IDRIVEACLASSIC reviews: Lada Riva (VAZ 2105)
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- Опубліковано 25 лип 2024
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Lada Riva - VAZ 2105
We’ve never had a Lada on IDRIVEACLASSIC before, so this is something a bit different and exciting!
If you’re watching this from the UK you’ll know this car as the Lada Riva but if you’re abroad, you may know this as the Lada Kalinka, Lada Laika, Dennis Signet or the VAZ-2105. As the car progressed through its lifecycle, it became known as the Lada Classic.
So I guess for everyone moaning this isn’t a classic, it technically is on all accounts I suppose!
Before VAZ launched the Riva, it had launched the 2101 - which was the first car they’d ever Brought to market and like a lot of budding car manufacturers, looked to others in the market for a car they could essentially jazz up and re-badge for their appropriate target audience.
Which is where Fiat came in. The 124 had won European car of the year in 1967 and VAZ worked with Fiat under license and adapted the 124 to fit the needs of the Russian driver. The new car - the 2101 - was given upgrades including aluminium brake drums to rear, a suspension which could withstand Russian terrain, a body made of heavier steel and reinforced chassis in key stress points and a new engine designed by NAMI which sported an overhead camshaft design not used on the Fiat.
However if you’re watching in Italy and you never saw this car, it’s no surprise, because part of the agreement was that VAZ wouldn’t sell these early Ladas in Italy to protect Fiat sales.
So how does this all relate to the Lada we are testing today?
Well, on the back of the runaway success of the 2101, the Riva we are testing here today was launched and for most parts, there aren’t an enormous amount of differences.
There were a few updates including a revamp of the 1.3 engine and the old overhead camshaft design once driven by chain now being driven by toothed belt drive, but things like the aluminium alloy drum brakes, which could be a bit of a pain when warm and suddenly ineffective, stayed firmly on the car.
The only other significant update was a change In the early 90s to single point fuel injection and catalytic converter - but it wasn’t done to keep up with other manufacturers - but simply as a box ticking exercise to meet emissions legislation
Now I know you may be sat at home thinking, this is ridiculous that a car so basic was selling so well and even coming to market like this in 1980, but consider the home audience and it all makes a bit more sense.
the car at launch in 1980 was born into a world where your average Russian may have to wait over a year for a new car - so buyers were at a point where simply owning a car was a massive privilege - so buyers were a lot less choosy and spoilt for choice than other European markets.
But it wasn’t just popular in Russia and over 18 million Lada Riva sold across the world in everywhere from their home territory of Russia to the UK, to Egypt to New Zealand. In fact, it’s worth mentioning the deal with New Zealand, the cars were actually sold and distributed by the New Zealand dairy board and were weirdly swapped for deliveries of mutton and butter to the Soviet Union - a deal that went on as a late as 1990.
When it launched in the UK in 1983, you could’ve picked a 1300GL or the Riva 1200L and in the UK, the car did relatively well and by 1986 had sold 20,000 cars and by 1988, had sold 30,000.
The cars, wherever you bought them globally, were only ever available with a 4 or 5 speed manual box.
Now there are lots of different variants across the the world in terms of how these cars came to market - which really proves the versatility of the car but also leaves me in a position to tell you that I cannot simply list them all here!
So despite cheap car competition coming in from various other manufacturers across the world, the Riva continued to sell - albeit slower as the 90s progressed as more cheap car options became available. The only reason the cars stopped selling in 2007 in the UK was simply due to emissions and VAZ deciding to withdraw rather than modify the cars.
The Riva was possibly one of the world’s most loved cars and ceased production in April 2011 and the estate variant stopped being sold in Egypt in 2015.
Now that we’ve talked a little about the car, let’s meet the owner Steve.
PS. I know the numberplates shouldn’t be black and white - but it’s not my car to mess around with - so they were present for video and filming. - Авто та транспорт
Finally, a British person that doesn't bash soviet cars
With regards to the lack of power steering and the heaviness, the car originally had a larger diameter steering wheel so it would have been easier to maneuver given the greater leverage.
