Gazelle vs Sobol
What is the GAZ automobile plant primarily associated with?
Even in the recent past, the “face” of the car was the best domestic passenger car, and today the most popular models produced by the Gorky Automobile Plant are the Gazelle and Sobol commercial vehicles. Although these models are very similar due to the same cabin, it is quite difficult to confuse them. Today we will talk about all the differences between the Gazelle and the Sable. Speaking of names. With the Gazelle everything is clear: GAZ - Gazelle. And “Sable”? Why it was called that is anyone's guess. Perhaps because this car, although the smallest in the GAZ line, does not cease to be very valuable and attractive in many respects. A common joke on the Internet is “Why sable and not arctic fox?” — a kind of reproach to the entire domestic automobile industry, but as far as they concern this particular car, we still need to figure it out.
A little history
Gazelle's date of birth is June 20, 1994. We can say that this event is historical, and this car is a symbol of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, a “workhorse”, a guarantor of business stability. Since February 2010, its modernized version, Gazelle-Business, has been put into production. The Sobol, developed on the basis of units of the Gazelle family, but differing in size and the presence of an independent front suspension, began production in November 1998, and the first Barguzin (the top model of the Sobol family) appeared in 1999. It cannot be said that the Gazelle and “Sable” are mutually exclusive: each meets different needs, and therefore is purchased for different purposes.
Technical side of the issue
Gazelle and Sobol have an all-metal three-seater cabin as standard. Both cars today are equipped with either a gasoline engine produced by the Ulyanovsk Motor Plant or a Cummins diesel engine. Gearbox – mechanical, five-speed. Both cars can have all-wheel drive modification. There are technical differences mainly in the chassis: the Gazelle has a spring front suspension, while the Sobol has a spring one. The cars have different rear axle structures, the Gazelle's wheels are gable, the Sobol's are single-pitch.
And the visual difference between these two cars is the length. The flatbed Gazelle has 5540, a minibus or all-metal van has 5475, and the Sobol has 4880. Capacity and carrying capacity, accordingly, directly depend on the size. The Sobol minibus can accommodate from 6 to 10 passengers, the Gazelle - from 8 to 13 (the manufacturer, meanwhile, is already developing a new 17-seater Gazelle). As for the carrying capacity, a standard flatbed Gazelle or a Gazelle with a van can transport up to 1.5 tons of cargo, the Sobol can only carry up to 1 ton.
Another key difference: Sobol has a higher maximum speed (120 km/h), better dynamics and lower fuel consumption.
Freight transportation
With freight transportation, everything is quite simple - the differences are on the surface. When choosing a car, it is important to understand how large and heavy the loads will have to be transported. The Sobol is capable of carrying less cargo, but its lower carrying capacity is compensated by its greater compactness, and therefore the ability to better maneuver on crowded streets and tight parking lots. By the way, in the center of Moscow there are restrictions on entry based on the carrying capacity of a car (over 1 ton), and here a small Sobol can be indispensable. As for the Gazelle, in addition to the fact that it has a greater carrying capacity, it can also have long wheelbase options. Plus, the Gazelle has “farmer” modifications - two-row cabins that can accommodate more passengers. And if the Sobol is perfect for large cities, then for farming the long-wheelbase Gazelle with a double cab will be the best universal option.
"Sobol" - all-metal van
Onboard Gazelle with long wheelbase
Isothermal van (the most popular type of van) based on GAZ-3302
Passenger cars
In passenger transportation, Sobol and Gazelle cars each occupy their own specific niche. Thanks to the use of an independent front suspension, the Sobol has improved handling characteristics, smoothness and stability at high speeds, which brings it as close as possible to passenger cars in terms of comfort. In fact, this is one of its purposes - a roomy and spacious “family” car. This is especially true for its Barguzin modification, which is more attractive and stylish in design (although everything here depends solely on the taste and preferences of the car owner). “Sobol” and “Sobol-Barguzin” are representatives of the “minivan” class, very popular in the West, these are universal cars for all occasions, allowing you to make family trips (especially if you have pets), go on a picnic with friends, and transport necessary things. And as a company car, the Sobol works well: both in the field of meeting guests and conducting business negotiations “without leaving the cash register,” and as a compact excursion car. Six seats with headrests and armrests and a table in the center of the cabin create an optimal level of comfort, and the increased level of sound insulation in the cabin allows you to talk freely without raising your voice while driving. It is important to understand that the Sobol is not a converted Gazelle, but a separate product, aimed at use in other areas, and a product that can compete with foreign brands not only in price (which is on the surface), but also in quality. And, it should be noted that improvements continue.
