This 27 year old's Lada Riva is Proof Cars Are More Than Machines
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ส.ค. 2021
- Today we're driving a very cool, somewhat forgotten car - the Lada Riva. Introduced to the UK in 1983, the VAZ 2105 was a reworking of the earlier 2101, itself based on the FIAT 124. Its owner, Nathan, bought this on a whim having gone looking for something totally different and has now fallen in love with it. Reviewing this car though, was a very special experience not for me - but for my assistant Darren - watch and see why.
#Lada #Riva #Review
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/ @jayemmoncars - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
Here in Finland we used to have a lot of Ladas and other eastern cars, due to Soviet Union being our neighbour and us having strong trade relations. They were very cheap cars. My folks had a Lada 1200L (the older model with round headlights) and a 1200S (Riva, although it wasn't known by that name here). I drove the 1200S when I was a kid. We also had couple of Skodas. When the Soviet Union fell apart in the early 90's, things changed. It's pretty rare to see a Lada on the road these days. My parents moved on to a Saab 99, Citroën Xantia, VW Passat and a Saab 9-3.
Kimi owned one as well.
Similar story ( different country ). Growing up had Riva 1.5 estate, Samara 1.5, Yugo 45a and Yugo 65a GLX. Relatives had Dacia Duster and Skoda's. Friends father also had a Skoda. Another had a Yugo and then a Proton
@Michael Frilund They have recently just started importing them ( Niva ) into the UK again so you never know
Perkele saatana
@Michael Frilund There's a wide variety of options/model specs now. Have a look at The Late Brake Show video on TH-cam from June this year. Loads of info there
I've had 24 of them, in England, and I'm a former Lada mechanic!. In all the years I've been associated with these cars I've never known one struggle in high temperatures! The cooling capacity is huge and will cope easily with extremes of temperature. If you are lucky enough to have the original Russian handbook, not the Lada UK one, it states the vehicle is designed to operate normal in temperatures from -40 degrees c to +50 degrees c. I still own four of these fine beasts 😄
The assumption that it's only cold in Eastern Europe, just because it is very cold in Winter, is a common one. In fact, the summers we get in Lithuania are significantly warmer than the South of England.
Hi Kieran, Out of interest as a fellow UK based lada owner, where abouts were you based?
@@kyleb5518 I'm in Crawley, West Sussex.
@@kierancurtis8545 you live in Crawley and drive Ladas? My condolences.
Thought same thing. Overheating of Lada's engines at RWD models probably means some problem with ignition or fan electromagnetic switch. My first car was Lada 1200 '83 (which still looked like FIAT 124, last year of production it in SU). It has direct drive by belt from crankshaft and I've never heard about overheating.
P.S. Sorry for my English, I'm from Russia :)
Greetings from Russia! I would never have thougth that I would see a Lada on this channel, quite a pleasant surprise!
A fun fact - nowadays a lot of folks here in russia purchase those old Ladas as their 2nd car for winter season, because it is a great car to drive on snow and learn the basics of drifting. And it is way, way more cheaper than, let's say, an e30.
Another interesting fact - Lada's car battery is laughably easy to get stolen. There are tons of youtube videos on to how you can do it with literally no instruments. My friend has one of those, he went to a shop and when he returned someone has already opened the bonnet and tried to steal it! That's why it is a common mod here to relocate the battery to the trunk of a car.
Better distribution of weight. Smart
Best to store the most valuable component of the car in the trunk :)
I have a 71 VAZ 2101. The original owner was a doctor from Gabrovo, Bulgaria. He installed a very effective but simple anti-theft device: a piece of sheet metal attached to the firewall lip (between the wiper mechanism and the engine bay), covering the slits of the hood from underneath so you can't get to the cable to pop the hood.
I remember these cars in the uk in the 1980s. They were basic looking cars but they worked fine.
As someone born in Russia I unsurprisingly have very fond memories of these. My grandparents had several generations of them, most notably a 1989 white VAZ 2108 (the 3-door hatchback version of this, also called Lada Sputnik in Russia or Samara over here) that was the exact same age as me, almost to the month. They had it from new and it lasted well over 20 years! I also recall it feeling a lot quicker than the numbers make it sound these days :p
However I must also say... I never fail to find the 'comedy' around Soviet stuff cringeworthy. Pretty sure it's just a lack of education. I totally understand it from kids trying to be edgy, but 'Go to Gulag' sticker is just embarrassing for a grown up.
Not being a snowflake, just pointing out that those same people prob wouldn't drive around in a Beetle with a photo of Hitler saying 'go to Auschwitz'. Unless of course they would, in which case I take it back :p
Having met many people who were exiled to Siberia by Stalin, I totally agree with you.
Curious isn't it how the two regimes did largely similar things, but the attitudes towards them now are very different.
An interesting discussion for another channel
The original steering wheels are very bus like in size. Had 2 of these back in the day, a white one and a light blue one, kids on the estate used to call me Osama bin Lada. 😀
Haha!
Osama bin lada
Lmao 😂
Owner: "Can I get a windscreen-wiper for my Lada?"
Mechanic: "That sounds like a fair swap."
Here in Au you couldn't give one of these away now they cost a fortune if you can find one.