True but imagine that you don't have to have a gym subscription. You end up with arms like Popeye.
It's got wide alloys and tyres as well which it was never meant to have.
@@Pfirtzer Not so much on a Lada, but you sure will from driving a GAZ 53.
Yep .............
steering was lighter as the car gathered speed. i had one for 5 years
happier times
They were mocked relentlessly when I was a kid along with Skoda. But their design has stood the test of time and they are now good looking cars.
That one in particular looks amazing.
That’s because they where and still are utter junk.
The Skoda on the other hand wasn’t.
340bärgarN Estelle for me thanks
At least it’s got charm and character.
@@GadgetMart And yet they sold in their millions all over the world. Simple engineering, easy and cheap to maintain, fairly reliable. Exactly what a lot of people wanted from a car. That's more than can be said for some other cars of the era, even those from the big European manufacturers.
A Nother So did black and white TVs
That doesn’t mean anyone would actually want one.
Mark cbay well seeing that it’s only me commenting I will take that to mean me?
You have totally made that comment up, I actually said I preferred the Skoda Estelle to the crappy Lada.
I still stand by that, nowhere where U.K. cars mentioned at all.
Ladas are junk.
The Riva was very popular here in Scotland in the 1980s , and at one time had a dealership called Archers of Airdrie which was apparently the largest outside Russia for Lada .
Used to work for caruth in ninties Glasgow ex peatroad mechanics owned it was fun to work in sixties technology as I had chance to work on points condenser modern cars are so over complicated
Between you and Big Car, it's been a very Riva-filled weekend! And I literally just became the proud owner of a Skoda Favorit, so it's all about the slavic cars of the people for me right now!
Check the spring cups on the front struts for rust, I had one fail with 'interesting' results, the rear ones can rot away as well but they can be replaced as they're removable from the main strut. When I did mine fifteen years ago Turners of Erlestoke had them on the shelf at £1:80 each, inc.VAT.
@@jonathangriffin1120 Thanks for the heads up! I'll be taking it for a check - over soon so I'll ask them to take a look at those.
I've just watched old Top Gear from 1994 when we were first exporting them back home on the grey market!
honestly favorit is the ugliest škoda ever produced
Cars with no street cred in their day are in the classic charts now !
It is pretty funny how the two cars I own, a Proton Saga and Skoda Favorit, turn people's heads now and make them say "that's a lovely car" but when they were new they were not highly thought of or cherished at all.
@@Howlingd0g So true and many didnt even get a second look even if they were kept in great condition.
@RR Extra True ,but who would imagine a Yugo 45A or a Skoda Estelle being a classisc car !
These cars weren't 'bad' - they were just not as good as other new cars at the time due to their ageing design. 30 years on you're not necessarily comparing against a car of the same vintage - you're judging a car on its own merits.
Buried under junk in Mister HuvNut's garage is a knackered white Yugo that needs to finally be mended, detailed, driven and enjoyed, quick. Old Communist cars are now quite expensive when mint, as this Lada is.
That’s not where the horn was when new, it was middle of the wheel (my dad had 3 of these). Aftermarket wheel obviously doesn’t have a horn.
Whenever I see one of these I just keep thinking about Maureen from driving school 😂 great video.
I thought the same thing!
I get that too now you mention it! 👍
Brilliant remember the scene she cut the guy up and says i was almost out there or something like that
I thought of that too, and she became quite a celebrity in Cardiff where in the 1980s most taxis were either Ladas or PolskiFiat 125p.
Padi Phillips grangetown had to be on their guard when she was about
"Positive action" is a wonderful euphemism for "you need to shove it". :-) Ladas were even sold in Canada in the '80s and '90s, but not the U.S.
and how unfortunate that they werent
I had several Lada Riva's in the 70s. I loved them. I had both the cars and estates. I don't think I ever had a problem with any of them. It's a pity they were stopped coming into this country. I would love another estate, a big handy car.
