Looking at the cover photo, you will probably say that we have prepared a test of old used cars for you for Christmas. Although we plan to do that next year, this Lada 4×4 is a completely new car, produced this year ! In principle, it has no direct competitor in our market and we found out how it would hold up in today's world of modern cars with a lot of electronic assistants.
This off-road mischief was first presented in 1976, as the VAZ 2121 . The following year, the first customers received their cars on the domestic market, and the international premiere took place in Brussels another year later. The piece there already bore the name Lada Niva , which began to be used on cars intended for export. Although it was a classic off- road , the car received an unusual element for this category – a self-supporting body . Trapezoidal half-axles were installed at the front and a solid axle at the rear. At the time, the Niva weighed 1,150 kg and was powered by an in -line four-cylinder OHC with a volume of 1,569 cm 3 , an output of 56 Kw (76 hp) at 5,400 rpm and a torque of 122 Nm at 3,000 rpm . The installed manual transmission had 4 stages and permanent all-wheel drive , a reduction gearbox and a mechanical locking of the inter-axle differential were a matter of course. With all this, the top speed was 132 km/h and acceleration from rest to 100 km/h took forever – 23 seconds .
Not much has changed until today, the biggest difference is the larger 1.7-liter engine , which thanks to Bosch injection and other modifications meets the Euro 5 standard. Lada has lost some of its technical simplicity because of this, but the European Union is relentless. The brand-specified performance of the car we tested is 61 kW (82 hp) at 5,000 rpm and a torque of 129 Nm at 4,000 rpm . The weight has increased to 1,315 kilograms , while the dimensions of the body are 3,720 mm in length, 2,200 mm in wheelbase, 1,680 mm in width, 1,640 mm in height and the ground clearance is 220 mm . The car is basically equipped with ABS and brake and steering boosters . On request, the Czech representative office of the brand will also supply LEDs for daytime running lights, which somewhat detract from the unique appearance of the front part. Our car had almost all possible extras on offer. However, don't expect any comfort or luxury elements, everything is purely functional. Unheard-of low prices today will also please you.
It is hard to explain our enthusiasm when taking over the car from the Prague dealer CS Autolada . Our colleague Matoušek is a little bit obsessed with the Russian production in our editorial office, but the opportunity to drive a Lada 4×4 brought the rest of us to our knees. This is also proof that we don't need to test cars with a six-figure price tag to move us somehow. When we set off in the Prague traffic with the car, the title song to Titanic by Celine Dion was playing from the loudspeakers and we were laughing the whole time . Our first stop was the Hummer Center in Prague, where we had the opportunity to test the off-road capabilities of the Lady in a suitable environment. A very friendly local instructor gave us a brief introduction to the course, then left us to do as we pleased. And if we were already laughing on the normal road, the real fun just started here!
We expected that the Lada 4×4 could handle various climbs, crossings, inclines and fords. But certainly not to the extent that the car was showing off. We discovered that the Lada can go more off-road than we dare to. Although most of the owners of this model are enthusiastic and experienced off-roaders, I am absolutely sure that only a small percentage of them will reach the off-road limits of the car. The ascent of the hill, which we almost didn't even walk, was just a warm-up for Lada . And we were four grown men sitting in it. We took a similarly steep climb several times because we couldn't get enough of Lady 's sovereign display. And also because we always enjoyed it when the windshield started to drip decently from the windshield washers.
With the comforting feeling that a whole fleet of Hummers is standing nearby in case of emergency, we started to pass through the deep mud . I drove into it with the front wheels, the car stopped, and naturally my colleagues laughed. I engaged reverse gear, tried in vain to back out, and my colleagues began to bend over with laughter. Then I realized what was wrong and closed the inter-axle differential . The Lada then drove off without the slightest problem, while the smiles of the colleagues froze. And there were many such moments in the afternoon when we underestimated the car.
When we were full, the Hummer Center instructor came and washed our car. Protests that we didn't want to bother him and would do it ourselves were ignored. With the car clean again, we set off to pick up the press Chevrolet Captiva and then everyone went their separate ways home. It slowly began to get dark and I and Lada drove onto the highway in the direction of Liberec. Although the connection between this car and the highway may seem comical , the reality is not as dire as many, including myself, would expect. Yes, the car is noisy and a little shaky, but it swallowed the kilometers without any problems. Although the Lada 4×4 has a stated maximum speed of 137 km/h, which in principle is not a problem to achieve, the ideal pace was around 90 km/h . The only problem started with the growing gloom, as the headlights of the car are pitifully weak . So at least on the highway, in the unlit parts of Liberec, the luminosity was sufficient.
In the rest of the test week, I went shopping with the Lada 4×4 , visiting friends and I didn't miss many unpaved roads and their surroundings. If you were expecting the comfort of modern SUVs or, God forbid, comparably large hatchbacks from this car, you would be sorely disappointed. Steering with a huge steering wheel is imprecise on normal roads, the car bounces on bumps and not to mention the noise in the cabin. But Lady's strengths lie somewhere else entirely. As we already saw at the Hummer Center , the car is almost invincible off paved roads. It is, in its own way, a working machine , which perhaps no owner will allow. In addition, in the case of low outside temperatures, it melts like crazy . The easy cleaning of the simply designed interior is also invaluable, which I personally experienced after a photo shoot, during which the photographer and I applied piles of mud to the interior.
I've never really understood why the people of Lady 4×4 are so boiled . I attributed it to its simplicity, or to its performance in the series Visitors from 1984. But after a week's test, I understood . Yes, the car is uncultivated on the road in all respects, but outside of that, it probably has no competition . The closest to it is probably the Suzuki Jimny , but it has almost double the price tag . Not to mention the larger Grand Vitara , Land Rover Defender or Mercedes-Benz G. We ended the testing with an average consumption of around 15 liters of Natural 95 per 100 kilometers , which is an acceptable value after off-road madness and highway performances. However, the tank with a volume of only 42 liters freezes.
It might sound like pandering to the car rental company, but it's not. I was so excited by the Lada 4×4 that if I had extra money, I would immediately buy one of my own when I returned the tested piece. Pretty in absolute basics. Of course, used cars can be bought much cheaper, but the smell of a new car , although in this case very specific, for a machine that is visually much more than 30 years old, is priceless. So, if anyone wants to buy our editorial staff a present for Christmas, I have one tip for you…
##Lada4x4HC##
Final note: the final rating in the right column is made for modern cars, with which the Lada 4×4 has very little in common. So she gets a low number of points. Realistically, however, I would rate the tested car at least four stars. If I were to think about the small tank and unruly ABS, the Lada would definitely reach the full number of stars.
Many thanks to CS Autolada spol. s ro, namely to Mr. Vozáb ( www.lada.cz )
We would like to thank the very friendly people from the Hummer Center in Prague ( www.hummer.cz ) for the opportunity to test the tested car in real terrain.
We thank Mr. Bohuslav Koukal ( www.kookie.cz ) for kindly taking photos of the tested car outside the Hummer Center
Basic price of the car (Lada 4×4 1.7): CZK 237,900 incl. VAT
Basic price of the tested car (Lada 4×4 1.7): CZK 237,900 incl. VAT
Price of the tested car including surcharges: CZK 285,900 incl. VAT