"Sobol" is an excellent family car
Gazelle minibuses are wide-ranging service vehicles: tourist and excursion transport. School buses and special vehicles for transporting disabled people are manufactured on the basis of Gazelle. This is the most popular minibus in Russia. The Gazelle is a car for work, a more “tough” vehicle, somewhat simpler to manufacture, but meeting all the requirements for it.
Gazelle is the most popular minibus in Russia
Four-wheel drive
A few words about bad roads, as we know, one of the main problems in Russia. We do not undertake to say that GAZ 4×4 cars will drive anywhere and in any weather, and yet they fully meet their purpose. As noted earlier, the Gazelle Farmer on-board vehicle, especially in its all-wheel drive modification, is simply irreplaceable for farms and rural areas. As for passenger or utility vehicles, many car owners note that the all-wheel drive Sobol is slightly better in cross-country ability than the all-wheel drive Gazelle, since it is shorter, lighter, and has a larger angle before contact with the ground. In terms of cross-country ability, the Sobol 4x4 is sometimes even compared to a UAZ vehicle, and they are even tested jointly in “field” conditions, which the Sobol successfully passes.
Specifications
Depending on the modification, the family of cars is equipped with gasoline and diesel engines.
At the same time, the technical characteristics change dramatically. All that remains is to provide some general information:
- maximum load capacity – from 745 to 900 kg;
- engine power – 106-120 horsepower;
- fuel consumption – 9.2-13.2 liters per 100 km;
- maximum speed – 120-135 km/h;
- turning radius – 5-5.5 m;
- cargo compartment volume – 3.7-6.9 m3;
- loading height – 720-820 mm.
The Sobol (vehicle) has good maneuverability. The characteristics of the turning radius, dimensions are significantly smaller than those of its closest brother, and allow you to turn around in very cramped conditions.
UAZ Patriot, Sobol 4x4 or GAZelle 4x4. What's best for family expeditions?
Review and practical comparison of UAZ Patriot, GAZ Sobol 4x4 and GAZelle 4x4 from the owner of all three SUVs, Kirill Nevinsky. From his own experience, he analyzes the suitability of cars for long family trips, engine characteristics and tuning possibilities.
It all started in 2012, when I purchased my first all-wheel drive car - a UAZ Patriot. And then I consistently operated GAZ Sobol 4x4 and GAZelle 4x4.
In advance, I would like to ask the reader to treat this material as my personal opinion, which is based only on my experience of owning cars, my requirements for them and my own operating conditions. The article in no way claims to be 100% true, since it does not exist.
At the very beginning, it is worth telling that all the cars were purchased new (the GAZelle was purchased with a mileage of 1000 km, that is, we can say that it is new)
Why do we need an all-wheel drive car?
When choosing a car, it is important to understand what requirements you will place on it and what tasks it must solve. We purchased our cars both for family weekend trips out of town, and for large and long trips lasting from 2-3 weeks. At the same time, it is important to add that these are not trophy raids with constant chopping and lying, but more of a kind of expeditionary format: that is, quite long asphalt and dirt runs with sections of light and medium off-road. By the way, it so happened that these same cars were the only family cars we had and were also used as a means of transportation for every day.
I’ll try to tabulate some technical characteristics that are important to us:
Horsepower is absolutely not important for us, since this parameter is responsible for what maximum speed the engine can develop. On the highway we usually move within 80-100 km/h. This is due to the speed of flow and efficiency.