Thank you for this video it is very intersting. I rememebr these from the 80's. They were popular with private buyers and people who bought them liked them. They were solid compared to some of the lighweight cars of the 80's. I did not own one however I drove one, an estare, and liked it. I recall them being used as minicabs in the 80's. They were common on the roads until the early 90's. One reason for them dissapearing from British roads was the re iposting of them to Russia for parts. Ship loads went back to Russia and by the mid 90's they were rare. They were never fashionable, people in the know liked them. The cold war split opinion on Lada's some people saw ownership as disloyal. However Lada's, FSO's, Zastava/Yugo's and Slodas were poplular with families. I owned a Yugo 311 in the 80's another ex Fiat, the 128.
Just found this channel love it . And a knowledgeable lady on cars is refreshing .
I've always had a serious soft spot for these cars.
Had two of these back in the day and they do what they say on the tin rough rugged and reliable.
Great Video Steph thank you.
I had the 1300E in the same colour.The only thing I changed was the carb to twin choke webbers.Mine was a year old when I bought it for 2k run it for four years out a load of motorway miles on it and sold it for a grand, my wife when I met her laughed at the car but after 4 years she cried when I had to get rid of it due to illness.kids loved it too .Great car no regrets in having one. Great video.
Steph, great review as always. I remember when these were mocked. But, this is a beautiful example and they are good cars. It’s just they were old technology back in the 80’s and 90’s. Doesn’t make them bad. Great background and well researched as always .if they made Top Gear like that did 30+ years ago, when they had normal cars people drove. You would be an ideal presenter. Keep up the good work.
Those wheels are amazing and the car is spotless great example.
Great car and as usual a very thorough and well presented review.
I was given a Lada Riva 1500 in the early eighties at the beginning of one of those snowy winters. I was just going to sell it on but I had a Rover 3500S at the time so I used the Lada all through the winter it never let me down, was great in the snow and I seem to remember you could almost cook toast on the heater it was so good. I sold it in the spring for £350. A great no frills car.
The paintwork is stunning on it! Do like the boxy, classic styling. Really has hints of Volvo 240 and look how collectible they are! Great video Steph
That’s so cool, another Lada video! I’m from Brazil and I’ve got one, it is now under restoration! Thanks for the video, I love your channel, you’re a super good time person!!
What is Lada doing in Brazil ?!
@@drivetothegrave8395 sailing in Soviet AutoExport company
I am from Ukraine, and I have a Lada 2107, and I love my car )
Таврия лучше
Ahh lada I remember driving one , the steering was like turning a tank 😉 , thx for the video 🚗👍😊
I like this. The modifications (apart from the steering wheel) are great. Funny how we look back on things if the past completely differently to how these were generally viewed when new... !
Nice! Glad you got a chance to review and drive a Lada. It's been ages since I've seen one on the road here in Canada. Makes me nostalgic for my old Niva. I hope you get a chance to review a Niva and Samara one day too.
Such a lovely review of a rare car on the UK roads. Keep it up.
Really good video Steph, really enjoyed it. Nice to see some Lada content - I've heard a lot of the jokes, but am young enough to not know these when they were everywhere so found this really enlightening. Hope you're keeping well with everything going on in the world also - Luke
I worked in a Lada dealership (alongside Proton) for a number of years... and I owned several Riva's- including the older style lada's... I loved them all....
Suspension was comfortable, mechanicals were tough, heaters were brilliant (before the internal heater valve leaked lol) and I loved the agricultural but robust driving experience. The interiors were hilariously primitive- but charming at the same time- and at least everything usually worked ! I could also go out with it on a Sat' night and make a few quid- as everyone thought I was a taxi lol !!
Nice example. Great color. A good set of wheels sure can transform a car. Nice rorty exhaust note too. I’d drive it. Thanks for the video, Steph.
Fascinating, Steph! Thanks for another good one. Lada never really happened here in the US, what with the Cold War and so forth, so any look at them is very welcome. I’d love to spend some time with one.
Great video Steph no nonsense transport does what it says on the tin the Lada Riva now a rare sight in the UK
The smaller aftermarket steering wheel will make the steering feel heavier, imagine one of these with a Rover V8 and standard looking exterior? that would be a scream.
Precisely.
