CHEVROLET NIVA test drive since 2009 SUV

Masters of dirty business

Spetstest: Patency
Why do you need vehicles? Not fashionable PARTPERS, but serious cars that are not afraid of real off-road. For whom to ride outside asphalt everyday life, these are necessary for work. For example, oil workers, forestry, military. Others of prestige reasons are rocked on bulky voracious cars along the city streets. Most acquires such a technique to sometimes, by the need or goodwill, move from asphalt: dacms, hunters, fishermen, travelers.
So we decided to take advantage of the last warm autumnen days and smell fishing to the Tver region. Transport crashed the most appropriate three popular, relatively affordable all-day: Chevrolet Niva, UAZ Patriot and Chinese Pickup Great Wall Deer, then be a deer. They have already competed in the snow (SM, 2006, No. 10), now there is now ahead of the route: first 400 km of asphalt, then the capping and off-road in all its manifestations and again the return path on the highway. But first collect things on the road ..
In the capacity ahead of all, of course, Patriot. Five riders are placed freely, and a huge trunk is ready to take a lot of different belongings. In the body of a deer of things you can impose more and more, but the interior is still a double from behind, you will not go far in the flange. Four is located in Niva, but will all their SKARB fit in the trunk? Now, if you go together by folding the back seat, you can take a lot.
Along the highway, the whole Trinity confidently goes a column. Maintain 100120 km / h for anyone is not a problem. Niva is the most comfortable, in all articles of a passenger car. The deer on the uneven asphalt is pretty shakes, and the UAZ worsens all the breaks on the road, demanding from the driver of the maximum concentration. Well, we are in place: dinner, build plans. Tomorrow you have to wade your way to a deaf forest river, at the same time we will estimate the possibilities of cars
The next day I had to bumble of a variety of roads and even their complete absence. Photos will be better talking about this, we will turn to the conclusions. The first and most importantly reached the place and returned back everything, even if sometimes with the help of a cable, shovels and some mother. But the impressions of the cars are very different.
UAZ Patriot justified expectations: the worse the road, the better he feels. On the asphalt, the huge chariot does not clearly listen to the steering wheel and frankly slightly slows down. On the grader and the capping, the car is pretty winds, the steering wheel strives to escape from the hands, in the cabin all creaks and cracks. But when the river becomes deeper, and the dirt is thick, on the rude soldiers of the UAZ habits cease to pay attention. Here is a patriot in his element. There are only two comments to him. The first engine asks for high revolutions, which sometimes it is sometimes necessary to take as on the Niva, with a split. And the second love of rings. Going along the row on this machine is the most difficult if there is a Patriot Krug necessarily fall into it.
To ride it every day, and even around the city, you have to be a real fan of the brand. But in the weekend, this roomy car will take a big company, a bunch of things and will get climbing in such wilderness if he had not broken there. Reliability, alas, has not yet become the strength of the new UAZ.
Chevrolet Niva pleasantly surprised. Her in advance was appointed an outsider, but the car showed a fighting character. Niva remained obedient and comfortable both on the broken grader and on the village. The suspension easily straightened with a rigid ridge and with considerable potholes. I did not save before off-road: sometimes the easy all-terrain vehicle was driving without any problems where heavy competitors were jerked and blocked. Perhaps the only thing that stopped a deep rut, where the car fell on the belly and helplessly chatted with foot-wheels. Of course, the best universal car on which you can go to work every day and on affairs, and in your free time it is selected for fishing or hunting. Does not affect the capacity, but for two or three people it is quite suitable. Like all domestic cars, alas, does not shit reliability.
Great Wall Dir amazingly combines strengths and weaknesses. Possessing a furry rigid cargo suspension, on a broken road, he literally shakes the soul from the saddles. At the same time in the cabin quietly, blows and shocks are not transmitted to the steering wheel. Controls are very easy to click, turn on and twist at least two fingers. The owner of the largest even the trunk of the body and the most close cabin. In the mud successfully competes with UAZ, but it will take large irregularities take off the wheel from the ground and it would not be prevented by the blocking of the rear differential alas, it is not. Another unpleasant feature is inclined to self-dipling. It is necessary to dose traction very carefully, a little stopped the wheels easily disappeared into the slip with all the ensuing consequences.
In general, the Chinese is a real working horse, can carry a lot of very bad road. For example, a couple of drums of diesel fuel on the numerous strings to us. The use of such a car in everyday life as they say, the matter of taste. But the Great Wall has never broke in large. Without small problems, alas, it did not cost.
Our conclusions are confirmed by observations over local automotive gears and customs. In the villages and towns the most common all-terrain vehicle UAZ: here and the ancient 469th, and loaf, and the headastricians. The patriot did not see any like, the cheapness and simplicity here appreciate the above comfort and external gloss.
In the center of the local civilization, the city of Ostashkov is riding numerous Chevrolet-Niva: this is such an understanding of a comfortable all-terrain vehicle. On this, as they say, and in the feast and to the world.
Chinese pickups did not meet, but I think it will not be a matter of this. After all, light delivery trucks from the Middle Kingdom here are already riding.
P.S. And we did not catch the fish, but the places grew not so much fish as off-road. A few days after our return, it was colded, snow went, and the participants of our little expedition took the following question: what cars to run on these, gently expressing, roads in winter?

All the opposite
The results of the autumn dirty test differ markedly from the snow obtained in the snow. Then we remind you, stormed the half-meter snowy virgin, which covered the high-speed Ring of the landfill. Now the program was more diverse: dirt, sand, storage, wetland meadow.
The main thing is not one of the experimental cars this time seriously broke. The leader in terms of overcoming obstacles was UAZ. But he really lacks a motor that would confidently pull from the lowest revolutions. This, by the way, did not allow him to get out of the leaders of the winter dough.
The Chinese Great Wall Pickup is inferior to a patriot primarily on large irregularities. Because of the short strokes of the tight cargo suspension, it turns a lot of wheel. In winter, when the asphalt was under the snow layer, this feature did not show himself, and stubborn, the treagorate of Chinese then became the winner.
Winter Outsider Chevrolet rehabilitated himself. Of course, virgin and very deep ruts are sometimes not on the teeth. This also showed winter. But the light and obedient machine can find your way: to pass a heavy section on the tops of the ridges that it is difficult to diligently, or, not having failed, access the swampy plot of fresh turne, where heavy immediately begin to dig.
 
Igor Tverdunov
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 

 

A source: Journal "Behind the wheel"