Dusting with chemistry, so that the evil local tick does not bite, I leave the rocky massif Devil's fortified settlement for later. And the first thing I do is climb into the cab of the Ural Next truck, for the premiere of which we arrived in the vicinity of Yekaterinburg. After all, the cabin is one of the "chips" of the new truck, now offering comfort, which the harsh drivers of the current veteran Ural-4320, produced since 1977, never dreamed of!

A hefty all-terrain vehicle with a completely new "face" and lensed headlights, cannons looks really cool! Russian trucks have never had such an aggressively expressive design, and even imported counterparts already look boring against its background. But the cabin itself may seem familiar to some readers. And you are not mistaken - the cabin module of the new Ural Next is actually the same as that of the new GAZelle Next, which AvtoVesti met with in 2013.

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The main difference is that the Ural cab has a reinforced base due to more stringent roll-over safety requirements. And now the Ural will be less rusty! The new cab has galvanized doors, sills and underbody elements, while the bonnet, fenders, engine compartment liners, radiator grilles and footrests are now made of impact-resistant polymer, which we still had to test for durability.

The model range "Ural Next" today is a chassis with a wheel arrangement of 4x4 (gross weight up to 13.3 t) or 6x6 (gross weight up to 22.5 t), as well as a truck with an onboard platform. A truck tractor and a 2-row cab for 7 seats with a folding rear bench are on the way. Will there be a 2-door cabin with a "sleeping bag"? There is such a project, but whether it will go into production is not yet clear, everything will depend on demand.

With the new cab, it is now easier to climb into the tall Ural Next, because the steps are lower and the doorway has widened. And the new 3-seater cabin itself is very spacious, which is why we liked it even on the gas lorry. Compared to the old Ural-4320, the cab is longer, wider and taller (+ 10% of the head space and + 21% at the driver's feet), and weighs only 70 kg more (about half a ton without feathers). Moreover, the Ural engineers assure that you will not have to freeze in a larger cabin: it is well insulated and equipped with a powerful stove - the new cars have already experienced cold weather in Surgut. But just in case, the list of options for the cab contains a 2-kilowatt autonomous "dry" heater Eberspacher Airtronic D2.

The new "Ural" finally has more containers where you can scatter road trifles. The dashboard has cup holders and niches for 1.5-liter bottles, two glove compartments can accommodate A4 maps and documents, and in the upper one there is also a USB charger for electronic devices. The rest of the junk can be shoved into plastic pockets on the doors and into the drawers behind the footrests.

Because of the longer cabin, the new "Ural Next" has its wheelbase stretched by 200 mm (the total length of the chassis is almost the same due to the shortened "nose"). This was done to preserve the previous mounting dimensions on the frame for the sake of companies that produce numerous superstructures for the Ural chassis: dump bodies, shift trucks, cranes, platforms with manipulators, etc.

The drivers of "Ural Next" will say special thanks for the German Grammer armchair with air suspension and height adjustment that is included in the basic configuration of the new truck. Finally, in Miass, they took care of the long-suffering backs of drivers, for whole generations of whom the former "Urals" shook their whole souls on the road! In addition, as in the "GAZelle Next", the steering wheel is now smaller and more grippy, adjustable in tilt angle and equipped with radio control buttons (optional). For complete happiness, only the steering wheel adjustment for the departure is not enough, but the Uralovites have so far abandoned this decision - it is too expensive.

Although without this setting it is now possible to get comfortable behind the wheel, because the driver of the former Ural-4320 did not have such freedom of choice. And then he pushed the steering wheel as it should, pumped up the seat higher, tilted the seat cushion so that the legs were not lifted up ... Oh, there would also be an adjustment of the lumbar support for a complete set! But even without it, the soft chair supports the back and does not cause discomfort.

Compared to its predecessor, the doorway of the Ural Next cab has become 20% wider (940 mm), and the footrests are 100 mm lower. In the doorway itself, handrails have appeared to help with landing, and the open door is now fixed in several positions.

