Reviewed by GAZ Volga Siber (2010). A short history of the car Volga Siber Volga Siber description

26.06.2020

Miscellaneous

The Volga car was produced by the Gorky Automobile Plant for a very long time, for several decades. The designers did not puzzle too much over the modernization of the car, and perhaps that is why a radical change in the model was needed for something more advanced that meets modern requirements.

The appearance and design of the Volga Cyber

So in 2006, the Gorky residents decided to continue their traditional cooperation with American car builders and decided to renew the passenger car conveyor line. The new Volga was based on the Chrysler Sebring model, which was produced from 2000 to 2006.

In 2006, all the documentation and necessary equipment for the production of a new passenger car was transferred to the car, for the first time the car was presented in Moscow at the Interauto exhibition, which was held in 2007 from August 29 to September 4. The new model was named GAZ "Siber", and there is some consonance with the "Sebring".

Volga Siber - side view

Many associate the name Siber with Siberia, but to be precise, this word is not translated from English. Siberia in English - Siberia, the creators of the car shortened the word a little.

Initially, it was planned to produce Volga Siber with three types of engines - 2.0L, 2.4L and 2.7L. The two-liter engine was supposed to be equipped with a manual transmission, and the 2.4-liter 4-cylinder internal combustion engine and the 2.7-liter “six” were going to be equipped with an automatic transmission.

But for a number of reasons, only went into mass production, Nizhny Novgorod decided to abandon other options. A lot is mentioned in the sources of information about the presence of a two-liter engine on, but in reality, such a configuration practically does not come across. Perhaps such "Volgas" served government officials and representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The interior of the cabin and the dashboard of the Volga Cyber

The new model GAZ Volga Siber could be called a Russian car with a very big stretch - there was practically nothing Russian in it. Only the bumpers, optics, radiator grille, and a slightly different interior were original. Many at that time joked and said that the most important difference between Siber and Serbing was the GAZ badge on the radiator grill of a car.

The first copies of the Volga Siber rolled off the assembly line in the summer of 2008 - the machines were ordered by order to be distributed to government agencies, to the service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and to Sberbank of Russia.

The retail sale of cars came only closer to the middle of autumn. An automatic 4-speed transmission with electronic control was installed on the machines - there were no other gearbox options at that time. Only by April 2010, the Siber began to be equipped with a manual transmission - it was a five-speed gearbox of the NV-T350 model.

Gearbox NV-T350

The plans of the car factory were not that grandiose, but in 2009 it was supposed to produce 45 thousand units of the new brand. The plans were not destined to come true, the project was clearly a failure. There were several reasons at once - the onset of the crisis, which peaked just at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, low demand for a car, relatively high cost and price.

The main differences between Volga Siber and Chrysler Sebring

It looks like a car Chrysler Sebring

Although the Gorky Automobile Plant created, as it were, a new model, it has minimal differences from the Serbing. Perhaps we should start with external differences:

Rear lights - on the Volga they are with projections down in the middle, on the Siber they are straight from the bottom;
Headlights - on the Siber they look more stylish;
Side mirrors - at GAZ Volga Siber they are larger and more convenient;
Front bumper and grille, "Volga" looks more modern;
The rear bumper on the "Siber" is more voluminous, and there are no reflectors on it.

Volga Siber has a higher ground clearance - the American suspension is too low for Russian roads. The Siber salon is more convenient - it has seats with a frame from a Ford Fusion car. On the back sofa in the middle there is an armrest and headrests for passengers are installed on the sides.

Rear passenger seats with head restraints

Serbing does not have these elements. In addition, the cabin on the Volga is more spacious, and tall passengers will be more comfortable in it than in a purely American car. There are other differences in the "Volga":

White dials on instrument cluster;
The ability to shift gears in automatic transmission using manual control;
More voluminous luggage compartment;
A stiffer suspension that behaves more confidently on Russian uneven roads.

Specifications

The Gorky Automobile Plant at one time installed a three-year guarantee on Siber, or a mileage of 100,000 km. The car turned out to be quite reliable, there were not so many warranty cases. The ground clearance is still too small for the Volga (140 mm), but for the American Chrysler it is even less - only 110 mm. There is no need to talk about off-road - Siber and Sebring cars are designed for smooth asphalt roads. The main technical characteristics of the Chrysler Volga are as follows:

Air conditioning system;
Anti-lock braking system ABS;
Anti-slip system ASR;
Hydraulic power steering;
Heated electric mirrors (folding electrically);
CD receiver with speakers;
Audio amplifier;
Central locking on all doors;
Steering column with height adjustment;
Power seat adjustment (six positions).

On all Siber trim levels, the body is galvanized and has increased resistance to corrosion. Two airbags are mounted in the instrument panel and in the steering wheel - for the driver and for the front passenger. The sun visors are equipped with tinted mirrors with protection from sun glare. The spare wheel is not a dokatka, as in the Chrysler Serbing configuration, but a full-size wheel.

