Yes my Tempra has the Fiat 2.0 DOHC engine and a neighbour of mine wanted me to scrap it just so he could have the engine, cheeky blighter!
It has the same sort of suspension and springs as the Range Rover hence the Russian Range Rover tag.
I have never seen a Niva with air suspension certainly not as standard. I know they are good off road as I have seen them go at quite a few events. I would have one over a Suzuki or simila any day. Whats the spec? I know it they have a transfer box that can be shifted on the fly which is good but does it have diff locks?
When I say the best off roader in the world I am talking about all round package. Not just the best at driving through mud but the best combination of off and on road performance. The RR has a better wading depth than the defender (700mm vs 500mm), approach, departure and break over angles are similar depending on if you are comparing to a 90 or a 110 but a defender is nasty on road. Where is the climate control? lol. Bowler Wildcat doen't count as it is a custom built and not great on road but I would exchange my right nut for one. The TVR lump sounds sooooooo good.
Discovery used to be the best seller in Oz but was overtaken by the Land Cruiser as the Toyota is more reliable and better built. My S2 Disco was good on road but with only air suspension at the rear the ride was not as nice. Off road it was good too but the 4.0 vs the 4.6 make the Rangie the winner along with the better auto box. Luckly not everyone can afford a Land Rover/Range Rover so you don't see them everywhere. I mean the defender is still hand rivited! No wonder the price tag is so high and not sure about the Transit engine on the new ones either. Will be interesting to see what happens now Tata own them.
Anyway Sammy the most important thing is you have fun in it what ever you drive and I am sure you will.
Yes my Tempra has the Fiat 2.0 DOHC engine and a neighbour of mine wanted me to scrap it just so he could have the engine, cheeky blighter!
Yes my neighbour has a Niva, very battered which he only uses off road, tows it everywhere on a trailer behind his shiny Disco 3 TDV6.
The Fiat Twin Cam engine only puts out 113bhp in the Tempra but is extremely torquey and very smooth as it has balance shafts. Its also a very compact engine, very popular with kit car builders and quite a few moggy minors have them fitted too. Can be radically tuned to give impressive amounts of power for not too much outlay.
When driving off road biggest factor is your choice of tyre as even the best engineered vehicles come a cropper when on road tyres, yet a rusty old Fiat Panda 4x4 with the right tyres on is almost unstoppable!
Photos of your Niva look fab, very envious, hope you enjoy it!