The main point of contact between the driver and the car is the steering wheel. The concept of this device changes from year to year, from model to model. The steering wheel of the first Zhiguli was made according to the patterns of that time. In fact, all manufacturers had the same handlebar – thin and smooth, with a diameter of 1.5 cm in cross section. It looks stylish, but it is inconvenient to twist it, so drivers used different braids.
Then the steering wheel began to “fat”, for the “seven” its cross-sectional diameter is already 2.7 cm, and the knitting needles are arranged in such a way that it is convenient to stay in places with the right grip.
The Oka has the smallest steering wheel: if the first Zhiguli had a steering wheel diameter of 40 cm, the Oka had a diameter of 35 cm.
Vesta has the most comfortable and functional handlebar. Here, the control of the car’s multimedia system and the heating is braided from the factory.
Concept cars have unusual steering wheels: on Rapan, for example, only the rim turns and the hub with the instruments remains in place, while Peter Turbo has only one spoke and is curved, the Lada X-Ray concept has a steering wheel in general not strictly round.
But there are projects, and there are time-tested solutions – such a steering wheel is on the second generation Niva, on Kalina, Priora. It is also used today – a simple, comfortable steering wheel with an optimal cross-section perfectly conveys the philosophy of the Lada brand: simple, functional, reliable.
Video: YouTube
Collage: “Behind the wheel”
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