AvtoVAZ presented the concept of the new Lada Niva T-134 model. There are two main problems on the car's path to mass production, related to technical units, said Nikita Gudkov, an expert at "Behind the Wheel."
According to him, no one was left indifferent. At the same time, at the moment there is only the exterior design, echoing the classic image of the "Niva", and information that the model will be based on a modified Lada Vesta platform.
The first disadvantage is the lack of all-wheel drive. However, integrating an all-wheel drive transmission into a platform that was not originally intended for it is a job comparable in scale to developing a new architecture. It is necessary to create or modify at least half of the body, rear and front gearboxes, rear wheel drives and cardan, rear suspension with hubs, fuel tank, exhaust system, and so on. Sounds like a utopia.
He called the second problem the lack of a powerful and high-torque engine.
The maximum 122 hp of the current VAZ 1.8 engine makes the Vesta feel sluggish. For a tall and heavy crossover, it is finally necessary to master (or buy in China) a turbo engine, and with it, the corresponding "torque" gearboxes, which AvtoVAZ does not have today. In short, the path of the T-134 will not be easy.
At the moment, no real research and development work has been carried out on the T-134.
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