Chevrolet Niva

Technical specifications of Chevrolet Niva.

Anastasia Kostyanova, online magazine Razdatka.com

In May of last year, Russian automotive journalists were shown the updated Chevrolet NIVA. The changes then affected the interior and exterior, and over 60 technical improvements were also implemented. The result was not long in coming: at the annual "Off-Road Vehicle of the Year" competition, the Chevrolet NIVA again won in the "SUV" category and also received the title "Premiere of the Year." In addition, GM-AVTOVAZ maintained high sales both last year and in the first quarter of this year. But the work did not stop with the facelift — over the course of a year, the plant's engineers worked seriously on improving the technical content of the SUV. And so on May 27, journalists from the Volga region were again called together — at a recreation center in the Shigonsky district of the Samara region, the new achievements of "GM-AVTOVAZ" were presented.

First on the program was a press conference with the plant's management: General Director of GM-AVTOVAZ Jeffrey Glover, Director of Sales and Marketing Konstantin Baishev, Public Relations Manager Lyudmila Murycheva, and Model Manager Yuri Sozonov.

As was announced, the engineers' main efforts were directed at functional improvements, increased corrosion resistance, reduced noise and vibration, as well as reducing harmful environmental impact.

According to the company, corrosion resistance was improved by refining the wiper arms, bolts in key areas, the battery mounting bracket, the clutch cylinder, and the power steering housing. The problem of coolant and clutch fluid leaks was solved by introducing spring clamps in the cooling system and refining the clutch drive. In addition, in the third quarter of this year, the engine and transmission will switch to new high-quality seals from Freudenberg.

The management of GM-AVTOVAZ also decided to change the supplier of front suspension ball joints to increase their service life. For the same purpose, the diameter of the lower arm axles was slightly increased, the rubber-metal bushings and the assembly process of the front suspension itself were changed.

Part of the results of the engineers' year-long work were announced at the conference, and the rest was offered to journalists to verify from their own experience. By tradition, the test drive of the updated Chevrolet NIVA was organized in the format of an off-road quest.

As soon as the press conference ended, the silhouette of a man appeared on the screen, who explained the essence of the task: dangerous biological weapons had been stolen, and we had to split into teams and help James Bond find them. Of course, we were given the necessary tools and... no, given the terrain and climate, the Aston Martin was left to gather dust in the garage, and we set off on the mission in a Chevrolet NIVA.

The journalists split into several groups. Our crew, according to the car's internal markings, received number 002, and the team, in addition to the author of these lines, included two correspondents from the newspaper "Autoclub-Kazan" — Arthur and Alfred.

Arthur Gimaev, newspaper "Autoclub-Kazan"

Right off the bat, we rushed to the farthest point of the route — number 23. We had to drive almost 15 kilometers, and along the way there was an opportunity to assess the Chevrolet's behavior on more or less smooth asphalt. Of course, we didn't consider it a racing car, but the little car holds its 120-130 km/h quite confidently. The handling was especially pleasing: even at a speed high for an SUV, it clearly enters sharp turns.

The first point of the route was in an abandoned house on the outskirts of a village. Crew "002" quickly deciphered the password encoded in marked cards and, satisfied, transmitted the secret message to the base.

There was no time for a long rest: the enemies decided to test the stolen bioweapon for the first time and sprayed it at a livestock complex. Fortunately, the farm staff managed to lead the cows to a safe place and retreated themselves. We, in turn, had to put on gas masks and plunge into the darkness of the building damaged by the explosion. Illuminating the way with an ultraviolet flashlight, I found the source of the infection and, with heroic efforts, eliminated the threat of its spread!

Such a heavy and responsible mission thoroughly tired our heroes. But they are heroes precisely to not shy away from difficulties and continue the fight against evil. To replenish their strength, cookies and mineral water, carefully hidden in the received case, were enough, and we moved to the next point: we needed to deliver a letter with instructions for neutralizing the accomplices of evil to a friendly agent. The instructions came in handy for us too, but to read and decipher them, we had to rack our brains considerably. Fortunately, we had plenty of brains!

But in the matter of saving humanity, not only ingenuity is needed, but also considerable masculine strength! The enemy turned out to be cunning: he kidnapped the beautiful daughter of our commander from the base and chained her to an ancient oak tree. And to prevent anyone from approaching, he surrounded the place of imprisonment with a deep moat of water and mined the field. It would seem there is no chance... But the enemy miscalculated! He forgot that we have the latest development of GM-AvtoVAZ — the miracle machine Chevrolet NIVA, for which even a river obstacle became just a pleasant water procedure, and all the bumps and holes were merely annoying misunderstandings that prevented passengers from fully enjoying the ride!