Salon Volga Siber configuration Chrysler Serbing

It should be noted that this is all in the basic configuration, which is very good for a Russian-made car. In the equipment "Lux" there are additional options:

Seats upholstered in genuine leather;
Dashboard with lacquered wood inserts;
Heated driver's seat and front passenger seat;
Cast wheels and rubber radius R16 (on standard R15);
front fog lights;
increased number of seat adjustments (in ten directions).

The Volga Siber car was produced in 4 body color options:

black;
silver;
golden;
Navy blue.

The mid-size sedan Volga Siber was created on a licensed front-wheel drive platform Chrysler JR41, Chrysler Sebring and second generation Dodge Stratus. The design was developed by the English studio UltraMotive, while the goal was to make the most of the existing American developments and give the Russian version the features of classic GAZ cars. Outwardly, Volga Siber differs from American donor cars in bumpers, grille design and lighting equipment.

Adaptation to Russian conditions was carried out. The first prototypes were assembled in 2007, a test batch was released in March 2008, and the official launch of the conveyor took place in July 2008. The model was planned to be produced with 2.0 and 2.4 liter engines. There were plans to install a 2.7-liter V6. However, only 2.4-liter modifications with a four-speed automatic transmission went into mass production.

Buyers of the Volga Cyber sedan were offered Comfort and Lux trim levels. The first includes 15-inch steel rims with caps, power steering and adjustable steering column, heated electric mirrors, factory tinted windows, fabric seat upholstery. There are illuminated cosmetic mirrors, electric adjustment of the driver's seat, mechanical adjustment of the lumbar support of the driver's seat, power windows, central locking with remote control, air conditioning. The rear seat of the car is folding (60/40). The stock audio system includes an AM/FM radio, electric antenna, CD player, amplifier and six speakers. More expensive trims offered fog lamps, 16-inch alloy wheels (including a spare tire), headlights with washer, leather-trimmed steering wheel and shift knob, leather seats, and steering wheel buttons for audio control.

The basic modification of the Volga Siber was the Comfort version with a 2.4-liter (2429 cc) four-cylinder engine with a DOHC valve mechanism (143 hp, 210 Nm) and a 4-band automatic transmission. The sedan accelerated to a maximum speed of 185 km / h, and it took 13.4 seconds to accelerate from standstill to 100 km / h. Since the beginning of April 2010, a version of the Volga Siber has appeared with a 2.4-liter engine and a five-speed manual transmission NV-T350 manufactured by New Venture Gear. According to the manufacturer, this modification was created taking into account the wishes of potential buyers. To work with a manual transmission, the sedan engine was finalized - in particular, they increased the torque at low revs. Despite the fact that the 2.4-liter “four” became the main engine, sometimes you can also find the Volga Siber variant with a 2.0-liter unit of 141 hp on sale, these cars were equipped with a manual gearbox.

The Volga Cyber sedan is distinguished by fully independent wheel suspensions: MacPherson strut in front and multi-link in the rear. The car is adapted for operation in Russian conditions: the stiffness of the suspension is increased and the ground clearance is increased, handling is improved, fasteners are used only with metric, not inch, threads. When adapting the suspension, it was necessary to slightly increase the diameter of the spring bar - it became thicker by 1.5 mm, while the ground clearance increased by 20 mm and reached a value of 155 mm. Among other things, the cross section of the front stabilizer is increased, reinforced ball bearings are installed in the levers. The lower edge of the bumper has been raised. Body dimensions: length 4858 mm, width 1792 mm, height 1409 mm. Wheelbase 2743 mm. The turning radius of this front-wheel drive car is 5.6 m. The luggage compartment volume is 453 liters.

The following safety equipment is included as standard on the Volga Siber sedan. These are anti-lock braking system, traction control, driver and front passenger airbags, child seat mounts. Also, the car has a rear-view mirror with auto-dimming, headlight range control. The car showed a satisfactory result in the frontal crash test "Autoreview", conducted according to the EuroNCAP methodology in 2008.

The main advantages of the Volga Cyber sedan were called good driving performance, interesting appearance and higher reliability compared to previous models of the automobile plant. However, many potential buyers were scared away by the price and the fact that not the most famous model was chosen as a donor for the new Volzhanka. While the much more popular Mazda 6, Ford Mondeo, Hyundai Sonata, Nissan Primera, etc. were presented on the market. As a result, the demand for the car turned out to be low and the manufacturer even had to suspend the conveyor. Today, used Volga Siber look quite interesting, given the ratio between price and equipment. Consumables and the most popular spare parts are relatively affordable, which cannot be said about more specific original spare parts and expensive body hardware.

In 2000, the plant changed its owner: a controlling stake in GAZ OJSC was acquired by Oleg Deripaska's company. The new owner was not very satisfied with the current situation, so the enterprise underwent a large-scale restructuring, during which a number of projects and directions were curtailed. The main goal was to turn a loss-making automobile plant into a profitable enterprise. As in the difficult nineties, GAZ had to survive at the expense of commercial vehicles, on which the main emphasis was placed.

Of course, the Cars division in the middle of the 2000s modernized the old Volga, but it could only compete with foreign cars in linear dimensions, completely losing to them in terms of comfort, ergonomics, reliability and safety. It was obvious that a fundamentally new car was needed, which had nothing in common with the old platform.

