Lada Niva

I bought my Niva second hand in 2ooo from a old chap who had really looked after it since new(1991).I had some rust repairs done(new metal)& i fitted a electronic rust control unit(ERPS),no more rust in 13 years.It has a 1.6 LT engine & has been very reliable.It has been great offroad & have only been stopped once in really churned up dry sand but i reversed out no trouble.I do all repairs myself,that's the beauty of a niva they are pretty simple to work on.Keep up with oil changes new filters & adjust the timing chain now & then & make sure to drain & flush the cooling system & add good quality inhibiter.New parts are still easy to come by here in Australia.The Niva is a great little offroader & can take a lot of punishment & still be ready for more the next day.

I own a 1989 Lada Niva (Vaz 2121) and if you treat it right and do the regular maintenance and not let it rust between offroad trips, it will live forever. The beautiful thing about these small capable machines, is that the have the simplest mechanical, electrical and structural design. If it breaks down, its VERY easy and VERY CHEAP to fix, and it wont cost a fortune. Great value for money, its like a mini Hummer H1. Off-road capabilities; i need not tell you how perfect this short wheelbase low weight Soviet machine is in snow, mud, water or anything else mother nature puts in your way. I have a petrol model, but if someone had a Diesel, that is like the best vehicle to have in cases of natural disasters, Armageddon, war, and anything similar, since you can easily upgrade it to a bio-fuel (bio0diesel) engine and run on burned cooking oil, used motor oil, animal fat, etc.

In all cases, this is not a luxury car and it was not made for everyday use, but personally, i prefer to ride it everyday to work knowing i have a NEVER-SAY-Die strong Russian machine. And if by any chance someone bothers you too much on the road, well you know you can trust the Russian steel hehe. If you dont have one, its a smart choice, get one and renew it.

Best.

I have owned my niva for about 4 years and i can genuinly say i have never had so much fun in a car. It was one of the last ones imported to England in 1997 so it came with the 1.7 engine with injection from GM. Yes its noisy, not very fast and not great on mpg. But, and this is very important, it is a proper off road vehicle. In standard form its as good as a Landrover and just makes all the others look silly. Modification? You dont need to spend a fortune, just add a good set of mud tyres and its almost unstoppable. In the last 4 years the only part i have replaced due to failure is the battery. Not bad for a 13 Year old car that is used hard off road! My previous 4x4 was a Landrover Discovery, would i go back to it? no bloody chance, i cant afford all the repairs!

This is one of the most capable off road vehicles I have ever driven, with the nobbly tyres and long suspension travel. The light weight, and short wheelbase make it a strong rival to any landcruiser or Land Rover.

I do own a Lada Niva jeep myself! and won't think of getting other jeep for offroading! I'm happy with it results! I did some changes so it looks better from the outside! and changes it seats so it's getting better from the inside! As for the noise I solved this problem by adding a good audio car system!

Best value for money 4x4.

I own a Lada Niva ute style side it's great

I've put extractors, Weber Carbee, Bosskit, BWA mags, Sports Air filter, 2inch lift kit, bullbar and a paint job.

It goes a lot better now.

I bought two Lada Niva's real cheap and fixed one. Including the small winch I mounted it was cheaper than a set of tires and rims for most anything else. I had a hoot bashing through the bush going places bigger truck couldn't get to.

Unfortunately they are of Unibody construction and a "consumable" rather than a collectable in our salty winter climate. Mine rotted through where the trailing arm for the rear axle mates to the body.

I bought the Lada Niva 4x4 from an elderly man who used it to comute between suburbs. It still had the original "snow tyres" on - excellent in the sand of western australia. The carby needed some TLC at first but it runs well now. It drives in the sand dunes without a whimper. I've had many and various cars, utilities, wagons etc. but this Niva I really enjoy. It is probably the most underrated 4 x 4 around today. All the modern 4 x 4's around today need a university degree in electronics/mechanics, specialist tools etc to maintain and repair them. The Lada Niva just needs a little savvy and a few common tools - along with a reasonable understanding of basic auto electrics at times - and you're away.

Bought the Lada Niva 4x4 car as an early (pre Cossack) left hander. Looked in great nick but really wasn't. In the six months I owned it I spent the purchase price on it and then some. Saying that it was lots of fun until it finally died when the front axel fell off, ripping the bolts out of the alloy cast gearbox.