GAZ Volga Siber

Volga Siber at a glance: a Sebring with a Volga badge

The Siber was GAZ's attempt to replace the ageing rear-wheel-drive Volga saloons with a modern car in a single step. Instead of developing a new model, the company bought a complete, proven design from Chrysler and adapted it. The result looks familiar to anyone who knows the American saloon, with a new nose, larger mirrors and a higher ride height. It sits in the long line of GAZ passenger cars that began with the GAZ-21 and is covered in the history of GAZ.

From Chrysler tooling to a GAZ saloon

GAZ acquired the tooling and intellectual property rights for the second-generation Sebring in early 2006, after Chrysler moved its own production to a new generation. The assembly equipment was dismantled at the Chrysler plant near Detroit and shipped to the GAZ works. Engineers from the supplier Magna International helped to rebuild the line and train the workforce. The engines and much of the electronics came from Chrysler's plant in Mexico, and early cars used mostly imported parts; GAZ planned to raise the local share to about half.

The British design consultancy UltraMotive reworked the front end. The Siber gained its own grille, headlamps and bumpers, while the body shell, doors and glass stayed as they were on the Sebring. Under the skin, GAZ fitted stiffer suspension and raised the ground clearance for rough roads. The car was first shown in August 2007 under the name GAZ Siber and was renamed Volga Siber before sales began, which tied it to the brand GAZ had used since 1956.

The GAZ-31105, the last version of the classic Volga, had already been fitted with Chrysler's 2.4-litre engine from 2006. The Siber went further and took the whole Chrysler car, including front-wheel drive and fully independent suspension, which the older Volga saloons never had.

A short production run, 2008–2010

The timing could hardly have been worse. A pilot batch left the line on 28 March 2008, steady series production started in July, and the first fleet deliveries followed at the end of August. Within weeks the global financial crisis cut demand and car loans dried up. GAZ had planned about 20,000 cars in the first year, against a plant capacity of 100,000 a year, but only a fraction of that was built.

GAZ tried to keep the car alive with discounts and a scrappage-bonus scheme, and the classic Volga saloon ended in the same year. By late 2010 the company had stopped Siber production, and its passenger-car capacity was later used for contract assembly of Volkswagen Group models. The Siber was the last car sold under the Volga name.

Engines, gearboxes and performance

Both engines are Chrysler's DOHC, 16-valve inline-fours with multi-point fuel injection. The 2.4-litre was the main engine and the only one offered in the Lux trim; the 2.0-litre was listed for the Comfort version. The manual gearbox has five speeds. The automatic is Chrysler's four-speed 41TE, with a manual-shift mode.

The 2.4-litre gives the Siber adequate, rather than quick, performance: the 0–100 km/h time of about 11.5 seconds with the manual matches what the old 1cars text recorded. Listed combined fuel consumption for the 2.4 is roughly 9 to 10.5 l/100 km, depending on gearbox. The brakes are discs on all four wheels, ventilated at the front, with ABS as standard. The rack-and-pinion steering has hydraulic power assistance.

Size, cabin and boot

At roughly 4.85 metres long, the Siber is a full mid-size saloon. Published figures differ slightly between sources because the GAZ bumpers changed the length of the original Sebring: the wheelbase is about 2,740–2,770 mm and the width about 1,790–1,810 mm. The boot holds 453 litres, a large figure for the class, as the biggest-boot saloons ranking shows. To set the Siber's footprint against a modern car, use the size comparison tool.

The cabin is Chrysler's design, with GAZ badges on the steering wheel. The old 1cars text notes white instrument dials, a rear armrest and space for three adults in the back. The driver's seat has electric adjustment even in the base trim. According to the same source, the body panels were galvanised, which gave better rust protection than on the older Volgas.

Comfort and Lux equipment

GAZ sold the Siber in two trim levels. Even the base version was well equipped by the standards of the brand's earlier cars.

Tyres were 205/65 R15 on the Comfort and 205/60 R16 on the Lux. The old 1cars text lists four colours: black, silver, gold and dark blue.

Safety equipment and crash testing

The Siber was never tested by Euro NCAP or the American IIHS in its GAZ form. Standard safety equipment covered two front airbags, ABS and traction control. The body structure is the same as the 2001–2006 Sebring, a design from the late 1990s, so its crash protection belongs to that era rather than to modern standards with side and curtain airbags.

Volga Siber compared with its Chrysler siblings and the GAZ-31105

The Siber is easiest to understand next to the cars it came from and the Volga it replaced.

Against the GAZ-31105 and the earlier GAZ-3111, the Siber was a big step forward in comfort, safety equipment and handling. Against the cars it was meant to compete with, such as the Ford Mondeo or Toyota Camry of the time, it was a design already seven years old. The Volga generations comparison shows how far the line had travelled since the rear-drive GAZ-24.