I had a Lada Riva with a tuned Lancia 2.0 litre Twin Cam matched with twin 40 Webers under the bonnet. It also had a 5 speed gearbox from a Fiat Supermirafiori fitted. It did 0 - 60 mph in 8 seconds.
Cracking review Steph, now away for a hunt for a lada
They may have been quite cheaply built but they were built out of tough stuff. Especially the bumpers!
My parents had three in a row when I was growing up, one of which wrote off a police Escort mk3 when it decided to drive straight into my dad. So rare now but so distinctive.
Did you have to get out of the car a quarter mile before the school gates, so your mated didn't see you in it?
@@replevideo6096 at the time I think kids were too young to really pick up on it. I think I was 6 when we traded the last one for a Volvo. I do remember two guys in my class whose parents still had them getting stick in later years though. Shame, I bet they'd be classed as cool now for having an alternative classic, especially if it looked like this one
@@alansimpson835 I was thinking teens really. When my eldest started work in the mid 80s, I used to give her a lift home on my Lambretta which she deemed to be beneath her dignity. I had to take an indirect route to avoid riding past the place where her mates hung out so they didn't see her on it. Daft thing is that some of them thought I was a cool dad for riding a scooter. One of her ex boyfriends later kept his Lambretta in my garage so that his dad didn't find out he had one.
That was fun. Thanks Steph.
I really enjoyed this video on the Lada Riva, I had one back in the 1980s and it was a good car, it was the 1.3 and I didn't find the steering too heavy, I liked the fact that I was sitting up higher than you did in a lot of cars back then and it never let me down, I had 2 Lada Samaras after that, they were good too and had a bit more equipment, thanks for doing this video.
Steph I opened my insta this morning and you were my first post. God you were far too bright for first thing on a Sunday morning. 😎😎 Loving the channel mate and we'll done on the sponsorship
There was a model before the Riva based on the Fiat 124. I used to run mine as a taxi, only broke down once in 120,000 miles. It was great in the snow, just cut through and rarely got stuck.
The Riva IS the Fiat 124! Proudly made by the motherland in a factory city called after the Italian communist leader so adversed by the owners of Fiat that they use to oppress communist workers, and in the same time they had released the rights to produce that car in USSR. And the owners, the democristiani leaders in Italy, the Italian communists and the Soviet leaders, all of them were so happy about it. Bonkers.
By the way, your story was amazing. Still today those cars are doing wonders on Russian streets, and you can have one for about 500 euros. Oh, Russia.
The VAZ 2101 was based on the Fiat 124 platform. In Russia, it received the nickname "Kopeyka". Kopeyka - the smallest change in denomination of 1.
@@drivetothegrave8395 cause Is cheap! What's greater then cheap things? Btw, I never realised that kopeika thing. Interesting, indeed. Thanks for letting me know.
@@danielemeytre4010 Car is named so because of the "1" on the coin and the "1" in the model number "2101". One and one.
I had a Safari Beige one of these. My father in law gave it to me, so I could keep my 1988 Honda Prelude.clean, while trying to sell it. I had it for a few months. Although I was a bit of a laughing stock at work, it was indeed a reliable car. With the exception of the interior door handles that used to pull out of the door every time you closed the door. My work mates nick named it "The Rugged Russian" The name stuck.
In the end I sold it to a Lithuanian guy, who drove it straight to London to put it on a boat to his home country. I guess there was a big market for them out there at the time in 1997.
Thanks so much Steph, for taking the car from stand still up through the gears. I hope you do this more in your videos, as it really give us viewers the full pov experience we used to have while driving them years ago.
😁👍❤
Wow love the headlamp wipers and the wheels. Nice colour too
Hiya Steph. Great video as always - very informative and a good all-round short story on the Lada. Not sure where you read that they ended up as Taxis over here in NZ (I've certainly never seen one), but I do recall them being sold alongside tractors and the like at the local John Deere dealership, so they appear to have stayed close to the agricultural field when they did the 'swapsies'.
