All the advantages of an SUV begin to manifest themselves especially clearly with the onset of the autumn-winter season. The owners of ordinary cars sometimes have to watch with envy how the next jeep dashingly overcomes off-road and quickly disappears into the distance. That is why buying an inexpensive, reliable SUV is becoming a very urgent task for many drivers.
SUVs and crossovers
The category of inexpensive SUVs usually includes cars worth up to 1 million rubles. At the same time, one must be aware that many widely advertised cars, for example, Renault Duster, popular among Russians, are not SUVs, they are typical crossovers. The main differences between the SUV are the permanent all-wheel drive, the presence of a center differential lock and a reduction gear. Many SUVs have a frame structure, but this feature is optional.
Crossovers - the already mentioned Renault Duster, as well as such popular cars as Volkswagen Tiguan, Toyota RAV4 and many others, all-wheel drive is plug-in, there is no transfer case with crawler gears. Crossovers are designed for highways, while they can briefly move on dirt roads and even overcome off-road conditions. But they cannot withstand prolonged movement in difficult conditions - in particular, overheating of the viscous coupling and disabling the all-wheel drive are possible.
Choosing an SUV
Choosing a specific model, you must clearly understand where and how you are going to operate the purchased car. It's one thing if you need it for hunting or fishing. And it is completely different if you are going to cover long distances on the highway. Such moments as the cost and availability of repairs, fuel consumption are also important.
Among the villagers, the most popular SUVs are UAZ of all models and two Nivas - VAZ-2121 and Chevrolet Niva. This is easy to explain - in the countryside there is no high-quality car service required for foreign cars, and a domestic car can be repaired anywhere and anytime, including on our own. Thus, for a villager, these particular car models are among the priority ones.
For a city dweller, the choice is not too great either. If we discard crossovers, there are not so many cars left in the category up to 1 million rubles. In addition to those already mentioned, it is worth paying attention to Tagaz Tager. This is the Korean car SsangYong Korando, produced at the Taganrog Automobile Plant. The advantages of the model include the ability to connect a front-wheel drive, the presence of a reduction gear.
If you have no dislike for Chinese cars, take a look at the Great Wall Hover 3. This car is almost completely copied from the Japanese Isuzu Axiom, has a frame structure, four-wheel drive with a rigidly connected front axle, a downshift. It is assembled in Russia, which determines its rather low price. Of the foreign cars, this is practically the only SUV worthy of attention in the price category up to a million rubles.
In general, the choice of inexpensive SUVs is quite small, so there is no need to study the characteristics of many models. The advantages and disadvantages of Russian cars are well known. On the one hand, this is not the highest build quality and low level of comfort. On the other hand, the availability of spare parts and ease of repair. The foreign cars mentioned above may seem more comfortable, but they are inferior to UAZ and Niva vehicles in cross-country ability.
If none of the presented cars suits you, you can try to purchase a used car from a higher price category.