But torque is a rather important characteristic. This, in fact, is that very power: how quickly the car can gain the required speed and that very traction. Here diesel is beyond competition, but besides this, it is important to know that Cummins itself is capable of developing even more power and the current limitation is imposed by software, and this is primarily due to the fact that the GAZ transmission is not designed for long-term use at high power. For example, at the moment we have 170 hp firmware installed on our GAZelle. With. and 380 Nm of torque.
If it’s purely subjective, then we liked the UMP least of all. It has pretty good low-end traction, but in high gears and speeds the car with the UMP doesn’t move at all. That is why the factory installed 5.125 lower pairs, but at the same time, in order to reach a cruising speed of around 90-100 km per hour, you need to turn the engine above 3000 rpm. At the same time, it roars like a tank and consumes a significant amount of fuel, and still doesn’t really drive, and if the road starts to go uphill, the car doesn’t drive at all.
The UAZ 409 engine was quite good, but there was also not enough traction in 5th gear for a loaded car uphill.
But the stitched Cummins is just a fairy tale for us. A heavy Gazelle on 33 wheels drives just fine with it.
Dimensions and geometric cross-country ability
It’s worth noting here that we tuned the cars a little and did it in different ways. On the Patriot, we had reinforced springs and springs installed, which gave a suspension lift of around 3 - 4 cm. On the Sobol, a 40 mm body lift was made, and on the Gazelle, a 50 mm body lift and spacers between the bridge and the spring, which were additional raised the bridges by 20 mm.
For our use, the external dimensions of Sobol and Patriot are very similar. Yes, the Sobol is a little larger, and its departure angles are a little smaller, but for us this was not very critical and in the end we did not experience any problems with it. Using both cars both in the city and off-road did not cause any difficulties, while the high seating position made it possible to control the road situation much better and feel confident in city traffic. The GAZelle, of course, has a very long rear overhang, which significantly worsens geometric cross-country ability, which is why it had the maximum body lift and the largest wheels. And the significant length adds to the complexity of operation in the city. And if, when driving in traffic, you quickly get used to it and stop feeling discomfort, then certain problems with parking arise.
On the Sobol we also began to have difficulties with underground parking, and on the GAZelle with a high roof we simply completely forgot about them.
checkpoint
Buyers of GAZelles and Sobols do not have to choose gearboxes. All engines are equipped with a non-alternative 5-speed manual transmission. Its weakest point is the silumin housing of the gear shift lever hinge for 720 rubles. The first sign of its imminent demise is backlash, which threatens failure to engage gears and subsequent expensive repairs of the manual transmission. Another Achilles heel of the transmission is the problematic clutch. When driving in traffic jams, due to the skew of the pressure plate when the “basket” heats up, it does not turn off completely, damaging the gearbox parts. Installing Sachs clutches for 6340 rubles solves this problem. Also, the short-lived clutch master and slave cylinders may periodically require replacement for 870 and 630 rubles, respectively.
What is better gazelle or sable
In the family we use two Sable cargo-passenger cars with 7 seats, it is very convenient and the trunk is large, the walk-behind tractor drives into it itself. The front suspension is quite strong, and you can kill anything if you want, it’s a beauty to drive around the city - high and nimble, the steering wheel is power steering, and on the highway it is of course inferior to the Volga in directional stability. Plus the cargo-passenger ones - if you want to install an LPG, there is enough space, I made a shelf along the partition and the cylinder is on it, i.e. The floor remains free, there is a shelf next to the cylinder and a shelf above the cylinder.
Added after 2 minutes 21 seconds The new Euro-3 Sable was taken already having positive experience in operating the first old model with a 406 carburetor, on it and an LPG, which at one time was purchased second-hand.
N budget is 100,000 rubles. I think I can handle it, for this money you can find something decent without really straining?
You can only find firewood for that amount.
Hello colleagues!
