UAZ Patriot - what awaits the owner of a popular Russian SUV

The Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant can be safely written down as symbols of Russia, and it is high time for UAZ models to be officially awarded the title of “legend”. Decades pass, but domestic SUVs hardly change.


"Loaf" and "Hunter" come from the 70s, and the more modern model, "Patriot", also did not go far structurally. But where else can you buy an inexpensive full-fledged military SUV, if not from UAZ dealers?

It used to be popular to send army models to civilians. Then abroad they decided that it was too expensive.


Today we will analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the UAZ Patriot - the most popular car of the Ulyanovsk Motor Plant. Is it worth buying this model, or is it better to look after a civilian crossover?

Appearance, interior and equipment

UAZ Patriot looks impressive. Not to say that the car is beautiful and harmonious, but it definitely attracts attention. Appearance for an amateur - someone likes it, there are people who call the SUV frankly ugly. Of course, the body of the UAZ Patriot does not shine with aerodynamics, but it is large, unlike its ancestor.


The only problem that is relevant for those who like to spend the night in a car is replacing the rear sofa that folds forward with a new one, devoid of such an option. For urban residents who use "Patrick" for work, this is irrelevant, but lovers of extreme types of recreation are angry with this option. On the other hand, everything can be changed.


Options UAZ Patriot are getting richer. On the one hand, this is good, on the other hand, not so much, the cost of the car is growing. Now they are asking for a new SUV from 1,088 million rubles - it is unlikely to be able to find a cheaper car.

Rich equipment pleases mainly the townspeople, who rarely go off-road. On the other hand, there are few such owners - a large “jeep” is not suitable for heavy traffic, and the lack of an automatic transmission is annoying.

Most UAZ owners operate cars where they need to - in rural areas and off-road. They are rich in equipment, as a rule, unnecessarily. On the road, electronics are not needed at all. It promises problems in the future. UAZ Patriot is a working car, it does not require extra options.

Hunters, fishermen and travelers who have a separate car for the city and the highway would prefer "naked" configurations. For lovers of off-road "pokatushek" they are all the more unnecessary - all the same, the car will be subjected to deep modernization.

It can go almost anywhere

But the cross-country ability of the Ulyanovsk SUV is phenomenal. No wonder - the car was developed for the military and is actively supplied to the army. The car must follow the tracked vehicles, therefore, in principle, it does not need roads.


Even in the "stock" version, the cross-country ability of the UAZ Patriot is amazing, especially for owners of standard cars, and crossovers too. And if the car is minimally modified for off-road, then it rides no worse than a tank.

The military pedigree also affects the cost of repairs - in most cases it is budgetary. Yes, and the design of the car comes from the 70s - at that time, cars were repaired on their own, using a minimum set of tools. UAZ Patriot is being repaired literally in an open field.

The machine is, in principle, reliable, but if an unsuccessful copy is caught, then it will periodically get minor breakdowns. You will have to come to terms with this, and whether to eliminate the shortcomings or not is the business of the owner. UAZ Patriot rarely breaks down so as not to go at all.

Like any Soviet car, and the UAZ Patriot is just that, the SUV opens up endless possibilities for tuning. You can refine this car endlessly, it all depends on the desire and finances.


But it is not recommended to invest in UAZ Patriot immediately after purchase, meaning tuning. You should drive a car for several months, to understand whether you need it, it suits you, or not. And then it is not uncommon for the owner to invest a few more values ​​​​of Patrick in tuning, and then sell the car. Investments in improvements are never justified. The buyer is not interested in how much money you spent on "improving".

And now we will understand why some owners sell the UAZ Patriot after driving it for about a year, or even earlier.

Noisy, poorly controlled and just as slow

The very first thing that strikes the new owner of the Ulyanovsk SUV is extraneous sounds. The car is frankly noisy and rattling. "Thank you" for this must be said to the poor standard sound insulation and assembly of the cabin.

It is worth noting that since 2015, making "Patrick" has become better. The standard sound insulation was improved, even transmission noise was partially removed. And in general - this is a frame SUV, which is subjected to increased loads - what to demand from it? Japanese classmates should not be compared with cars either - they are noisy, although their build quality is better than that of a Russian car.


The frame SUV with dependent suspensions is controlled so-so, although there are people who claim that Patrick drives perfectly. Unless in a straight line on the highway - a car of this design cannot please with easy handling. Again, with foreign analogues, of which there are few, everything is also sad with this. But the owners of passenger cars are frankly frightened by such behavior of the UAZ Patriot during sharp turns of the steering wheel.

The Russian SUV brakes again specifically. But you can get used to everything.

Engine

This is the main pain for UAZ Patriot owners. The SUV has one motor - but domestic. This is the long-suffering ZMZ-409, developing 128, and then 135 and even 150 hp. With. Not so little, but only in relation to a passenger car like Lada Vesta or Renault Logan.


The rest try to accelerate, which immediately affects fuel consumption. By the way, according to the technical documentation, it is only 14 liters in the city. We do not argue that it is possible to move around like that. In standard city mode, if you drive actively, gasoline consumption is 20 liters. If you press the gas to the floor, then maybe 23 will come out.


A diesel engine would be here - it would turn out to be an ideal car, both in terms of consumption and traction at low revs. By the way, similar power units were previously installed on the UAZ Patriot, and not only foreign IVECOs, but also ZMZ-5143.10.

Foreign engines were abandoned for obvious reasons - they were too expensive - few people bought cars. His diesel engine disappeared as a result of modernization, after which the mechanical injection pump was replaced with the famous Bosch Common Rail. This power unit, known as the ZMZ-51432.10 CRS, turned out to be again expensive, both when buying and repairing. As a result, it was discontinued due to lack of demand.

So is it worth buying a UAZ Patriot? It depends on what for - this is not a crossover and in the city it has, in fact, nothing to do. But for lovers of periodic trips to nature, no matter why, it will do. As some owners say, the UAZ Patriot should be the second car in the garage.