Pride takes: 9 best SUVs from Russia

SUVs - this is perhaps one of the few classes of Russian cars, the fame of which extends far beyond the borders of the country. Many people have heard of the legendary Niva or the completely modern UAZ Patriot, but this is far from the only thing that is really worth being proud of. We propose to consider together 9 SUVs from the Russian Federation, for which one definitely cannot be ashamed.

UAZ-3172 "Wagon"

The "Vagon" project replaced the UAZ-3151, popularly known as "Bobik". According to the designers, the new car was supposed to surpass its ancestor in a number of parameters, including comfort and interior capacity, and cross-country ability. The project was launched in the late 80s of the XX century, and the first prototype was released in the early 90s. Its equipment had a number of serious advantages:

• ✅ Responsive spring suspension
  
• ✅ Front anti-roll bar
  
• ✅ Updated gearbox
  

Due to the clearance of 330 mm and the high snorkel, the UAZ-3172 "Vagon" could easily force a ford up to a meter deep. On board he had a 2,9-liter gasoline engine with a capacity of 105 "horses" in conjunction with a 4-speed manual transmission and all-wheel drive with a differential lock.

It should be noted that in addition to the military version of the "Vagon", there was a civilian version under the code name 3172-01 "Simbir", which attracted with its modern design in the spirit of the good old Land Rover. Despite successful tests, due to lack of funding, both models never entered mass production, unlike the commercially successful UAZ-3151.

"Scorpion-2M"

The Russian defense industry is a locomotive that goes ahead, so the UAZ-3172 "Vagon" attempts to produce a massive military SUV based on the UAZ did not end there. One of the notable developments was called "Scorpion-2M". The car was only partially assembled on the basis of parts from the Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant and had a number of interesting modifications. It was available in versions with an open body, hard top or with an awning on a metal frame for various driving conditions.

The Scorpion-2M was driven by a 2,6-liter diesel engine, 136 horses “worked” under the hood. The basic equipment included a power steering, a winch mounted on the front bumper, a spare wheel. Additionally, it was possible to supply climatic equipment, a navigation system, and even an option for extinguishing fires.
Some time after the development, the Scorpion-2M project was curtailed and finally closed. All that was left of him was a few cars bought up by private owners.

GAZ-2308 "Ataman"

The Ataman project is a universal platform developed by the GAZ enterprise in the 90s of the XX century. On its basis, both pickups and station wagons, armored cash-in-transit vehicles and even premium SUVs for wealthy owners were produced. An equally wide choice was offered in terms of engines - these are domestic ZMZ V8 5,5-liter engines, and diesel ICEs for 4 and 5 cylinders produced on the basis of a license from the Austrian company Steyr.

The fate of the line is unenviable: already in 2000, the Gorky Automobile Plant underwent very radical changes in leadership. The new bosses curtailed many large, fairly promising projects, including the GAZ-2308 "Ataman": a pickup truck with a carbon fiber body, a 2,7-liter gasoline engine with 150 horsepower and a five-speed manual transmission. Today, only a few units of these cars remain in Russia, and each of them costs more than 1 million rubles.

KamAZ "Barkhan"

A truly gigantic SUV 7 meters long, built on the chassis of the KamAZ-43501 Mustang army vehicle. Four-wheel drive, leaf spring suspension, 8-liter V10,9 turbodiesel with 240 horsepower and a 10-speed manual transmission with electro-pneumatic control using a joystick! Now it is difficult to even imagine a car with such characteristics.

The all-terrain vehicle KamAZ "Barkhan" could safely transport up to 12 people at the same time without any discomfort. It was possible to use the car for cargo transportation - up to 2 tons of cargo was placed in the cabin and trunk. Unfortunately, the car remained an unclaimed experiment, and extremely expensive. The cost of one copy exceeded 100 thousand US dollars.

GAZ-2330 "Tiger"

GAZ-2330 is an unarmored civilian modification of the Tiger army SUV, which has found popularity far beyond the borders of Russia and the CIS. The version available for purchase by private individuals is equipped with a six-cylinder turbodiesel with 205 horsepower and 5,9 liters. The American engine is able to accelerate the car to a speed of 160 km / h.

Finding a civilian version of the Tiger in good condition today is no easy task. There are vanishingly few copies left in the hands of private individuals. The price of a car varies from 3 to 8 million rubles, depending on the mileage, equipment, visual and technical condition.

"Combat" T-98

Armored SUV "Combat" T-98 was designed with a specific goal - the safe transportation of VIPs. Main feature: armor with a level of protection from B2 to the highest degree of B7. In the latest iteration, the armored body and glass can withstand hits not only from a sniper rifle, but even from a heavy machine gun and an anti-tank rifle.

"Combat" T-98 is a real tank on wheels, made on the basis of the American chassis of General Motors. By the way, the same is used in the design of the Chevrolet Avalanche heavy pickup truck weighing 2209 kg. The Russian car is driven by a 6,6-liter diesel engine with a capacity of 320 horses, or an alternative in the form of a 400-horsepower gasoline engine with a volume of 8,1 liters. Both available options work in conjunction with a 6-speed automatic transmission.

"Arrow"

"Strela" at the time of the release of the review is the latest Russian SUV, which was presented to the general public in August 2021 at the international forum "Army-2021". This is a development of the military-industrial complex based on GAZelle-Next units and assemblies. The car is equipped with a 2,8-liter Cummins turbodiesel with a capacity of 149 horsepower, as well as a 5-speed manual transmission. The developers want to release a civilian version that will compete with the UAZ Patriot.

VIS-Auto Apal-21541 "Stalker"

SUV from the Russian manufacturer VIS-Auto, a subsidiary of AvtoVAZ. A Lada 4x4 was used as the base for the car, and one of the main features is an ABS plastic body placed on a welded frame. From a distance, if you don't look too hard, Stalker can be easily confused with Gelik. It is not difficult to guess what inspired the design developers.

Apal-21541 was produced in a small series of up to 150 copies. The transmission and engine here are from the well-known Niva, and the main difference is only in the body, which does not rot or crack, and if it breaks, it is easy to fix it. However, due to this feature and small series, you have to pay for the Stalker almost twice as much as for the VAZ-2121.

Dragon Motor Astero

As in the case of the Apal-21541 Stalker, here we are again looking at a frame SUV with a plastic body. Serial production was launched under the name UAZ-3128 "Astero" at a military plant in 1994. At one time, this was a great car with a comfortable interior, a “European” style and an improved chassis, which, you know, is one of the key characteristics for an SUV.

Unfortunately, the Astero model did not suffer the best fate, like another project from the same company, namely, the two-door Jump! SUV presented at the Moscow Motor Show in 1999. Without a doubt, with proper modernization, both cars could confidently occupy the niche of light Russian SUVs like the Jeep Wrangler, but now we have what we have.

Conclusion

SUVs in Russia know how to do, it's hard to argue with that. Probably, such a “talent” is not the least influenced by the dubious quality of many roads and vast areas of the country where there is no asphalt in principle. Not all projects have taken off, but let's hope that our car factories will continue to work on the development of new cars that we can be proud of.