Ladas did (and still do) have a following over here, although they are not as plentiful as they were about 20 years ago (but what classic car is, eh?). They were known as the Lada [insert model number here]. Being they shared their good looks with the Fiat, I always quite liked the look of them. I finally got to drive one when I was 20 - the 2104 (wagon) and it was only a year old and had done 9,000 miles, which I though was strange for 1989 as all others except American cars were in kilometres.
It was more standard than Steve's car. It was painted beige with a beige dashboard and dark brown cloth seats and carpet. I got in it and it was not what I was expecting at all. The steering was like driving a truck (including the angle of the wheel), the gearbox was a vague mystery shift and you needed to raise the clutch slowly after changing gear to make sure you had the one you wanted, it's 1500cc engine was a slug, the brakes - although they were boosted and had a good pedal - had to be trod hard on to pull the car up and rattle! My goodness did the car rattle! Dash squeaks, trim rattles, door catches, tail gate, windows, steering column, seat adjustment - damn near anything that could rattle, did in fact. My own car at the time was a 1957 Austin A55 - so 33 years old by that stage - and I was so glad to get back into it for the drive home.
I was rather disappointed with the Lada, but maybe I just happened to drive one of the dogs that occasionally slip through. I certainly think Steve's one goes, rides, sounds and looks a LOT better than the one year old beasty I drove in 1990. Then again, like BL cars of old (of which I now own three), owners have often had to step in and correct a few factory flaws, so maybe the one I drove would have come right with a few hours and much love. I do know that the Lada drivers over here love their cars to bits and it is extremely rare to find one for sale. Yes, I was put off buying one way back then, but it hasn't dulled my smile every time I see one barrelling around the streets. Keep up the good work with your channel, Steph - you're doing great and I truly enjoy hearing your perspective on the different classics out there 👍
Another excellent little film - thank you :-)
Great vid Steph. I sold these new for a time in ‘92. They were 1992’s Bargain Car of the Year. £2995 on the road. The pre delivery inspection was 5 hours long. Original steering wheels were huge which made steering easier but very vague. The reason there are so few on British roads is that they were imported back to Russia en mass during the 90’s where 2nd hand prices were higher than new prices here. They had a very loyal following and estates were often used as vans. The 1600L was the decadent version and even had a rev counter!
Terrifying on a windy motorway though.
Lada Riva has even headlamp wipers, Hubnut would approve, not many cars do have them, also the key to start the engine is on the left just like in Porsche.
Headlamp wipers is a saab first.
Cool comment.
Great video Idrive, interesting car, when I was at school back in the 80s, I saw one of these reverse into the corner of a concrete building.. side fell off the building onto the boot, guy drove away.. made me more wary of the soviets.. Best wishes From Bucharest Guided Tours, with absolutely no tours..
Hope you are well steph great channel great content ..
Loved the videos. Thought I recognised Snydale Villas 😁
The steering would have been lighter with the standard steering wheel.
Old one was like a bus steering wheel I think.
great car choice. the vibe that example has is somewhat like a retro japanese type. underrated
car. good catch Steph!
That's a lovely example and the mods really suit it. Fair play to Steve for celebrating being different.
I love the classic 3-box shape and sales figures indicate that VAZ chose well using the Fiat 124 as a template for their peoples car (although very few Soviets actually got one)
Made me giggle Steph, when you used the phrase 'cold world'. A sign of your tender years that, maybe the phrase you were looking for was 'Cold War'
Привет Стефаний))
This my car) I have 21057 also, in beautiful purple, though only 4 gears gearbox , and 3th is ruined , he always grinds into 3th haha
Mine always feels special , as he was originally sold in UK with right hand drive and RIVA name
Currently , he sits without inspection certificate(
Soon I hope to repair and get him back on the road
Hope you manage to get him up and running again, I genuinely think these VAZ cars are handsome and charming and I love seeing them!
Good luck with it, I take it you live in Russia?
I owned an estate as a cheap (£100) runaround for a few months back in the day. I loved the room, comfort, ride and classic RWD handling, but that steering via a steering box rather than rack and pinion saved on any gym membership. It is worth mentioning how heavy these were, as they were heading towards Ford Granada in terms of Kg, but were about the same size as the escort!
You need to get your hands on an old school Skoda. A car often put in the same bag as the Lada, but in reality were completely different!
