CHEVROLET NIVA test drive since 2002 SUV

Masters of dirty deeds

Special Test: Cracability
Why do you need vehicles? Not fashionable SUVs, but serious cars that are not afraid of real off -road. For those who are driving outside the asphalt, such are necessary for work. For example, oil workers, foresters, military. Others, for reasons of prestige, are rushed on bulky gluttonous cars along the city streets. The majority acquires a similar technique, so that sometimes, by need or good will, to move off the asphalt: summer residents, hunters, fishermen, travelers.
So we decided to use the last warm autumn days and wave to fishing in the Tver region. The transport was selected by the most suitable three popular, relatively affordable alternate: Chevrolet Niva, UAZ Patriot and Chinese pickup GREATET DIL, that is, deer. They have already competed in the snow (ZR, 2006, No. 10), now the route is ahead of the way: first 400 km of asphalt, then laughter and off -road in all its manifestations and again the return trip along the highway. But first collect things on the road ..
By capacity ahead of all, of course, a patriot. Five sedocks are placed freely, and a huge trunk is ready to accept a lot of different hits. You can apply more in the body of the deer of things, but the salon is still double in behind, you will not go far in tightness. Four are located in the field, but will all their belongings get into the trunk? Now, if you go together, folding the rear seat, you can take a lot.
On the highway, the whole trinity confidently goes to the column. Supporting 100120 km/h is not a problem for anyone. Niva is the most comfortable, in all respects a car. A deer on uneven asphalt shakes pretty much, and UAZ is worst of all the steering along the road, demanding the maximum concentration from the driver. Well, here we are in place: we have dinner, we make plans. Tomorrow you will make your way to a deaf forest river, at the same time and evaluate the capabilities of cars
The next day I had to drain a variety of roads and even their complete absence. This is better to tell photos about this, we will move on to the conclusions. The first and most importantly reached the place and all returned back, even if sometimes with the help of a cable, shovels and some kind of mother. But the impressions of cars are very different.
UAZ Patriot met expectations: the worse the road, the better he feels. On the asphalt, a huge chariot does not obey the steering wheel too clearly and frankly slowly inhibits. On a grader and lanes, the car is pretty shaking, the steering wheel strives to break out of the hands, everything creaks and cracks in the cabin. But when the track becomes deeper, and the dirt is thicker, you cease to pay attention to rude Soldier Soldacheron Uas habits. Here is a patriot in his element. There are only two comments on him. The first engine asks for high speeds, which is why sometimes you have to take obstacles like in the field, with a run. And the second love for the ruts. It is the most difficult to go along the crest on this car, if there is a rut of the patriot, it will necessarily fall into it.
To ride it every day, and even around the city, you must be a real fan of the brand. But on the weekend, this spacious car will accept a large company, a bunch of things and will allow you to climb into such a wilderness if only it does not break there. Reliability, alas, until it became the strength of the new UAZ.
Chevrolet Niva pleasantly surprised. She was appointed in advance with an outsider, but the car showed a fighting character. The Niva remained obedient and comfortable both on a broken grader and on the lane. The suspension easily dealt with both a hard comb and with considerable potholes. I didn’t save before the off -road: sometimes a light all -terrain vehicle passed without problems where heavy competitors were knitted and strove to smoke. Perhaps the only thing that stopped the Niva deep track, where the car laid on the belly and stood helplessly with paws. Of course, the best universal car on which you can go to work and on business every day, and get fishing or hunting in your free time. It does not affect the capacity, but for two or three people it is quite suitable. Like all domestic cars, alas, does not shine with reliability.
GREAT Wall Deer surprisingly combines the strengths and weaknesses. Possessing a dentifly hard cargo suspension, on a broken road, he literally shakes his soul from the riders. At the same time, in the cabin is quiet, blows and shocks are not transferred to the steering wheel. The controls are very easy to press, turn on and turn at least with two fingers. The holder of the largest not even trunk of the body and the most close salon. In the mud, he successfully competes with UAZ, but grazes on large irregularities are torn off the wheel from the ground and here the blocking of the rear differential, alas, would not prevent it, it is not. Another unpleasant feature is prone to self -compound. It is necessary to dose traction very carefully, the wheels slightly overdid it easily break off into a slip with all the ensuing consequences.
In general, a Chinese is a real workhorse, can transport a lot along a very bad road. For example, a couple of barrels of diesel fuel on the numerous forest -suses that we met. The use of such a machine in everyday life, as they say, is a matter of taste. But Great Wall has never broken in a large way. Without small problems, alas, it was not.
Our conclusions are confirmed by observations on local car morals and customs. In villages and towns, the most common UAZ all-terrain vehicle: here are the ancient 469th, and loaf, and tadpoles. The patriot did not see a single one, cheapness and simplicity here are appreciated above comfort and an external gloss.
In the center of local civilization, the city of Ostashkov is traveled by numerous chevrolets in full swing: this is the local understanding of a comfortable all-terrain vehicle. On this, as they say, in a feast and in the world.
Chinese pickups were not met, but I think the case will not. After all, light truck trucks from the Middle Kingdom are already riding here.
P.S. And we never caught the fish, but the places were explored not so much fish as off -road. A few days after our return, it was cold, snow went, and the participants of our small expedition were concerned about the following issue: what cars should be launched on these, gently in the winter?

The opposite is true
The results of the autumn dirty dough are markedly different from those obtained in the snow in the winter. Then we remind you, stormed a half -meter snow virgin land, which covered the high -speed ring of the landfill. Now the program was more diverse: dirt, sand, oblique, swampy meadows.
The main thing is not one of the experimental cars this time seriously broke. UAZ became the leader in terms of overcoming obstacles. But he really lacks a motor that would confidently pull from the lowest revolutions. This, by the way, did not allow him to get into the leaders of the winter dough.
The Chinese Pikup Great-Joll is inferior to the patriot primarily on major irregularities. Due to the short moves of the hard cargo suspension, it hangs the wheel a lot earlier. In winter, when the asphalt was under a layer of snow, this feature did not show itself, and the stubborn, traction Chinese then became the winner.
The Winter outsider Chevrolet Niva rehabilitated itself. Of course, virgin lands and very deep ruts are sometimes too tough for her. This was also shown by winter. But a light and obedient machine can find its own way: to go through a heavy section along the tops of the crests, which is difficult on UAZ, or, without failing, slip through the swampy area along the fresh turf, where the heavy immediately begin to dig in.
 
Igor Solidov
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 

 

Source: The magazine "Driving"