Having reached the captive, Alfred tore apart the shackles binding her with his mighty hands and granted the beauty freedom — the girl's gratitude knew no bounds...

But it's time to get back to business. The navigator of the combat crew "002," Nastya, confidently leads us to the site of the next task, deftly avoiding the enemy's traps. A little more, and the enemy will be finally defeated. And he feels it, trying with all his might to hinder progress toward his lair on the Volga bank and sending upon us streams of the most powerful electromagnetic vortices — I see no other reason for the navigator going crazy! First, we almost remained forever in a dense forest, and then only a miracle, the driver's skill, and the car's excellent technical characteristics allowed us to escape from the enemy's backup shelter: the Chevrolet Niva, slightly scratched by tree branches and the claws of predatory animals, nevertheless saved our precious lives and almost independently drove out to the abode of evil, so that the last and decisive battle could take place!

The fighters against evil were already exhausted: the enemy was pressing, the sword kept trying to fall from their hands, and the gasoline in the tank was melting before their eyes. A saving message came from our Kazan colleague Delus — a strict order: do not spare evil, collect as many prizes as possible, and return home safe and sound. The SMS seemed to pour in new strength: the enemies were shot, the base was destroyed, the quicksand was left behind. The only thing the heroes did not do was drag the defeated with them, so as not to dirty the car's interior, which had become almost like home during the trip.

The biological weapon returned to its owner, humanity is saved! The heroes accept congratulations, raise glasses of apple juice to victory, and enjoy the company of beautiful ladies. And in the garage stands a satisfied Chevrolet NIVA, which once again proved that its off-road talents are in perfect order.

Alfred Mardanov, newspaper "Autoclub-Kazan"

The test drive featured two types of surfaces: familiar asphalt and light off-road with natural obstacles in the form of potholes and bumps—what a city dweller encounters when heading out into nature. Quite some time has passed since my last interaction with the transfer case, but the vibrations it emitted were remembered by my body for a long time. The first thing I noted in the updated Chevrolet Niva was that this effect has disappeared. The introduction of driveshafts with CV joints and double-row bearings on the transfer case output shafts radically changed the situation. Vibration on the lever is not felt even at idle, and the handle itself has become noticeably neater. Slight discomfort appeared only at high speeds when the speedometer needle approached the red zone, but even then it was quite tolerable. The updates have made the car truly comfortable for daily driving, without those annoying moments that were there before. It's nice that owners of older versions can visit a dealer and, for a modest fee, replace the old gearbox variant with a new one.

Handling pleased: on the highway, the car confidently held 130 km/h, behaved decently in corners, and the steering wheel responded adequately. True, the updated Niva's steering wheel has its own peculiarity: when turned almost to the limit, an unpleasant sound appears. On one hand, it's like a psychological limiter—saying, don't turn it all the way—on the other, during full turns, it adds not the most pleasant sensations. Gears engage noticeably more precisely, but fifth gear is located too close to third.

The emphasis on handling affected the comfort of rear passengers: on certain bumps, they are thrown from their seats, and a person ends up looking at the ceiling. Good thing seat belts are at hand. At the same time, the car itself is assembled, not loose, and does not suffer from the "bucking" that the Niva 4x4 is guilty of.

The steering wheel is very informative; the connection with the wheels was never lost for a second. Even on sand during wheel spin, I knew exactly where the wheels were pointing. If on previous Nivas engaging low range required considerable force, here the shift happens calmly: clutch, neutral, "low range." For beginners, there is electronic indication on the instrument panel that shows the current state.

Off-road, the car is frankly good! Lockers weren't even needed, although I had to overcome sandy mounds, water obstacles, and meadows. In another car, I would have thought a hundred times before venturing into such places, but here I calmly drove through the toughest sections. One of the points was on a sandy riverbank, and I decided to try to turn around. At first, I dug in and thought about engaging low range, but I decided to do without it—and turned around virtually on the spot! On deep loose sand, not everyone can do that, even a real SUV. Then, from a standstill, the car started off great—the engine is torquey. True, for proper acceleration, you need to rev it; you won't quickly gain speed in a lugging manner.

We also tried accelerating on a dirt road: you can drive across a field at a decent speed, and the shaking barely bothers front passengers. A speed of 60-70 km/h near the village caused no complaints.

Overall, the Chevrolet Niva deserves a confident "four" on a five-point scale. Improvements are constantly being made to the design, which gives reason to expect only growing popularity. If manufacturers maintain the current price level (they explained the slight price increase this summer by the general rise in metal prices), then the car definitely won't lose its bestseller status!