Test drive Chevrolet Evanda 2004 - 2006 sedan
The second meeting
Chevrolet Evanda appeared when a cross was put on Magnus
Deja vu. This feeling has not been leaving me recently when meeting new models that are displayed on the Russian market under the brands belonging to General Motors. Such a policy, however, dictates the market: if the change in the emblem on the false radiator grille is capable of making a profit, then this is the opportunity not to use. So Daewoo Magnus, who until recently imported to Russia only with gray dealers, received the Chevrolet cross and turned into a model Evanda. And with him I was well familiar, so there is something to compare with. Available business class
I must say right away: the changes in the car are scanty. But the market has changed, competition has worsened, including in the segment of affordable business class cars, which is Evanda. Although the most formidable rival is one - Hyundai Sonata of the Taganrog assembly, which costs a little less than $ 18,000. The price in this case is a determining factor. On the other hand, Chevrolet with a start price of $ 21,000 attracts a serious list of standard equipment.
In general, GM marketing specialists did not complicate the work of dealers and offered customers Evanda with one engine and in the only configuration - CDX, with the maximum number of options. The future owner can only think about three additional things - leather upholstery of the seats (ordering this option, he receives a bonus heating the front seats and adjusting the lumbar backup), the coloring of the body with the enamel of the metalline (plus $ 250) and the type of transmission - automatic 4 -band 5- stepped.
By good tradition, for tests, the Russian representative office GM has acquired the most expensive version of Evanda, which is offered in the dealers salons for $ 23,950. Naturally, it flaunted all three additional options. Having taken the car and adjusted it to the office, I decide to study the salon in more detail. Remembering the acquaintance with Daewoo Magnus, I begin to note small changes. Firstly, the very first Magnus were equipped with an antediluvian system for adjusting the microclimate with rotating handles. In Evanda, an electronic block with a screen and a single handle, rotating which, you set the internal temperature, and by pressing - you will learn about the weather overboard.
True, a little later, having traveled by car for several days, I noticed that the climate control is peculiar: the temperature set on the screen did not always correspond to the real one. Let's say I'm used to feeling 20 degrees in the cabin. However, in Chevrolet, with this installation, it was clearly cooler. So you should immediately set the mode for three to four degrees warmer. At the same time, I must notice that Evanda is very well prepared for winter conditions. Heating of the seats quickly creates a feeling of comfort, however, only on the pillow of the chair - the back is devoid of saving threads. The process of defrosting is united by a single key, which simultaneously activates the heating of the rear view mirrors, as well as the frontal and rear glasses. I must notice that Chevrolet is also skillfully coped with mud. Stamping on the sidewalls are calculated in such a way that they create twists and do not allow wet snow to get to the level of glasses and mirrors. What else has changed in Evanda since I am acquainted with the car? I noticed another radio. The place of the two-day apparatus took the standard size receiver, and directly under it on the front panel, a 6-disk chainer with the corresponding number of discs for disks settled on the front panel. You can manage music without taking off your hands from the steering wheel, using a multifunctional remote control.
I have the only complaint to ergonomics. The fact is that the driver's seat is located quite high, and get in it so that a person has a place above his head above his head, does not manage on the first attempt. For myself, I preferred an imposing pose with a back and a slightly raised front edge of the pillow. In all other tested versions, I either slipped off the pillow, or felt discomfort in the zone of the lower back. Yes, and the steering wheel, admitted, could be adjusted not only in height, but also by departure.
Otherwise, ergonomics is quite acceptable. The buttons and steering wheel switches are in accessible and logically justified places, the machine lever moves without noticeable efforts. By the way, about automatic transmission. Not to say that this is a modern model of engineering thought that we are used to seeing the German business class sedans, but you can’t name the box. It can be characterized in one word - calm. When accelerating from a traffic light or on the highway, she behaves very intelligently, changing the ranges in time (I remind you, there are four of them), and not annoying with jerks. But as soon as it comes to Kick Dawn, its only drawback is manifested - approximately a second confusion when changing the transmission. So the machine guns behaved in the mid-90s of the last century and some of them, as it turned out, have survived to the present day. You should notice another funny fact - the automatic transmission on Evanda leads its pedigree from Mercedes -Benz. At the time when Daewoo still stood on his feet independently, the company belonged to Ssangyong, a Korean manufacturer of SUVs, who still builds all its models based on nodes and assemblies from Stuttgart, releasing them at its own plants under a licensing agreement. So the machine on Evanda was created by European engineers who were invested in it, I am sure, a considerable margin of strength. Moderation in everything
As for the Chevrolet motor, it remained native, that is, the Daewoo brand. This is a two-liter 16-valve engine developing 131 hp, which at one time was installed on the Espero sedans very popular in Russia. How good is it to a one and a half -ton car, and even paired with a machine gun? I will answer so - good enough. Not to say that the machine shows a special agility, but you can’t call it slow. So, acceleration to 100 km/h takes 11.8 s, which can be called the average result. In terms of energy supply, Evanda is inferior to Hyundai Sonata. First of all, due to the absence of more powerful and burdened six in the gamut. True, for Daewoo Magnus there were two as many as two - in -line 2 -liter and V6 with a volume of 2.5 liters. Why these motors are not delivered to Russia for Chevrolet - I don’t know. But with the engine offered, the car seemed very harmonious. Probably, such a feeling appeared thanks to an excellent tuned chassis and a verified transfer number in the steering. The car is comfortable and does not show excessive sharpness in response to the actions of the driver. The front and back suspensions (such as MacPherson and multi -link, respectively) forcing the wheels to maintain constant contact with the road and at the same time swallow most irregularities. If you deliberately exceed the speed in the bend, then the car only tilches slightly and begins to slide out the turn with front wheels, in full accordance with its front -wheel drive layout. The discharge of gas will lead to the skidding of the stern, which will not be difficult to catch. To increase the acuteness of sensations, you can also turn off the anti -wings system with a button on the central tunnel, next to the winding slot of the machine. True, any mechanic on the service will tell you that such an action does not prolong the life of the automatic transmission, so it is better to protect the box, like yourself. Indeed, in the case when Evanda gets out of control and in a bend becomes sideways with respect to the trajectory of movement, it is not easy to catch a car. However, I doubt that a normal modern person will allow such a situation on public roads.
View from the outside
Well, and Dejavu, whom I mentioned at the very beginning of the material, turned out to be not so strong. For two years, I forgot about Daewoo Magnus, and I only met him on the road. Moreover, the most funny during the Chevrolet Evanda test. He looked at the car that overthrowed me on the left row, noted his impressive dimensions, a formidable front and stern with massive headlights, somewhat remotely reminiscent of the lights of the Mercedes S-class in the 140th body, and only after some time realized that I was traveling Exactly on the same car. It’s not to say that I was full of pride, but I did not experience inferiority to modern business class representatives from Europe and Japan. Brief technical characteristics of Chevrolet Evanda
Engine volume, cubic meter. See 1998
The number of valves per cylinder 4
Power, l. With. at about./min. 131/5400
Max. Torque, Nm/at about. min. 181/4200
Acceleration to 100 km/h, p. 9.8 (11.8*)
Maximum speed, km/h 200 (190*)
The average fuel consumption l./100 km. 6.8 (7.3*)
The volume of the fuel tank, l. 65
Car mass, kg 1422 (1435*)
Dimensions, mm. 4770x1815x1440
* Data for the version with automatic transmission
Text: Sergey Ilyinsky
Source: Newspaper "Automobile Izvestia" [No. 1-2 (70), 2005]
