21. Chevrolet Niva
Back in the early 1970s, Russian Lada introduced a compact but capable SUV they called the Lada Niva. It lasted in production for decades and even managed to achieve considerable export success. However, the original Niva was rugged and slow. So in the 1990s European, American and Japanese companies engineered a wide arrange of modern SUV models. This forced Niva to lose their battle for customers.
In the mid-’90s, General Motors invested in the Russian car industry, including the Lada factory. So, in 1998, Lada produced the second generation of the Niva. But this time, they called it the Chevrolet Niva, selling it in Eastern Europe and selected export markets.
Compared to the original model, the Chevrolet Niva had a better design and it was also more technically advanced and comfortable. It comes with a 1.7-liter four-cylinder that sends power to all four wheels.