GAZ-2330 "Tiger" - the best Russian SUV

What is the most passable production car? Toyota Land Cruiser and Land Rover Defender come to mind. If you think about it, you can call Hummer H1. And the most passable will still be UAZ-469, aka "Hunter". This car is completely steel, without plastic bumpers. And most importantly, it is not a pity.


But all this is nonsense compared to the GAZ-2330 Tiger. The car was made specifically for the military, and then repeated the fate of the HMMWV - it entered the civilian market.

It is not entirely clear whether the GAZ-2330 "Tiger" is being produced now - rather yes, but only on order. It is known for sure that the manufacturer collects military modifications. Their official website does not work, but there is information in the thematic group on social networks, as well as “fresh” photos.


But we are interested in a civilian SUV. They are found on sale, and usually from 2006 to 2011 of release. Pricing is complex and incomprehensible, depending on the greed of the owner. Or from his confidence in the possession of an exclusive. Either way, it won't be cheap. The minimum cost is from 6 million rubles. There is even one armored copy on sale, which somehow miraculously fell into private hands. They want 16 million for him.

Features

The car turned out to be uniquely uncommon and brutal. By the way, it is produced not by Gorky, but by the Arzamas Machine-Building Plant. It's just that they have long-standing ties with GAZ - before the company was part of it.


The off-road capabilities of the GAZ-2330 are amazing. The machine can:

✅ Calmly overcome ditches up to half a meter wide
✅ Drive onto a vertical wall up to 400 mm high
✅ Force water barriers

As for the latter, the body is leaky, it is better to look for a ford than to act fanatically. The car will pass, fortunately, there is a snorkel, but dry cleaning will not help the interior after that - you will have to disassemble and dry everything.


And the "Tiger" has a hodovka, partially taken from the BTR-80 - this already says a lot. In general, there are few obstacles for an SUV, and not a single civilian production car can be compared with it in terms of cross-country ability.

Appearance and interior

GAZ-2330 looks like it has recently arrived from the front line. The first thing I want to say about the SUV is that it is simply huge. It is difficult to call the “Tiger” beautiful - it was made frankly rudely. However, it is unreasonable to expect any design frills from a machine created for the military.

In general, outwardly the car resembles Soviet trucks. The same chopped forms, rivets, inaccurate welding. But everything is reliable and with a decent margin of safety.

As a rule, civilian off-road vehicles were already prepared for harsh operating conditions from the factory. There are two winches - front and rear.


The salon can be both luxurious and quite Spartan. The dashboard and all sorts of signs will delight fans of Soviet trucks and tractors. They are able to return 30-40 years ago.

Engines

As a rule, in the secondary market there are cars with one non-alternative motor. This is an American Cummins, although there is information that these power units were produced in Brazil.

Engine capacity - 5,9 liters with a power of 205 liters. With. It is already clear from the characteristics that the motor is high-torque and this is true. This is a diesel power unit, fuel consumption pleases - up to 20 liters per 100 km. And it doesn’t matter where you have to move, around the city, highway or off-road. It rarely goes beyond these limits.

And they put YaMZ-2330 on the GAZ-534. That's just on cars that "pop up" on the used market, such options are not found. Most likely, when buying an expensive SUV new, the first owners did not want a domestic power unit. Then it will turn out to be a full-fledged truck. Yes, it will be embarrassing in front of friends. Cummins sounds proud, but YaMZ is not comme il faut.


However, now the manufacturer only puts such a motor. It is more powerful - 273 liters. with., although this parameter depends on the modification of the power unit. The engine, by the way, is designed for low-quality fuel. Diesel fuel can be diluted by 25% with gasoline - it will “digest” it without problems. At least, the Yaroslavl Motor Plant has repeatedly stated this. In the conditions of the taiga, this can be an actual advantage.

Regardless of the modification of the engine, an autonomous fuel heater was installed on the car. This makes the problem of starting the power unit in cold weather irrelevant.

How does he drive on asphalt?

Sitting in the driver's seat of the GAZ-2330, many suddenly feel like children. Remember how it was when your father allowed you to "steer"? Feelings behind the "steering wheel" are similar - some kind of wild delight.


The driver is high from the ground - after all, the ground clearance of the "Tiger" is about 40 cm. A feeling of security is immediately created. It is not illusory here - a hodovka from an armored personnel carrier and a weight of under 6 tons hint at this unobtrusively. Other road users try to stay away from the car. He won’t notice yet, but he will press down!

It is inconvenient to move in the city on the "Tiger" - it is too big. But the driver is surprised to notice that he is looking down even at the “route pilots”.

The main thing in the city is not to exceed the speed limit, especially for those drivers who have no experience in driving trucks. The engine, albeit a diesel one, provokes the “sink” of the gas pedal. Under the growl of the engine imperceptibly, as the arrow on the speedometer rises to 100 km / h.

But the GAZ-2330 categorically does not want to recognize the asphalt track. It is recommended to first learn how to “catch” it, and then accelerate. First of all, it concerns the track. And the SUV does not stop like a passenger car. 6 tons is not even 3 for a large frame "jeep".

Off road

After such a manifestation of an obstinate character, you expect mean things from the "Tiger" in nature. But the SUV only demonstrates that it was built for destinations, not roads. Surprisingly, there is no cross-country limit for the GAZ-2330. In addition to rivers and swamps, he does not know how to swim.


By the way, you need to be careful with unsteady soil types, remembering that the weight of the car is 6 tons. It can be drowned in a swamp, and this process is fast. There have already been similar cases - fortunately, the driver and passengers managed to jump out. While they were running around, the SUV was already hiding under a layer of mud.

The engine is enough in all modes. The car just rides, without howling and roaring, at low or maximum medium speeds. If we compare the patency of the GAZ-2330 with other equipment, then only the Urals come to mind. Moreover, the "Tiger" surpasses them without tension - it has a more competent weight distribution.

It makes no sense to compare an SUV with Toyota Land Cruiser and Land Rover Defender. It's like putting such cars on the same level with sedans.


All GAZ-2330s for the civilian market were made taking into account the wishes of customers. This means that inside there can be anything, up to the skin of a crocodile. But, judging by the words of the manufacturer and cars in the secondary market, customers preferred harsh brutality and austerity.

"Tiger" is an excellent SUV, one of the best in the world. Unfortunately, the cost makes it accessible only to a narrow circle of buyers.