By 2015, it was almost 15 years since a new Lada Niva entered the UK, and for a time there was a time you could buy a new one from a chap in Kent called Mark Key.
That is not to say the Niva is dead. The Lada 4x4 still lives on in certain markets including the home market in Russia and Germany, and is available in two bodystyles and four trims. The Niva has been given a selection of improvements, though to claim that it has been modernised would be overstating the case considerably.
The 1.7-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine is now fitted with Bosch fuel injection and complies with Euro 5 emissions standards, the dashboard has been replaced with a new VDO instrument pack that looks only 15 years behind in design and the door mirrors are a bit bigger than they used to be. The Niva is now available in three- and five-door form, and in rugged and 'stylish' Urban models.
The Niva was never the best of road cars, but off road, with its minimal 1210kg weight, narrow tyres, low-ratio transfer gearbox and diff lock, it was formidable across the mucky stuff. And when you had got both it and yourself covered in mud and goo, you could fling open the doors and hose out the interior.
You can do the same today because the same plastic and rubber mats are used in the Niva. The trim plastics are ghastly, but the piglets or lambs in the back won’t mind and neither should you. Besides, the Niva is a cool-looking vehicle in a sort of Smeg fridge way. In 2016, Lada introduced the Niva Urban which equips the 4x4 with air conditioning, electric windows, heated and electrically folding wing mirrors, 16in alloy wheels and body coloured bumpers. Luxury personified clearly. The Russian manufacturer later in the year also modernised the suspension with improved bearings and gas shock absorbers
