UAZ Simbir History

The UAZ-3160, later extended as the UAZ-3162 Simbir, was UAZ's attempt at a more modern 4×4 SUV bridging the Soviet-era 469 family and the eventual Patriot. Prototypes were developed from 1988 and tested through the early 1990s; serial production of the UAZ-3160 began on 5 August 1997 following a gold-medal award at an international fair in Yekaterinburg. The related long-wheelbase UAZ-3162 Simbir — essentially a rebodied extended UAZ-3160 with new Spicer axles — entered production on 27 April 2000.

The Simbir was short-lived in production terms: the arrival of the UAZ Patriot in 2005 made it redundant, and both the UAZ-3160 and UAZ-3162 were discontinued that year. The model is notable mainly as the developmental link between UAZ's postwar utility vehicles and its first modern SUV.