A year after making its debut as a concept at the Moscow Motor Show, the 2016 Chevrolet Niva has appeared once again, this time in the official patent drawings by the Russian Federal Institute of Industrial Property. While this Russia-bound compact SUV is of little interest to us, the possibility that Chevrolet could offer it in markets outside Russia could make for an interesting turn of things in countries like India where compact SUVs are in big demand.
Designed primarily for the Russian market, the Chevrolet Niva is originally based on the Lada Niva and has been on sale in Russia for over a decade.
The Niva is manufactured by GM-AvtoVAZ – a joint venture in Russia between General Motors and AvtoVAZ set up in 2001.
Putting both the concept and patent drawings side-by-side, the production-spec model seems to have taken most of the concept’s basic design cues.
Chevrolet, however, won’t be offering heavy duty off-road bits like the spot lights, roof rack, a winch and the beefy tyres. Interestingly, the front-end seems heavily inspired from the Ford EcoSport while the rear end mimics the old Mercedes M-Class.
The production-spec Niva is expected to feature a 1.6-litre four cylinder petrol engine and a 5-speed manual gearbox. Expectedly, there will be an all-wheel drive as well.
The first-gen Chevrolet Niva looks dated, to say the least. However, it’s worth noting the fact that it’s based on the rugged and capable underpinnings of the Lada Niva.