Since GAZ already had experience in acquiring foreign companies to expand its model range (we are talking about the English company LDV Group), without further ado, they decided to do the same with cars.

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The owners of the Gorky Automobile Plant did not just buy a license to produce a foreign car - in 2006, the GAZ Group acquired the Sterling Heights Assembly, which belonged to the Daimler Chrysler concern, for $150 million. It produced various models of Dodge, Chrysler and Plymouth, including the "twin brothers" Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Stratus.

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The idea was not bad: instead of the long-obsolete Volzhanka, Nizhny Novgorod should have produced fairly modern medium-sized cars, which, in terms of class and purpose, were analogous to the Volga. It is important that the American car, despite the front-wheel drive layout, according to the general concept, was closer to GAZ than its Asian and European counterparts. After all, the Russian automobile plant itself had overseas roots - its first products were Ford A and.

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At the heart of the car with a length of over 4.8 meters was the Chrysler JR41 front-wheel drive platform. The car cannot be called old - Sebrings and Stratuses of this generation began to be produced in 2000, and the European version appeared a year later.

The external differences between Siber and overseas counterparts were minimal - different bumpers, a different grille and optics that corresponded to Russian standards. It is interesting that during the "Russification" the design of the American sedan was finalized by a third-party contractor - the British bodywork studio Ultramotive.

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It is a pity that even before that, during the American restyling of 2003, the car lost its oval air intake, into which the whalebone in the style of the very first Volga M-21 would fit perfectly. Instead, the Sebring received a trapezoidal grille reminiscent of the Audi front end.

Well, in the Russian version, Siber also lost the Chrysler “bird” on the grille, which again brings back memories of the “twenty-first”.

Technically, the Russian version, which was first called GAZ Siber, and then Volga Siber, practically did not differ from the "Americans", except that the 2.7-liter V6 engine was never put on Sibers in the Russian Federation, and even a more modest two-liter version was put into series. ended up not going either.

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Faced with reality, the plant decided that from the point of view of profitability, only two modifications would be enough, differing only in transmission - a four-speed "automatic" or a five-speed "mechanics", respectively. But Saiber relied on only one engine - a four-cylinder sixteen-valve with a working volume of 2.4 liters. He gave out quite decent 143 hp. and 210 Nm of torque - comparable to the "four hundred and sixth" engine of the Volga and not god knows what by the standards of German "charged" sedans, but quite enough for a leisurely move along the Russian "autobahns". By the way, for this purpose, the suspension of the car was slightly modified, increasing the rigidity of the elastic elements, which had a positive effect on handling.

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Even in the basic configuration, the Comfort Volga Siber was equipped much better than the previous Volga: air conditioning, two airbags, ABS, traction control, electric adjustment of the driver's seat in 6 directions, an audio system, etc.

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In the "luxury" version (it was called Lux), the package included a leather interior with wood trim, and the driver's seat could be adjusted in as many as 10 directions.

It seemed like a great option! A large, spacious and comfortable car is what the Russian consumer needs, for whom the Volga has been a symbol of prestige and belonging to the "powers of this world" since Soviet times.

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It is not surprising that the owners of GAZ had big plans: already in the first year of production they planned to produce 10,000 Sabers, in the next, 2009, they were going to make 45,000 cars, and in the future, the plant was supposed to produce about 65,000 cars of this model annually under the design plant capacity of 100,000 pcs. Dreams Dreams...

Alas, the car was destined to appear on the Russian market at a very unfortunate time - on the very eve of the financial crisis that broke out in the fall of 2008.

In March, a pilot batch was produced, in July the mass production of Sabers started, at the end of August the first deliveries to corporate employees began, and since October the car has appeared on free sale for everyone, who by the end of 2008 became very few. Due to the fall in oil prices and the country's significant external debt, just in October 2008, a large-scale financial and economic crisis began in the Russian Federation. Banks suffered huge losses and abruptly curtailed their credit programs, which immediately affected the ordinary consumer - the very one who was supposed to become the buyer of Cyber.

Plans for the release of a new model were immediately forced to be revised: in 2008 they decided to release 3,000 copies, and in 2009 - only 10,000. Alas, at a price of over 500,000 rubles, Siber was not the most interesting offer on the suddenly collapsed market. Therefore, out of 1,717 cars produced in 2008, only 428 Volga Sibers were found by their customers. In fact, it was a complete failure, and the production of new items had to be stopped already in March 2009 - by that time less than 200 copies had been produced since the beginning of the year.

However, problems with the sale of products at the enterprise began already in the fourth quarter of 2008, because of which the plant stopped its other conveyors several times, including the production of commercial vehicles, due to which the enterprise existed.

It is no wonder that due to a sharp drop in sales of finished cars, the plant has a significant debt to suppliers and creditors - about 20 billion rubles. At that moment, the plant even decided to stop the production of conventional Volga with the possibility of resuming it if the situation improves, but this did not solve financial problems. Therefore, GAZ management tried to get out of the crisis in other ways, laying off about 10,000 employees and switching to a shorter work week. In an effort to improve its own financial position, the GAZ Group even quickly got rid of its British asset - the LDV Holdings plant, which produced Maxus commercial vehicles.