Thank you for the review :-)
Another great video Steph - thank you :-) Lovely car in fabulous condition. I havn't seen one for years though - I fear the tin worm got to most of them ! Take special care X X
Most were bought up & exported back to Russia due to a lack of spares in Russia after the Soviet collapse.
@@fluffybadger9832 - yeah, I don;t think they rusted that badly for the standards of the time
IT's in Beautiful condition and love the wheels thats on it and the sports
steering wheel.. also can be tuned to a very high performance... Luv IT..
I can see why the New Zealanders did that deal. New Zealand lamb and dairy products were top quality and cheaper than European products, the EU put a 100% import tariff on them, which shut them out of the European and UK markets. That would have bankrupted a whole lot of NZ farmers. We used to always buy NZ lamb and butter because it was way better than British stuff and cheaper, until the EU jackboot stamped on it. I still remember the taste and tenderness of that lamb, far better than the tougher and tasteless British and EU stuff. In fact we didn't buy lamb much after that, when it had once been our favourite Sunday roast.
I have seen a white Lads Niva around Taunton , I love those things.
Another great video and interesting car. I think that the small after market steering wheel is the problem with the heavy steering that you were feeling. Bigger steering wheels make for easier steering.
wow thats a very very clean car :) Also Big Car's channel just released The Lada Riva Story.... So its officially Lada week lol
The platform for this car is the biggest selling platform ever
True. They were produced at so many places around the world, and even outnumbered the VW beetle if you see the 1302 and 1303 beetles with mcpherson front axle as a different platform.
The importer was in Bridlington and they all came in throughout the port of Hull. In the 1980s when I was a kid, all taxis in the city of Hull were Lada Rivas.
Cream cabs! 😀
As a Lada fan, i would love to see a photo so such a cab, is it available?
@@ShanePoison I don't have any images from those days I'm afraid.
@@retromechanicalengineer Oh well, thanks for the reply man, have a great day!
@@ShanePoison look up Hull Taxi Lada on Google images, there's one on there. Have a great day.
Hi Steph, You are right, they were marketed as a £3500 car with the FSO Polonez and Proton as price competitors.
Love the paint job on that.
There used to be a huge export market back to Russia for these through Hull for any running 2nd hand ones!
Parents had 2 lada cars, dad had a company yellow estate in late 70s and parents had a 4 door in mid 80s both fairly reliable.
I owned two of them back in the day. They was very reliable and extremely easy to work on. I now own the Trabant that was given away in the Sun newspaper. This it's also simple and always fun to drive.
Fabulous as always
That is a really smart looking motor!! Very cool indeed. I spent a few months (25yrs ago) driving a lada 1200 estate, black and yellow, inevitably called the bumble bee 🐝 mega cheap and reliable old banger!
Great video Steph!
It’s in exceptionally good condition and nice to be reminded of them. They were truly woeful many years ago when they were common place and having driven one back in the day I’m not too sure about them being reliable. Lada UK used to be in the large industrial estate at Carnaby near Bridlington East Yorkshire.
I learned to drive in one of these. Even with the original wheel the steering I found the steering heavy. My own first car was a Capri so it really took some adjustment, to say the least :) I still love ladas through, and I really wish the Niva was available in RHD and with an auto box, as it'd be great fun! Also, really happy to see another woman geeking out over weird classics - glad it's not just me! lol
In Canada we got the VAZ 2101_2107 sold as the Lada Signet, based on the Fiat 124. They were neat little cars, well put together, and very nippy to drive. I test drove one and quite enjoyed it. The problem then was getting parts! A friend wanted to test drive a Lada Niva, the 4 wheel drive unit. Perfect for their cottage driveway in winter. The dealer had needed to take parts off brand new as well as used vehicles in stock to be able to keep customer cars on the road. After Lada left Canada, the parts dried up completely, so the cars were scrapped as things broke and could not be repaired. A shame, as they were really neat to drive. Nice to see one still being loved.
I love these cars. My mother-in-law had a 2003 variant with the large chrome grille. There are also a few of them, turned into drift cars too. I love them
I've always wanted to drive one too. That looks a cracking example.