And what about visibility, the experienced ones ask? In the former "Ural" with its almost vertical windshield, the driver saw from his seat the front fenders, which served as a dimensional reference point during maneuvers. In the new "Ural Next" I sit higher, but I no longer see the wings - they are hidden by a wide hood and some drivers will certainly turn about this. But both the windshield itself and the field of view here are already wider, and I "rolled" into the dimensions rather quickly and easier than expected.

They also tried to improve visibility by changing the mirrors. In addition to the previous upper "mugs", additional spherical sections were hung below, and one more mirror was attached above the glass of the passenger door - the driver now sees the one who crawls under the car on the right. And up to a bunch of mirrors are already equipped with heating in the basic equipment! But the main mirrors still distort the picture, and the upper right mirror partially overlaps the handrail on the windshield pillar.

Central locking, power windows, heated mirrors, an on-board computer and cruise control are included in the basic equipment of "Ural Next". The list of options includes ABS, a radio with steering wheel control, air conditioning, an autonomous "dry" cab heater and a liquid pre-heater for the engine. GAZ Group is also working on a gearbox with a joystick lever on the dashboard - such a solution can be obtained by Ural Next.

Far from all transport workers will be delighted at first by the fact that instead of cheap and proven 6- and 8-cylinder V-shaped diesel engines YaMZ (230 and 300 hp, respectively), it has so far been decided to install only in-line engines on the new "Ural Next" 6-cylinder turbodiesel YaMZ-536. By the way, the 530th family of in-line diesel engines (there is still a 4-cylinder version) in Yaroslavl began to be developed back in the mid-90s and was launched into production only in November 2011. However, despite the "long-term", the motor created together with the Austrian company AVL is quite modern in design. It has a Bosch common-rail fuel system with injection pressures up to 1800 bar, and the turbocharger is supplied by Borg Warner.

In terms of working volume, the YaMZ-536 is half the size of its V6 counterpart (6.6 liters versus 11.1). But it is much more powerful: on two-axle "Urals" it will produce 240 hp, on three-axle cars - up to 312 hp. In terms of torque, the in-line 240-horsepower diesel engine also outperforms the Yaroslavl V6 (902 Nm versus 883), and the 312-horsepower version, developing 1226 Nm, only slightly falls short of the Yaroslavl "eight" with a volume of 14.8 liters, issuing 1280 Nm. In addition, the plant states that with an inline engine, the truck can save up to 8% in fuel.

The instrument panel is the same as that of "GAZelle Next". But the on-board computer gives out more data: the pressure in the tires and brake circuits, the inclusion of locks and cruise control ... In the future, the Uralovites promise to mark the tachometer by speed zones and introduce an indicator with the number of the engaged gear on the panel, which is especially important for the 9-speed ZF gearbox ...

The YaMZ-536 is also much lighter: if a V6 diesel for a conventional Ural weighs 1015 kg (without a gearbox), then an in-line engine only weighs 620 kg. Moreover, UN Regulation No. 96-02 for off-road vehicles still allows this engine to be installed on Ural Next without a catalyst and an exhaust recirculator (EGR). Buyers of such cars just love the design to be simpler, more conservative ... The Urals add that in winter the YaMZ-536 also warms up faster than the V6 diesel. But just in case, they will offer a prestarting liquid heater that can warm both the engine and the cab.

A separate topic is the chassis on which Ural Next is built. Each driver of the former "Ural-4320" could write a whole list of claims to this truck on the fly. Therefore, in 2013, the plant began to actively "finish off" the basis of an already middle-aged car. And in October 2014, the production of the updated Ural-M chassis began, which was modernized in at least 30 positions.

Compared to the GAZelle, the Ural has a bunch of additional buttons on the center console: control of locks and tire inflation, cruise control, PTO speed control, etc.

So, the factory workers promise that the new chassis will rust less due to the improved "anticorrosive". They say that fuel tanks will no longer leak, with which the welding technology was changed and the fasteners on the frame were remade so that it does not wipe the walls of the tanks due to vibrations. And the tanks are no longer checked for leaks with water, after which they began to rust from the inside. There is also no need to "stretch" the chassis after purchase: the factory has improved the technology for tightening nuts and bolts when assembling transmissions and chassis.