The state helped out: GAZ Group received an order for the supply of over 400 Cybers to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, since the model was included in the list of domestic vehicles for centralized public procurement. Indeed, in February 2009, the Government of the Russian Federation decided to provide financial support to the GAZ Group.

True, all the same, the year for the new model was not very successful - less than three thousand Volga Siber were produced and sold. But Siber was lucky - as part of state support, he was also included in the list of cars that could be purchased under the state recycling program, which thus saved 50,000 rubles.

The following year, 2010, the economic situation began to improve slightly, and the Russian car market began to rise a little from its knees. However, due to problems with the supply of components, production was again suspended, releasing a total of about 5,000 Cybers in 2010.

Despite the increased ground clearance compared to the original, the sedan was not very adapted to Russian roads.

To increase sales of the "stillborn" sedan to this mark helped its own program for the recycling of cars. As part of its operation, the plant provided an additional discount of 70,000 rubles, which, in combination with the state recycling program, allowed the buyer to save up to 120,000 "wooden" ones. At the same time, neither the year of manufacture of the car nor the period of ownership mattered, and both individuals and legal entities from any region of Russia could hand over the old car when buying Siber. In a word, the plant went to great lengths to "cheer up" sales of the new model.

It did not help: Volga Siber remained a loss-making car for the company, the production of which was decided to be discontinued in October 2010. Thus, the model lasted exactly two years on the assembly line, never surviving the consequences of the crisis. In total, less than 9,000 cars were produced, and not all of them were sold. The cars that did not find their owners worked as a taxi "Kuban-express" at the airports of the Krasnodar Territory. The Bazel company that launched this project, as you might guess, belongs to the same Oleg Deripaska.

The practical operation of the Cybers revealed a lack of clearance and poor geometric cross-country ability. But it wasn’t this that ruined the American-Russian car at all - Cyber just fell victim to the crisis, becoming one of the biggest “epic fails” of the Russian auto industry. An interesting fact: a decade earlier, at an equally unfortunate time for itself, another Russian car plant, Doninvest, opened. Its launch immediately after the default that broke out in 1998 can be called a false start with full confidence. Alas, Siber turned out to be the same loser, becoming the last passenger car of the Gorky Automobile Plant.

Interestingly, in pre-crisis times, an American car “shared” its “heart” with the true Volga: since the summer of 2006, the same 2.4-liter Chrysler engine made in Mexico was installed on the GAZ-31105.

This required certain layout changes to be made to the design of the car, and the transmission was also finalized. In the "golden" year for the Russian automotive market in 2007, more than half of the classic Volgas were equipped with Mexican-made engines - not least because GAZ and ZMZ could not always find a common language regarding the cost of Russian engines.

However, the crisis not only hurt the “novice foreign tourist” Siber, but also retired ordinary “barges”, which by the end of the 2000s had ceased to be in demand even among Russian motorists loyal to this model and brand. And the owners of the enterprise, it seems, at that moment were tired of suffering losses from the production of cars, as a result of which it was discontinued. Since then, the GAZ Group has completely concentrated on the production of commercial vehicles and trucks - as the experience of two decades of free floating in a market economy after the collapse of the USSR showed, from a business point of view, they turned out to be much more successful and profitable. We can only guess how unprofitable the Russian-American sedan turned out to be if its production was abandoned in the relatively prosperous 2010.

However, at the end of 2012, the Gorky Automobile Plant continued to produce cars! True, this has nothing to do with the Volga: at the enterprise, by order of Volkswagen Group Rus, the production of Skoda and Volkswagen cars, as well as Chevrolet Aveo sedans and hatchbacks, was launched in a small-scale way.

Do you regret that Siber appeared at such an inopportune moment?

The Volga Siber is, in a certain sense, the antipode (if you do not take into account that it is also a front-wheel drive sedan): the car was put on the assembly line in Nizhny Novgorod a little earlier, in 2008, right before the crisis, it was assembled using the SKD method from American car kits (according to the project, the final localization was no more than 50%), and the foreign nameplate Chrysler Sebring (or Dodge Stratus) in its Russian version changed to Volga Siber ... Note that the Russian public liked the car and still likes it. But it's certainly not without flaws...

Hate #5: The battery in the bumper

By design, the car is very balanced, it is "American" in the best sense of the word. Its first incarnation, the Chrysler Sebring, has been produced in the States since 2001, and by the time the assembly was introduced on the assembly line in Nizhny, the JR41 platform had been worked out to the smallest detail. However, Russian exploitation revealed a nuance in the layout of the engine compartment. The battery in Siber is located on the left side of the front bumper, and, as the rumor says, if he sat down, then in order to remove it and take it to the heat for charging, you need to jack up the car, remove the wheel and fender liner, then unscrew the two terminal nuts and a couple more nuts securing the battery itself. However, under the hood, Siber, like the American progenitor, has remote terminals that are useful for de-energizing the car or for lighting up. Moreover, in fact, it is not necessary to remove the wheel to remove the battery: all manipulations are detailed in the repair manual and are performed simply with the wheels turned all the way to the left.

