldiers using the Lada Niva as a method of transport for assaults in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.[42]
Assembly outside Russia
Automeccanica assembled different versions of the Lada Niva in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including an in-house developed convertible version.[43]
The Lada Niva was also assembled in Ecuador by Aymesa between December 2000 and 2004.[44] In Uruguay, a vehicle armorer called Bognor (a subsidiary of PSA assemblers Oferol) teamed up with Latin American VAZ concessionaires Rusia Automotriz in 2002 to assemble armored Lada Nivas locally, calling them the Bognor Diva.[45] The armouring parts were made locally, and all Divas were fitted with Peugeot's 1.9-litre, 69 PS diesel engine. Around 500 examples were built between 2003 and 2007 (192 knock-down kits were sent in 2003, the first year[46]), with about 400 of them sold to Cuba.[45]
Concept Cars
Chevrolet Niva Concept (2014)
GM-AvtoVAZ introduced a concept vehicle for a new generation of the Chevrolet Niva at the Moscow International Automobile Salon in late August 2014.[47] The Niva Concept, designed by Ondrej Koromház of GM (or at General Motors' headquarters in Melbourne according to other sources),[48] had a longitudinal mounted engine, full-time four-wheel-drive, two-gear transfer case and rigid-axle rear suspension. The production model was supposed to get a 1.8-liter PSA Peugeot Citroën EC8 engine (135 hp) paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox,[49] although more recent news reports suggested that it was planned to be based on the Renault Duster platform.[50] The new model's production version was initially expected in 2016,[47]
Modifications
Short/regular versions
Lada 4×4 Urban
A version of the base three-door car, it sports updated bumpers, grille, steering wheel, and some additional options: power and heated mirrors, power windows, air conditioning, and alloy wheels. The car has been produced by VIS-Auto since October 2014.[56]
Lada 4×4 Urban
A version of the base three-door car, it sports updated bumpers, grille, steering wheel, and some additional options: power and heated mirrors, power windows, air conditioning, and alloy wheels. The car has been produced by VIS-Auto since October 2014.[56]
Vehicles based on the Niva
Notable owners
Vladimir Putin bought a Niva in May 2009.[59] He showed his camouflage-painted Opel-engined offroader in the Russian media, allegedly to support domestic car producers despite the 2008 financial crisis.[60][61]
Serbian football player Aleksandar Kolarov received a certificate for a Lada 4×4/Niva as a reward for scoring a goal in his team's match against Costa Rica during the Russia 2018 World Cup.[62]
Gallery
External links
- UK and Ireland dealer website
- Chevrolet Niva website
- Lada Niva technical manuals
- Baxter's Temple of Niva, a large collection of resources for Lada Niva owners
- Bronto PSA official page
References
- Lada Australia advertisement for Lada Niva and Lada Bushman, Wheels (magazine), April 1997^
- Ao"Азия Авто" Aziaavto.kz, retrieved 1 February 2011^
- LADA Niva Legend: the new name for the iconic model – Press-releases – News – Official website LADA LADA official website, retrieved 2021-01-17^