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UAZ Hunter 2021.

UAZ Hunter 2021: a Russian off-road vehicle with a glorious history.

Ulyanovsk car plants continue to update their well-selling cars with a long history. This year, the turn came to the revamped army «rogue» UAZ-469, which has been produced for half a century without two years.

The car will be called UAZ Hunter 2021 and will be the same unkillable utilitarian «box» that can be easily repaired by yourself in any garage.

Restyling is intended only to slightly refresh the exterior and make the interior somewhat more comfortable. As for the engine compartment characteristics, then everything has remained unchanged for almost two decades.

Appearance

Judging by the photo, the appearance of the car does not pull a generational change or at least a serious update.

It has remained the same strict, angular and rather old-fashioned, and there are almost no plastic elements here, which significantly increases the weight of the structure as a whole.

Among the main changes in the new body should be noted more modern body kits, protection elements, slightly refreshed relief, as well as new window frames, which suffer much less from corrosion.

The muzzle of the UAZ Hunter 2021 still does not differ in smooth contours, has a small length and width, but is set quite high.

This part of the car begins with a small, slightly tilted windshield, turning into a large bonnet, placed parallel to the road, which seriously complicates the control of an already not very obedient car.

The sides of the bonnet slide down smoothly, and the lid itself received several longitudinal protrusions, which, however, did not solve the problem of visibility from the driver’s seat.

Below are the familiar round mid-size headlights that will always be filled with pretty high-quality halogen lights.

Immediately below them, there are round sidelights of a slightly smaller size, and between the lighting equipment there was a place for a pair of oval slots that provide access to air flows into the engine compartment.

Like many years ago, they are covered with a metal mesh with a fine mesh. No other decorative elements are foreseen here.

The body kit of the novelty does not differ in size, but if earlier it was just a curved narrow sheet of metal, now it is a full-fledged protective plate, painted black.

There was a place on it for a license plate, towing devices, as well as off-road protection of low-lying elements.

The sides of the new model have remained practically unchanged. It starts with an angular roof, under which there is a large black frame, which serves as the basis for the glasses, which will be lowered or moved, depending on the configuration.

The plant engineers successfully solved the problem of corrosion of this part of the body due to more efficient drainage of rainwater and snow.

Modest rectangles of exterior mirrors, trimmed with black plastic, are registered in front. The look is complemented by a modest relief on the doors and fenders, small plastic handles, as well as turn signal repeaters on the massive front fenders.

The back of the new Hunter visually does not contain any changes compared to the previous generation. It is set at right angles to the road and has rough, angular details.

The main part of the area is occupied by a simple hinged door, in the upper part of which there is a modest rectangular glass, and immediately below it — a spare wheel in a case.

The plafonds of dimensions are located approximately in the middle of the rear pillars, and just below you can find a massive body kit with slots for turning lights, stamping for placing a license plate and off-road devices.

Salon

Despite the great joint work of UAZ designers and engineers, they failed to seriously transform the interior of the new UAZ Hunter 2021 model year.

Finishing materials have remained the same, and steel predominates among them, and there are very few fabrics and plastic.

There are no fundamentally new comfortable options here either, and therefore it is better to use the car only for overcoming off-road or short «sorties» around the city.

Control and management bodies

The dashboard is a rough metal panel, on which cutouts are made for individual devices: a speedometer, oil pressure and temperature gauges, as well as several physical keys.

In front of the front passenger’s seat, a simple and not very comfortable plastic handle is habitually located, as well as several plugs, suggesting the possibility of retrofitting the car with a small number of additional options.

There is no central tunnel: instead, there is only a small pedestal that serves as the basis for a long transmission shift lever.

Next to it, you can find the transfer case handle and the handbrake. The steering wheel has retained its large dimensions, but now it is a little more comfortable and prettier, although it is made as simple as possible.

Seats and luggage compartment

The car is designed to carry five people at a time, but it will not be possible to find any comfortable place in the cabin. All armchairs are not very ergonomic, contain hard filling and are sheathed with fabric of not the best quality.

There are not so many options either: only rather primitive levers for back-and-forth adjustments, as well as head restraints. The second row is a hard and low sofa with nothing at all, not even head restraints.

But the luggage compartment can be written into the asset of the car. Due to the high height, more than 1100 liters of luggage can be placed in it, and if the second row is dismantled, this figure can be more than doubled.

Specifications

As the power plants for the Hunter 2021 model year, the well-known fans of the brand are offered a 2.7-liter gasoline engine with a return of 128 «horses», as well as a 2.2-liter diesel unit with 114 forces.

Each engine will work in tandem with a mechanical five-speed and all-wheel drive system.

Among other characteristics of the car, it is worth noting the 21-centimeter ground clearance, which allows you to feel confident off-road.

Unfortunately, the fuel consumption is quite high here. And if a diesel engine can still keep within 11-12 liters in mixed mode, then the consumption of its gasoline counterpart will be at least 14-15 liters, which is confirmed by the results of the test drive.

Options and prices

The cost of the simplest configuration starts at 869 thousand rubles. The price of the most «sophisticated» expeditionary version will be 1.12 million units of the Russian currency.

Release date in Russia

The issue of starting sales in Russia is no longer relevant, since sales of the new product began in January 2021.

Competitors

Among the main rivals for the buyer’s wallet are only domestic models: Chevrolet Niva, as well as Lada Niva Legend.