Love #5: A Good Resource

This reason to love Siber slightly softens the reason to hate him, described above. The batteries in Siber were good, they take care of 5-6 years and even more with gentle operating conditions without any problems. The same goes for the main units: a 4-cylinder 2.4-liter gasoline engine with 143 hp, which remained the only one for Siber (both 2-liter versions and a 2.7-liter V6 were planned) and a couple of boxes - A 4-speed automatic transmission and a 5-speed "mechanics" that went in 2010 do not cause any problems for the owners for many, many years. In addition, they are quite simple to maintain - for this, no super skills are required from the locksmith, except for basic knowledge and properly growing hands. And the body metal (cold-rolled galvanized steel was supplied from Detroit and painted in Nizhny) is quite durable and resists corrosion well.

Hate #4: High fuel consumption in the city

This is often said by those who at one time moved to Siber from a smaller car - and definitely not from an “American”. Objectively, Saber's consumption is at the level of the progenitor of Sebring, who does not differ in particularly increased appetite against the background of his fellow class and origin. Nevertheless, Saiber's appetite can really surprise the Russian consumer: cars with an "automatic" in the city burn 12-14 l / 100 km. Cars with "mechanics" are more economical, but not by much.

Love #4: good design

Outwardly, Siber is distinguished from the purebred "American" by slightly different bumpers, mirrors and a radiator grille. The changes are purely cosmetic, designed to bring the car closer to the look of classic GAZ passenger cars. But in fact, the appearance remained American - and, we admit, very successful. A wide body with a squat three-volume profile, squinted lighting technology, a solid interior with familiar nameplates ... Needless to say, in terms of appearance, Siber was quite drawn to the status of the "new Volga". And the buyers of these machines were quite in agreement with this.

Hate #3: Difficulty in replacing some nodes

With the general ease of maintenance of Siber (excluding the battery described above, of course), dissatisfied replicas for the repair and replacement of some elements still take place. Firstly, there are questions about the chassis - it is not always enough for our "roads", and the shock absorber struts sometimes die ahead of schedule. Although much (if not all!) Here depends on the accuracy of the owner. But the wheel bearings, which are also a weak point of the chassis, all 100% of the owners are forced to change as an assembly with the hub - this is one of the rather costly design features.

Love # 3: space in the cabin

The owners of Sibers note these moments among the most important advantages - the interior of this sedan is really outstanding - in terms of ease of fit, spaciousness in the head, shoulders and legs, this is a clear representative of the D segment. But the trunk is inferior to most modern "B-classers" - it has a volume at 453 liters, but objectively speaking, most often the owners of large sedans have enough for their eyes.

Hate #2: Lack of momentum

The “resource” Chrysler engine, especially in combination with a 4-speed automatic transmission, has its own “reverse side of the coin”: Cyber does not like traffic light races. Acceleration according to the “passport” on a car with an “automatic” takes 13.4 seconds, with a “mechanics” - two seconds less (which is approximately true), and you must admit that this is not at all fast. On the other hand, there are very few people who would buy this car for the sake of dynamics. In this sense, they are fully consistent with the target group that once bought the classic Volga. But on the next occasion for love, Sebring clearly surpassed its predecessors.

Love #2: Accessibility

By now, GAZ dealers have actually completely abandoned the service of Cybers, and even when this car was on the conveyor, not the entire network of the Gorky Automobile Plant was engaged in its service. However, the owners have no problems with maintenance: the vast majority are serviced in multi-brand services according to the Chrysler regulations, and the rest do not disdain self-service in the garage, which is due to the relative simplicity of the design. Spare parts, contrary to the stereotype, are mostly inexpensive - for example, bumpers, lighting equipment, shock absorber struts are only slightly more expensive than spare parts for Lada. And the car itself is completely uninteresting to both hijackers and even petty thieves - well, to whom will you sell a used mirror from Siber? The car is inexpensive in the secondary market - a good copy will cost you about 400,000 rubles. This is for a big, reliable, cute, and even a limited edition car with an interesting name.

Hate #1: low ground clearance

Along with a slightly modified appearance, the Russian Cyber also received a suspension modified in relation to the American Sebring. But the whole modification came down to increasing the stiffness of the springs, but the ground clearance remained what it was. In fact, it is not large - these 140 millimeters may not be enough to overcome some of the Russian road collisions, and the curbs on the streets of our cities are sometimes “installed” so that the door on a low car can not be opened. The situation is exacerbated by a rather large front overhang. Owners get out of the situation in different ways: someone buys a “whale” and lifts the car, while someone comes to terms with the idea that he has an “American” and learns to drive more carefully.

Love #1: high comfort

This is also a Volga classic and at the same time - the biggest pride of the owners. In reality, for little money (especially considering the state program and GAZ’s own discount) in the early 2010s, you could buy a large sedan with a comfortable interior, a warm stove, efficient air conditioning, two airbags, power driver’s seat, “music” for 6 speakers, four electric windows, heated and folding mirrors… At the same time, the car has an energy-intensive suspension, a long base and a low landing, which allows it to feel great on the track.

