by As you know, Japanese people love UAZs. Moreover, they are ready to pay tens of thousands of dollars for cars that were driven in the last century! Note – this is about the ‘Bukhanka’, also known as the ‘Tablet’. But how do advanced and technology-savvy Japanese feel about the UAZ Hunter?
Japanese automotive magazine Best Car journalist Masanobu Ikenohira, who tested the UAZ Hunter, provides the answer:
“We present to you a living fossil — the UAZ Hunter, which can be bought new. I won’t go into the maniacal details of the company’s history; I’ll focus on the test drive impressions.
First of all, the driver’s seat.
It’s extremely simple, there’s not even a tachometer here!
The engine starts easily on the first attempt, and it’s quite quiet. The seat is high, flat, and hard. It’s like sitting on a park bench with a thin layer of foam. But the seating position is ergonomically correct!
The gearbox is a 5-speed manual, with a standard shifting pattern. There is no discomfort with the clutch operation — the car surprisingly starts without any difficulties.
Gears shift with a slightly racing feel.
The resounding click of the lever provides the sensation of an old rally car. The 2.7-liter petrol engine gains power smoothly, acceleration is worthy of a ‘good’ rating. The car has a light and confident dynamic, not what you’d expect from a 1.8-ton crocodile.
The suspension with leaf springs is predictably bad, and in five minutes of driving you forget about the shortcomings of the seats. The visibility here is good, so it’s fairly easy to feel the car’s dimensions. The UAZ is compact (4.1 m in length, 1.73 m in width), but tall, and has a brutal design.
Therefore, it is perceived as a more spacious car than it actually is.
When the turn signals are on, the voltmeter needle flicks in sync, but that even adds charm. Fuel consumption is at 17-20 liters per 100 km in the city and 10 liters per 100 km on the highway.
I own an 18-year-old Jeep Wrangler — and people perceive me as a fan of masculine cars! But if I switch to this Hunter…
Afterwards: ‘Nani kore?! (‘What the heck is this?!’) A Russian off-roader?!’ — they will say ‘Awesome!’ with a mix of admiration and envy. Women and children will honestly say it’s a ‘cute car’.
Because UAZ is a rare car with a wolf’s feeling!
But it’s not a cute car at all. It tests a person’s skills and morale. The price, excluding taxes, is 3.5 million yen (almost 33 thousand dollars!).”
