–By Colin McFadden–
Ode to the Niva –
As will probably become abundantly obvious in these columns, I’ve got a soft spot for Soviet cars. As a child of the 1980s, I’m one of the last to grow up in a firmly Cold War world, so the cars of the Soviet Union hold a certain “behind the iron curtain” fascination. As I’ve gotten the chance to spend more time in parts of the former Soviet sphere of influence, I’ve been drawn to the Ladas, Moskvitches, and GAZes which still ply the roads.
There’s one car in particular which holds an especially strong fascination for me, and that’s the Lada Niva. The Niva is a 3 door hatchback with full-time four wheel drive. It was built by VAZ beginning in 1977. Remarkably, you can still buy a new Niva. You shouldn’t, but if you did, I would be deeply, deeply impressed.
The Niva was the first vehicle VAZ built which wasn’t based on Fiat designs (I’m sure I’ll feature a Lada 1500 / Fiat 124 at some point). The Niva does bear some resemblance to the Fiat 127, with a fairly unique rear end. Numerous engines were used over the years, including gas and diesel. All of them are charitably described as “agricultural,” though the latest model offers more than 100 horsepower—a speed demon!
The two Nivas featured in this article were both spotted in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The four wheel drive system and very short wheelbase of the Niva makes it an ideal vehicle for venturing into the wild and intimidating central steppes of Kazakhstan. The gray example on aftermarket wheels manages to almost look sporty, in a fancy-sneaker sort of way. The utter simplicity of the Niva means they’re long-lived and eminently repairable. One imagines your emergency toolkit only needs to include “hammer” and “bigger hammer”.
One of my dream trips involves traveling to Central Asia, buying a used Niva, and then road tripping through the “stans”. This is not a dream shared by the other member of my household. For now, I guess I’ll keep on dreaming of my Niva.