I don't know why these cars were slated so much because the fiat 124 was a cracking car.
Same as rear engined skodas,there was nothing wrong with them,they were cheap/utilitarian vehicle...yet they were the butt of all jokes
@@itsmephil2255 when me and my mate passed our test in 85, my mate bought a brand new skoda Estelle rapid 136. He lowered it, wide wheels and lots of rally spotlamps. It was way better than my 1.3s metro and it was the car we always jumped in first.
@@itsmephil2255 Simply put, all that comes from the West is great, stylish and wonderful, everything that comes from Russia and the East bloc is bad, filth, garbage you name it. The Media and governments in the West have done a lot of harm to demonise people in Russia and Eastern bloc.
Pfirtzer Eastern block cars where built to a very low budget.
If you wanted basic transport however the could have been suitable for your needs.
I do like the Estelle a lot however.
That Lada was a neat little car, one we never see here in America for rather obvious reasons. I did know a Canadian friend who had one and loved it, but had to get a Ford F-150 when his fishing business got bigger. That was also a lovely example. It is Spartan inside, but honestly, the older I get and the more crap they stuff in cars, I miss simplicity and durability in controls.
Ladas were imported into the U.S. for a little while in the early 1980s, but ever-increasing safety and emissions standards made it too expensive for the importer to continue. Darned shame, that- I thought Ladas were cool, especially the Niva.
I always thought the Skoda was better than the Lada back when they were the cheapest new car options back in the day. The jokes were rather unfair for both, but I’d say the Lada was quite a bit more agriculture than the Fiat it was based on, and the Skoda Estelle. Quite cool now that so few are on the roads (partly due to repatriation of lots in the late 90’s and early 00’s by all accounts!). The glasshouse looks enlargened by the suspension drop somehow, but the period mods are awesome! A neighbour of my Granny had a white one that had hit every branch of the dealer options tree by the time it had landed (probably with quite a thud) on UK soil! 🤣
please do a vid on the wartburgh knight xx
As a kid used to see 1000's upon 1000's of these every day, it was some sight. They'd roll in off the docks at Hull then go and be stored at the former airfield at Carnaby.
I think a few used to go missing over night cos most of the factory workers on the industrial estate had a Lada at the time, the estates were really popular, probably help to get more gear away 😂
I do remember being there in quite a large crowd the morning the first Samara's arrived, the lads were maybe picking the colour they wanted that night, thinking about it the security men were on the large side, the Sara Lea cake factory was next door 😉
Thank you! Back in 90s, my uncle's VAZ 2105 was the first car I drove :)
Сочувствую
What a fantastic looking example 😎 I love these cars, I follow a Russian youtuber Crimea Touge, he drifts a lada & it's such a cool car. My friends wife's Russian and he spends quite a bit of time there and will vouch for the fact that the Russians are a warm & friendly bunch💯 I wish I had the money and space to buy this it's absolutely pristine 😍😎
I think they're coming into their own now that the jokes have been forgotten by many. This one is so clean! Needs original (and legal) number plates imo, but otherwise gorgeous. Thanks for this review! As others have said, see Big Car's video for more of the history of these beasts.
@@tonys1636 suffix L, not prefix L. They're legal on "Historic" cars now, on a rolling 40 year thing, but I personally think they should stay on early 70s and before.
@@tonys1636 provided the car itself was made before 1980, I guess that's fine, but it's a rare circumstance.
@@tonys1636 OK, not sure what that has to do with number plate colour, but fair enough.
@Captain Dildoface Ah that is a real old gem from back in the day.
Why on Earth is it on silver-on-black plates ?
They were outlawed on all cars post '73 and only made legal again for cars that are 40+ years old.
This is neither.
*OK, just heard your comment !