By and large, there are no obvious reasons to hate this car. This is a car that feels great in the Russian open spaces, despite the low ground clearance and atypically located battery. But, as we know, the crisis hit shortly after the launch of this model, and the original ambitious plans for the production of 50,000 Sabers a year had to be adjusted several times. As a result, from 2008 to 2010, only a little less than 9,000 cars were produced. Bo Andersson, at that time the president of the GAZ Group, stopped the production of Cybers on October 31, 2010, deciding that the ambitious plans of the former management to revive the Volga brand were not worth trying to fight for the profitability of assembling cars from American car kits in the midst of a crisis. Now, seven years later, GAZ is doing well, developing its truck line by leaps and bounds. And yet the last "Volga" is a little sorry ...

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The Volga Cyber is a domestic mid-size sedan produced from 2008 to 2010. It was presented by the Russian company GAZ Group at the Interauto-2007 exhibition in Moscow on August 29, 2007. Although, during the demonstration, the model was called GAZ Siber, later it was renamed Volga Siber. The entire range of GAZ.

History of creation

During the nineties, the design staff of the automobile plant in the city of Gorky was already working on a brand new Volga - a car that would replace an already obsolete car that had its own pedigree from the one designed in the mid-1960s.

No matter how sorry, neither the "nomenclature" nor the Volga cars designed already during the post-Soviet period (3103, 3104 and 3111) could become models that would be mass-produced.

Even the fact that several hundred models were released did not save the situation, and multiple restylings, along with upgrades for the already old Volga, could not make it modern. Even the presence of a sixteen-valve power unit did not affect the situation.

The barge's pivotless suspension remained an archaism of its time, since the appearance and ergonomic component, regardless of the model, corresponded to the fashion of the twentieth century. In fact, a new age has already begun.

After the owner was changed at the plant in 2000, or rather, the controlling stake in OAO GAZ was owned by Oleg Deripaska's company, small innovations began. The owner was not happy with the current situation, which is why GAZ carried out a large-scale restructuring, during which they curtailed a whole list of projects and areas.

The main goal pursued by Oleg Deripaska's company was to turn a loss-making enterprise into a profitable production. The situation was a little repeated, the Gorky Automobile Plant must survive with the help of commercial vehicles, on which the main emphasis was placed.

More factory difficulties

It is clear that the division "Cars" in the mid-2000s managed to improve the old Volga, however, it was competitive with respect to foreign ones only in terms of linear dimensions.

The Russian vehicle was losing ground in terms of comfort, ergonomics, reliability and safety. Everyone understood that a radically new machine was required, which did not have common nodes with the previous base.

Since GAZ already had experience in buying foreign companies in order to develop its own model range (the British company LDV Group), the company decided not to rack its brains and act in the same way with passenger models.

Therefore, the owners of GAZ decided not only to acquire a license for the production of a foreign car, but even to buy the Sterling Heights Assembly assembly plant for $150,000,000, which belonged to the Daimler Chrysler concern.

This plant produced various cars, such as, and, and our Volga also had "twin brothers" Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Stratus. The idea cannot be called bad, since instead of the already morally backward Volga, the Nizhny Novgorod plant planned to produce fairly modern medium-sized cars, which, according to classification and intended purpose, acted as an analogue of the Volga.

It is also very important that the American car, if you do not pay attention to the layout with front-wheel drive, in the general concept was closer to the Gorky Automobile Plant than similar cars from Asia or Europe.

car base

Do not forget that the Russian company had overseas roots - the debut products were Ford A and AA cars. For the basis of the car, the length of which exceeded 4.8 meters, they decided to take the Chrysler JR41 front-wheel drive platform.

The model can hardly be called old, because Sebring and Stratus of this generation were launched on the conveyor in 2000, and the version for Europe was shown a year later.

For the Russian version, they decided to make an increased ground clearance, because the quality of the roads here, however, as always, is at a low level. What else was required? Everyone was sure that this is the ideal vehicle. And the company itself also set its own goals.

In the first year of production, they planned to produce about 10,000 sedans, and in 2009 - already 45,000. In the future, they planned to produce a good amount at the plant - 65,000 units. But the design capacity of the enterprise itself was as much as 100,000 copies!

Further life of the sedan

Sadly, but the car entered the Russian market at the very moment when the financial crisis broke out in 2008. March was marked by the release of a pilot batch, and in the summer they began to mass-produce Cybers.

August allowed the long-awaited deliveries of cars to begin, and a couple of months later, in October, anyone who wanted (more precisely, who had money) could freely purchase a sedan.

Following the fall in the cost of oil and the fact that the country had a large external debt, in 2008 the financial and economic crisis broke out in the Russian Federation. Banks began to suffer heavy losses and very quickly removed their own loan programs.

