UAZ Patriot Turns 20: Legendary Reliability with a Do-It-Yourself Approach
The Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant is lavishly celebrating the 20th anniversary of the first UAZ Patriot, which is still not going to leave the assembly line, repeating the records of the infamous Bukhanka. Whether we should be sad or happy about this, a NI correspondent found out.
Over many years in journalism, I never cease to be amazed by the anniversary press releases of domestic automakers. No matter what the topic, they are always excessive, boastful and written in the style of shameless self-praise.
The keywords of the releases simply have to include "popularity", "reliability" and "legendarity" of any chariot on four wheels. As a result, from the authors' pens comes out such a product:
The three paragraphs list the outstanding achievements of the “legendary” car. Photo: UAZ Press Service
The anniversary Patriot rolls off the assembly line. Photo: UAZ
As an all-terrain vehicle enthusiast for 20 years, I was also not averse to riding a domestic SUV across the frosty expanses of Yakutia, and along the mountain trails of the Caucasus, and along the hot sands of Turkmenistan or Kazakhstan. But I was held back by the lack of a couple of "hands-on" auto mechanics with a set of professional tools and a mobile warehouse of spare parts. After all, only a madman can go alone across the deserted tundra or hot desert in a car that at any moment, regardless of age and condition, can have an overheating engine, a leak in the cooling system hoses, a break in the cardan shaft and timing chain, or a leak in the secondary shaft seal in the gearbox, a glitch in the electronics, a dead clutch cylinder and release bearing, fogged headlights, and door seals that let in either dust or cold.
And these are by no means all the possible problems of the Patriot. A search query in Yandex gives another list of "jambs" that appeared in the car after just one year of operation:
The search engine shows problems with a one-year-old Patriot: such flaws will be enough for 20 years of operation of the Japanese SUV. Photo: Yandex. Alice
And what is characteristic: typical, chronic and "childhood" diseases overcome a car that has been produced for 20 years! This means that the plant either does not want or cannot cure its brainchild to a state where an ordinary driver can drive from one maintenance to another without unexpected breakdowns and fixing "jambs" according to the principle of "do it yourself instead of UAZ".
Well, of course, "real men" do it themselves. Fortunately, the high ground clearance allows you to tighten the nuts under the bottom even without a lift and jack, and the cost of spare parts is still far from "Toyota" and especially BMW. Over the years, the car-constructor has become a cult for masochists and victims of "Stockholm syndrome". Some even compose songs about their deeply beloved car:
There is no bad weather for UAZ, Every weather is a blessing! Rain or snow - any time of the year You just need to change the tires.
Echoes of the transfer case, the noise of the engine, I drove into the field and now I can rest. The joyful years of rides We must gratefully accept.
The mud flies in chunks right into the arch, This joy must be understood. We go fording at any time of the year, We don't have to choose the route.
There is no bad weather for UAZ, The suspension travel pleases the eye. We don't even care about the time of year, As long as the brakes don't squeak
The Patriot drives through tundra, forests and deserts, but it is better to do this with a set of spare parts in the trunk and the ability to repair the car yourself. Photo: UAZ
And you can’t say that the plant sells unfinished cars at a loss.
When it was introduced in 2005, the Patriot cost 505 thousand rubles, and now its price is almost four times more (in the Base Ikar trim with the Limited package - 2.095 million rubles). But look under the hood, and there, as before, puffs a 2.7-liter gasoline ZMZ 409051 in combination with a 5-speed manual gearbox.
As the plant announced last year, by the end of 2025, another series of renovations will fall on the Patriot: new head optics, a new diesel engine from the Chinese and a new 6-speed manual transmission. It is possible that in some unspeakable future, the all-terrain vehicle will once again receive an automatic transmission.
At 21 years of life, the Patriot will get an updated steering wheel. Photo: UAZ
And let us note: not a word is said about the fact that the plant is preparing a new generation of the Patriot on a new 21st century platform.
Meanwhile, the Chinese are ready to establish supplies of simple frame SUVs with a full range of modern options. And then the unique market position of the Patriot as the cheapest large all-terrain vehicle may seriously be shaken. It still leaves much to be desired today, judging by the volume of falling sales.
Well, it is not the factory that should be congratulated on the occasion of the car's 20th anniversary, but the owners of the "Patriots". For their patience and forgiveness...
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