Ladas were very underrated in my opinion as we had an estate version were i worked as a firms vehicle and it was punished big time but never let anyone down apart from when we were going over a building site with holding down bolts in the back that was questionable as regards carrying weight and we had the rear tyre torn off by a piece of reinforcing bar sticking out of the ground lol 🙂
The butt of many jokes, some were deserved but certainly not all. Tough, simple, cheap and easy to work on. After they stopped making them in Eastern Europe, many were bought and shipped back there as the market was still so strong. A guy I knew in Essex years ago would take his transporter to the docks in Tilbury loaded up with the things and sell them to a
Polish guy to be shipped off. He had photos of literally hundreds of 'em on the Dock side waiting to be loaded.
In the later Aug Weidersehen Pet series in 2002, part of the story was about some Russians shipping Ladas back home, but filled with drugs in the box sections. Lol.
These were such a common sight in the UK, much like the older Lada 1200/1600 and other assorted cars from the Eastern Bloc.
I hope you will test out a NIVA or even the longer wheelbase Cossack. These utility 4X4s were ingeniously built, very strong, spread the load so that they didn't sink in mud and were only let down (after years) when FIAT failed to supply distributor shafts. The two gear levers could be confusing but my Niva of 10 years service here in Ireland was a better all round 'SUV' than any Nissan, Misubishi or Toyota replacement I have had.
The turning circle on the Niva standard wheelbase was smaller than on the saloon Riva.
Having grown up with fiat 124, 131's the riva was a familiar sight to me and I quite liked them, that was before you met their build quality. Plus they depreciated like it was falling off a cliff and more modern cars from other manufacturers were just more appealing.
I knew someone who had one of those as her company car back in the early 90's. That aftermarket steering wheel looks smaller than the original one which probably makes the steering feel heavier.
Always wanted to try one of those to see what they are like
In NZ, these Lada never actually became Taxi. They were all sold privately in the end. A good number of them still survive
I had a Riva 1.2 with 30,099 miles on the clock.
I paid 600 quid for it. It broke down 200 yards from the garage where I bought it .
Remedied by installing a larger fuse to stop it going bang again. I never had mechanical problems with it but the window on the driver’s side was propped up by a piece of wood as the glass became unstuck from its metal winder .
Interestingly they are popular in Cuba where the roads are not in great condition. They are easy to work on.
You're spot on about the steering Steph, I'm a decent size bloke and even I found the steering suprisingly heavy, at first I thought there was a fault with it but no thats just how it is. That's a smart example tastefully modified, Alleycats are a gorgeous wheel on most cars of the 70/80's era.
Really good test. You seemed quite at home in there. In Aus, we only got the Samara (for a very short time) which was a terrible car. The Riva seems much better. Cheers
A battery charge dial....thats decadent capitalism if ever I saw it....
Great video..amazing car...thanks Steph 👌
IIRC, Lada brochures in the 90s made a big thing about the durability of the battery and electrics being ruggedised for Russian conditions, so I guess it's all in keeping. I can see the point, I wouldn't want a surprise battery death out in the middle of the Taiga either!
Awesome video 📹 👊
That rear window spoiler is something else!
Good Video Steph!
Wonder what happened to the Riva Top Gear modified in a very early series of the CHM era? Seem to recall Lotus did the suspension and a Fiat twin cam lump was fitted, running 180bhp.
These cars were also popular because they were VERY reliable and tough.
People say they are crude and that is in some ways correct, but it was built for a purpose and it served that incredibly well.
It was made to start at -40c in Siberia, be very reliable and easy to fix whilst being reasonably comfortable and cheap to produce.
All in all a very impressive car all things considered.
My friend used to have one in the early '90's, also had a Triumph Dolomite Sprint which he replaced with a Scimitar GTE. Thing is I preferred the Lada to the Triumph. We did used to go the TSSC in either his Lada, his Sprint or my Humber Sceptre Mk2. Rebels without a clue… We did used to have Vitesses and Heralds by the way but sold them in favour of the aforementioned cars. Both Skoda and Ladas were very good cars.
Great as always this looks a nice car. How about a Watberg knight or a Moscovich review next are their any left? I remember seeing some in Doncaster in the 70s
Just remembered Polski Fiat and FSO
In addition to a Skoda 120 (or a 105,or a Rapid Coupe!) I now want a Lada! Shame I've got nowhere to keep one! (or two!)