But this could not but affect ordinary consumers, who were potential buyers of Siber. The plan for the production of sedans was immediately revised, and in 2008 it was decided to create 3,000 cars, and only 10,000 the following year.
It's a pity, but with a serious price tag, more than 500 thousand rubles, the Volga was not the most interesting offer in the rapidly collapsing market. Based on this, in 2008, out of 1,717 cars produced by the Gorky Automobile Plant, only 428 units were purchased by buyers.

Photo of the car Volga Siber

In fact, it was an absolute collapse, therefore, the management was forced to complete production in the spring (March) of 2009. This year allowed to release only 200 sedans.

Although, in principle, the company had difficulties with the sale of cars already in the 4th quarter of 2008, after which the company stopped several times, which even affected the rest of the conveyors, which included commercial vehicles.

And the latter, just, was the main bread of the whole plant. It is easy to guess that due to the sharp drop in the sale of brand new cars, the plant began to owe about 20 billion rubles to its suppliers and creditors.

Attempts to help with implementation

At this stage, the plant even adopted a decision to freeze the production of standard Volga with the possibility of defrosting them in an improved situation, but this could not solve financial difficulties.

The company had no choice but to try to get out of the critical situation in another way - to cut about 10 thousand employees and switch to a shorter working week.

To increase the material component, the company was even able to quickly get rid of its own English asset - the LDV Holdings enterprise, which produced Maxus commercial vehicles.
The government came to the rescue by placing an order for the sale of more than 400 sedans to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, since the car was included in the list of Russian-made vehicles for centralized public procurement.

February 2009 allowed the Government of Russia to adopt a resolution on providing financial support to the GAZ Group. It is worth recognizing that despite this, 2009 was not a very successful year for Siber - a little less than 3,000 models were released and sold.

But the sedan was lucky - a state support program was released, which implies its inclusion in the list of cars included in the state recycling program, which allows saving about 50 thousand rubles.

The following year, 2010, the economy gradually began to recover, and the market of the Russian Federation began to gradually rise. But due to interruptions in the provision of production with components, production was again frozen, producing only 5,000 vehicles this year.

Recycling program

It was possible to raise the level of sales of an unclaimed car with the help of its own program for the recycling of cars. Its essence was to provide an additional discount - 70 thousand rubles, which, together with the state recycling program, provided the consumer with the opportunity to save up to 120 thousand rubles.

When purchasing Volga Siber, both individuals and legal entities in any region of the Russian Federation could rent out old cars. The company decided to throw all its efforts in order to "wake up" the inhabitants of a large country.

Volga Siber

But that didn't help the situation. The model continued to be unprofitable for the plant, so it was decided to close its production in October 2010. It turns out that the car could only last a couple of years, and he never managed to survive the consequences of the financial crisis.

Photo of Volga Siber sedan

In total, less than 9 thousand copies were produced, but not all of them were sold. Comfortable cars worked under the Kuban-Express taxi at airports in the Krasnodar Territory. This project was launched by the company "Basel", which, just, was under the control of Oleg Deripaska.

It is worth noting that in pre-crisis times, the American car "shared" its own power unit with the "root" Volga. Starting from the summer of 2006, the GAZ-31105 came with the same 2.4-liter Chrysler engines produced in Mexico.

Exterior

It was quite difficult to distinguish Siber from overseas brothers in appearance. Yes, there were other bumpers, a different grille and optics that met Russian requirements.

However, this is probably where the differences end. Therefore, to call a car purely Russian simply will not raise a hand. Also very interesting is the fact that in the process of "Russification" the appearance of the American was finalized by a contractor from the outside - the English bodywork studio Ultramotive.

Sedan Volga Cyber

It's a shame that during the improvements by American specialists in 2003, the car had already lost its oval air intake, which perfectly fit the famous Volgovsky "whalebone" in the style of the debut 21st. Instead, a trapezoidal grille was installed on the Sebring, which was a bit like the bow of a German Audi.

The front of the Cyber had the famous "whalebone" in the mouth of the air intake, which was still on the oldest 21st model.

If we talk about the Russified variation of Siber, then she still lost the Chrysler “bird” on the grille, which again evoked memories of. The rear-mounted lights had central projections downwards, while on the Siber they were straight. The front lighting of the American version looked better and more stylish.

Volga Siber rear view

The mirrors located on the sides of the GAZ car were larger, which was a more acceptable solution. The front bumper, together with the radiator grille of the Volga, was more modern, and the rear bumper of the American model was voluminous and without reflectors. You can see the resemblance in the photo.

Interior

If we talk about the interior space of GAZ Cyber, then it was comfortable for him, as seats with a frame from Ford Fusion were used. The rear sofa had an armrest in the middle part, and headrests for passengers were installed on the side. "Sebring" did not have these elements. Moreover, it was spacious inside only in the Russian version of the American, which allows even tall people to comfortably sit in the cabin.

How else did the Volga differ from the American sedan? The Russian had white dials on the dashboard, the ability to shift automatic gears in manual mode, more spacious luggage space and a stiffer suspension that behaved more confidently on bad roads. And these are the differences between the model and the American version. The salon itself, in general, was just heaven and earth in comparison with its predecessor.