Along the way, on the modernized chassis, cardan shafts, drive axles and a transfer case were reinforced. The distribution box was made quieter and, together with the bridges, got rid of chronic "sweating" with oil. And they solved one more unpleasant problem of the former "Urals", when, due to a weak tightening, the bolts of the axle differential cups self-loosened - and the units simply grind themselves! Imagine that it happened somewhere off-road, in winter and in the deep taiga - the main habitat of Miass trucks ...

On the polymer hood "Ural Next" (blue on the left) everyone was beaten with a wooden block of wood several dozen times. If only henna - only scratches! For comparison, they put an iron hood from the previous model next to it - and it bent at the first blow.

Now the tightening of nuts and bolts is automated, and the fasteners are placed on a fixing sealant and special washers. And as a "carrot", rigid interwheel differential locks of the two rear axles are included in the basic package! By the way, earlier these locks were placed only on military versions, and only since the beginning of the 2000s have they become extremely rare in civilian "Urals", and even then only in the form of an expensive option.

In the steering, a new mechanism from the German company RBL has appeared, in which the hydraulic booster and the steering gear are assembled into one compact unit. Along the way, backlashes in the splines were "cured" in the steering universal joint and non-separable ends of the steering rods were introduced - they no longer need to be injected.

The lighter and more compact in-line diesel YaMZ-536 was pushed 160 mm deep into the frame, due to which the front overhang of the new truck was shortened and the weight distribution improved. Moreover, there is so much room under the hood that it seems that you can climb into the engine compartment for servicing! Maintenance intervals are only 15,000 km, set with an eye on the harsh operating conditions of the all-terrain vehicle.

The brake system is also new! The old pneumatic hydraulics were retired, replacing with a simpler and more reliable pneumatic system based on components from the German companies Wabco (brake chambers and optional ABS) and Knorr-Bremse (pneumatic compressor). It is no longer necessary to check the level of "brake" before the flight and manually adjust the pad clearance - now it happens automatically. And instead of a mechanical "handbrake" that clamped the propeller shaft at the exit from the transfer case, they installed a pneumatic drive acting on the wheels.

Noise and vibrations from the engine are also in the past: against the background of its V-shaped predecessors, an in-line diesel engine no longer growls, but hums - from the "Ural" you do not expect such quiet and soft operation at first! Clutching with a pneumatic booster is lightweight, and you don't have to dance with two feet on a short-stroke brake pedal either. But it is worth taking the wheel and the gearshift lever that looks like a crowbar ... Yes, this is still a car for tough men! A small steering wheel, even due to the hydraulic booster, cannot be twisted with one finger, more serious efforts are needed. And how to turn huge wheels with this "donut" if, God forbid, the hydraulic booster fails, you don't even want to think.

Veteran and newcomer nose to nose: on the right - the new "Ural Next", on the left - the old "Ural-4320", the production of which will continue. The Next's retractable footrest helps it climb into the front bumper, but the door handles are a little too high. Unified cabins are supplied from GAZ, and it will be too expensive for the Miass employees to move the door handles down: both the doors and the cab have to be redone.

The gearbox will also require a firm hand, since the steps must be literally hammered in, overcoming the steps by force. And the optional manual 9-speed ZF gearbox in this regard is not much better than the base Yaroslavl "five-step". Moreover, in both cases, the lever has a long stroke and when the reverse gear is turned on, it completely rests on the thigh. And the knob needed a more tenacious one: while getting used to switching, the hand slipped off the lever several times.

Smooth running? No, this is not about "Ural Next" either. Its stock-made "oak" leaf spring suspension is designed to survive on total off-road conditions and under chronic overload! Therefore, the comfort did not increase: on the broken graders and dirt roads, passengers in the cab and in the shift department still shake and throw up on pits and bumps. You can, of course, ask the driver to lower the wheels to make it softer, but a long journey on bad roads will still be a serious test for the body. A separate suspension of the rear part of the cab could also mitigate the shocks, but because of the high cost of such a solution, Miass does not plan to do it: they would have to completely redo the hood and tail parts, "untie" them from the cab module.

