Lada Niva
We bought a Lada Niva today as we need a rugged car for accessing our land which is at the end of 20km of dirt road and is not accessible with a normal family car in bad weather. Most Lada's have a bad reputation, but the Niva is the exception and it has many features which make it a perfect choice for our situation.
- It has very simple mechanics that make it about as good as possible for people who aren't professional mechanics to fix it themselves.
- It has no complex or sensitive electronic components making it immune to solar flares and EMP (and also contributing to independence for fixing it)
- It has excellent off-road performance, out-performing many models that are three or four times the price.
Our Niva runs on alcohol instead of petrol or diesel which means that we can make our own fuel if (when) petrol prices become impractically high, or the supply-chain distribution system breaks down due to economic issues rendering gas stations useless. All in all, the Lada Niva is one of the best post-apocalyptic vehicles on the market!
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 It should be permanently engaged when driving on uneven surface, and should be permanently disengaged when on normal roads. The bottom lever is used to activate the low-range gears, and should never be changed when the vehicle is moving |
Resources
- Lada Niva UK - excellent Niva resources (e.g. all manuals at end of page)
- Baxter's Niva Newbies Guide
- Lada UK Forum - Plenty of Niva discussion; UK based, but plenty of international participation, especially from the antipodes
- Difflock - The other English speaking Niva forum; also caters for other breads as well, and many general off-road driving topics
- Niva.ru - English & Spanish translations of Russian FAQs
- Niva Adventure - Lots of modifications and forum (French, some English content)
- Navigatsioo Nitehnika - Estonian Niva crew who did what looks like a cross between trials & orienteering
- Parque 4x4 - A comprehensive Niva site in Spanish, plenty of tech, modifications, & good images; They're into long range & extreme Niva driving
- Gadgetboy's site - (formerly www.turbo-nutter.com) GB's on-going build & modifications diary, includes full Niva 1600 & 1700 manuals etc