The basic Comfort package had air conditioning and other features

Already the basic Comfort equipment had an air conditioner, a pair of airbags, ABS, traction control, electric adjustment of the driver's seat in 6 directions, an audio system and more.

The luxury version was already equipped with a leather interior with wood trim, and the driver's seat was regulated in as many as 10 directions.

The driver was presented with a comfortable and lightweight steering wheel, behind which there was a switch for turning, lighting and a wiper control. The entire front panel was very ergonomic and stylish. There was a feeling that you really were driving a foreign car (although it was so).

Volga Cyber dashboard

A pair of white massive round sensors stood out on the dashboard, where the left one was responsible for the number of revolutions of the power unit, and the right one for the speed limit. In the left corner there was a fuel level sensor, and in the right corner the engine temperature was displayed. There were also small information displays in the large circles, which showed information about the included speed, handbrake, and so on.

Salon features

The salon received a convenient and ergonomic arrangement of the climate system deflectors. On the center console were controls for the climate system itself, the music system and other options. To the right, on the panel itself, one could find a small glove box for storing the necessary small things.

It will be extremely difficult for a simple person to find many differences in the interior of Siber and Sebring, because they look different only in different trim levels. In addition, there are "gas" emblems, including those on the steering wheel.

On the left driver's door are the power window controls and other adjustments. The seats received good lateral support and head restraints. They are very comfortable to sit on, even the basic equipment has many electrical settings for the driver's seat.

Seat belts, of course, no one forgot. There is enough free space above the head. Between the driver and the passenger sitting next to him there is an opening armrest, in which you can also store the necessary things.

Volga Cyber photo rear sofa

The rear row of seats can accommodate up to three adult passengers, with enough knee and headroom. There are also head restraints and seat belts. If two people are sitting, then a comfortable armrest can be pulled out of the back.

On the transmission tunnel there was a place for two cup holders. The luggage compartment has never been flawed on the Volga, and Siber is no exception. The trunk turned out to be roomy and comfortable, with 453 liters of usable space.

Specifications

power unit

The specialists decided that only a couple of modifications would be enough, which differ only in the transmission. As a power unit, the presence of a four-cylinder sixteen-valve engine was provided, the working volume of which was 2.4 liters.

Volga Siber engine photo

The motor allowed to reach 143 horsepower. This could not be called the limit, and he could not argue with the German "charged" sedans, but for a quiet ride on the Russian road it was quite enough.

It is also important that the engine was not carburetor, but already injection. The car gained the first hundred in 11.5 seconds, and its maximum speed was 200 km / h. Fuel consumption was not critical, but it was also impossible to call it minimal.

Transmission

It was either a four-speed automatic transmission or a five-speed manual.

Suspension

For improved movement on Russian roads, experts made tuning the suspension of the sedan, increasing the rigidity of the elastic elements, which could have a good effect on handling. The rear suspension turned out to be independent, however, like the front. Springs are installed along with hydraulic shock absorbers.

Steering

It had a hydraulic booster, which made it possible to drive a rather big sedan without any difficulties.

Brake system

Already in the basic configuration, Volga Siber had an ABS system and was supplied with disc brakes on all wheels. Moreover, the front ones were also ventilated.

Specifications

Modifications	engine's type	Engine capacity	Power	Transmission	Acceleration to 100 km / h, s.	Max speed km/h
GAZ Cyber 2.0 MT	Petrol	1996 cm³	141 HP	Mechanics 5 tbsp.	11.5	200
GAZ Cyber 2.4 MT	Petrol	2429 cm³	143 HP	Mechanics 4 tbsp.	11.4	190
GAZ Cyber 2.4 AT	Petrol	2429 cm³	143 HP	Automatic 4 tbsp.	13.4	185

Crash test Volga

Price and configuration

You can buy a solid sedan of "Russian-American" production at a price of 200,000 rubles. The higher the cost of the car, the newer it is, in the best content, which is important, because new sedans are no longer being produced. Also, the price tag may depend on the level of equipment.

Auto Volga Siber front view

The standard “Comfort” package provides for the presence of an air conditioning system, an anti-lock braking system ABS, an anti-slip system ASR, a hydraulic power steering, electric mirrors with a heating function (they can be folded using an electric drive), a CD receiver with speakers, an audio amplifier, a central lock on all doors, a steering column with height adjustment and an electric drive for adjusting the seats in six positions.

All configurations of Siber received a galvanized body, which has increased resistance to corrosion.

The dashboard, along with the steering wheel, has a pair of airbags - for the driver and the passenger sitting next to him. Sun visors received tinted mirrors with anti-reflective coating. There is also a full-size spare tire. It is easy to see that even the standard equipment has received a solid “stuffing”.

Photo Volga Siber

The "Lux" package already has genuine leather seats, a dashboard with lacquered wood inserts, a heating function for the driver's seat and the passenger sitting next to it, alloy wheels and R16 rubber (standard equipment has 15-inch), front foglights and increased number of seat settings (10 directions). The sedan could be painted in 4 colors - the car could be black, silver, gold and dark blue.