The more expensive and stuffed with imports Ural Next is not yet of interest to the Russian military. Give them hidden booking - and the Miass troops have a new family of Typhoon armored cars for warriors. And the former Ural-4320 and its armored version Ural-VV are still in the army and internal troops. But the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are already looking closely at Next. On trucks for security officials, the name "Ural" on the radiator grille will be written in Russian. Ural flaunts on civil trucks - with an eye on export. Cyrillic is promised later.

The new truck is still harsh for passengers, but the driver is now sitting in his place, like a gentleman on a featherbed. The air suspension radically softens the exhausting shaking off-road and allows less fear for the long-suffering driver's spine. But this softness turns on the other side: because of the air suspension on the off-road, the buildup begins up and down. On the bumps, we were periodically shaken so that a couple of times I soared on a chair almost to the ceiling with my legs off the floor! For this case, the air suspension has a stiffness adjustment, but it is clearly designed for driving on the highway, and for off-road conditions it turned out to be rather weak even in the most clamped position. So it is imperative to buckle up, otherwise you can fly to the roof.

But in what doubts did not arise even close, it was in cross-country ability. After all, the off-road arsenal is more than serious: permanent four-wheel drive of all wheels (wheel arrangement 6x6), blocking of the center differential between the front axle and the rear driving 2-axle bogie, interwheel blocking of two rear axles, a downshift in a transfer case with a gear ratio of 2.15 ... Plus tires measuring 425 / 85R21 with a herringbone tread, noisy on the asphalt, but tenacious off-road. Plus a system for changing the pressure in the tires and locking rings on the disks, which do not allow "taking off your shoes" on a flat tire. The trucks proposed for the primer test passed effortlessly. And at the demonstration races, a loaded test dump truck driven by a factory tester climbed to the edge of the forest along a rocky path as if it were an easy walk. Moreover, on flat wheels and a "ponzhayke", the lane is so confident that, if need be, I would easily roll a couple of trees and turn a few boulders out of the ground like a plow. Strengths!

The puddles through which light SUVs stealthily move are like seeds for Ural Next: a truck can "dive" into a ford up to 1 meter deep without preparation. And with the preparation (sealing the electrics of the diesel engine, removing the transmission ventilation air vents under the hood) - and one and a half meters is not a hindrance.

What is the bottom line? Having retained the legendary cross-country ability and versatility of its predecessor, the new "Ural Next" has become more powerful and more economical, in terms of ergonomics and comfort for the driver it has almost come close to foreign classmates, and in design it has completely surpassed everyone! But why does the new product need so many foreign units, a proponent of import substitution will ask? They do not hide in Miass - the imported units in "Ural Next" were installed with an eye on reliability, so that the driver could drive and not lie with wrenches under the car. And so far there are fewer hopes on Russian suppliers in this regard.

Although the price will inevitably rise. Sales of "Ural Next" will start in September and the full price list is promised by the start of sales. But the first price targets are already known. Thus, prices for a flatbed truck will start at about 2,794,000 rubles. A test dump truck with three-way unloading and an 11-cc body was estimated at about 3,370,000 rubles, and the version with an on-board platform and a manipulator crane already costs 5,000,000 rubles. Well, a rotational truck with a 20-seater body is estimated at 3,915,000 rubles - including due to the installation of a gas-cylinder unit for the engine to operate both on diesel and compressed natural gas - we have already written about such an installation on the example of a racing KamAZ ".

By the way, the Uralovites consider the four-wheel drive KamAZ-43118 to be their main competitor and declare that their prices are 5% lower than the Kama truck. But even taking into account the dumping of prices, the sales plan for the new Ural by the end of the year is modest - only 150-200 vehicles, because due to the crisis, the off-road truck market in Russia has sagged by more than half ...