They were popular in QLD
Here in Russia there are still plenty of them on the market and you can get one for like a thousand bucks.
I've never even seen one over here!
@@15284750 I’ve imported a load from Lithuania, Poland and Russia into the uk.
Marvellous things
Big fan of the Lada Niva!
I have warm memories of my Lada ownership. I bought a two year old Niva in 1983 as it was my only option to get into a 4wd within my £2K budget. I had it underseald and a full quality paint respray the following year. I kept and drove it for seven years, enjoyed every mile and sold it on in 1990 for more than I originally paid for it.
Cool. I'd love to see one on the road in full rally spec. Lots of lights, huge mudflaps, full livery. That would be very nice.
Search Lada vfts
@@kyleb5518 thank you. That's exactly what I had in mind.
It's hard not to like this car! Looks like a little bundle of fun! As the saying goes - it's more fun driving a slow car fast, than a fast car slow. It is indeed "wicked!" 🤙
@Teamgeist lol - and that's what makes the car interesting... The story behind it.
It is actually a product of fiat I like, long production, durable, very practical, and petty fun
that saying is precisely on point. after some point cars became unreasonably fast. with speed cameras and just growing older i also found that slow cars (in my case that was Lada Kalina) are just more fun to drive now
Loved that review because my late mother in law, after years of waiting, was, as a minor Party official awarded the right to buy a Ziguli, as these were called in our part of Eastern Europe. She actually owned 2 during the Soviet Union occupation of Lithuania and spoke highly of them, although I think owning them was partly a status symbol! By the time I met her she had an automatic Opel Astra which was so rusty after about 300,000 kms that I was terrified being in it with 3 other adults!
Wonderfully silly car. What a chuckle. All the best to its owner and thanks James for still showing a broad range of cars in your reviews. ✌🏼
Yyyyyyeeeeeeeessss,
I love these kind of cars on this show.
Yyyyyyeeeeeeeessss,
I love these kind of cars on this show.
Never owned a Lada but i've always liked them. There's just something about the simple mechanics, and i actually like the way they look too. Will go and watch that Top Gear episode.
I have burst out laughing when you have put the hat on)) It suited you greatly, real russian guy mode)
Greets from St. Petersburg!
Thankyou for watching!
Loved this video was such a laugh to watch, i think you summed it up perfectly how some cars become more than just transportation to some people. i've driven this exact car and it was such a cool little thing although the lack of power steering and unassisted brakes was a weird adjustment from my Golf R! crazy how this is actually quite cool when not long ago it was seen as a bit of a joke, the owner nathan is a lovely chap and a proper petrol head!
Nathan is a legend
nice edges, nice color, nice wheels, nice accessories- cool car
That was a fun video - you certainly drive the most eclectic mix of cars on you tube! Totally agree with what you said about Chris Harris too. That episode of Top Gear was one of the best
I really liked watching this video and it definitely brought back some memories for me, I had a 1985 Lada Riva 1.3L and it was a good car, it was extremely reliable, nice to drive and I found it extremely comfortable, I think I've still got the Haynes workshop manual for it somewhere lol, it did tend to overheat a little bit in Summer if I was sitting in traffic for a while, but the needle only rose a little bit above the central point of the gauge, I also remember liking the fact that I was sitting quite high up in the car too, I liked the Lada Riva so much that I had two Lada Samaras after the Riva, thank you for doing this video James, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
You have to drive a Lada Niva at some point, I've always liked the look of those
I have a rhd Niva in my shed. As soon as it’s MoT’d I’m gonna send James an email 👍
Highlight video presentation, very refreshing to see this epic car reviewed, it looks awesome. Cool sound too with its sensible pea shooter. And louvres, nice one Sir.
James, thanks a lot from Russia for such a warm and open-minded review) I wish you could try earlier models with some tricky tuning stuff as it completely transforms the car without ruining its personality)
James you are so right about car memories, first car I really remember was my grandfathers Rover P4 110 walnut and leather, I still have the hubcaps from it and as they are stainless they are still mint.
if i could just smell my dads hilman minx interior one more time, bliss
My first memories are of my dad's SEAT 133 on an S plate but they're vague. My real memories are of my uncle's 1972 Ford Cortina 1600L. The vinyl and the smell.
@@JohnnyPaton oh yes indeed, for me it is being 2 years old in 1977 my dads blue 67 minx going into it of a summers day the heat really gets the smell going, the mixture of that baked vinyl and leaded petrol pure bliss, the old british cars smelled great plus i was just so bat shit happy at that age, if only i could get a proper memory of it. my memories of it are like little sparks that i can't stop and hold on to
Love this car. If someone here in UK owns a Volga or a Moskvich, lend it to James for a test drive.
my father couldn't afford a lada in the 70's so he bought a moskvich. Wish i had it now
My grandpa had two of them! (Well, one’s an Izh…)
More. Vids. Like. This. Please! Love the human connection behind car ownership. Would like to have drink or two with the owner, sounds like a fine bloke.
The tank version of Fiat 124. As it should, living in Siberia.
But a T34
My father owned a few samples of the Lada Riva in the 70's, after i learned to drive
he lent me one to get to work in until i could afford my first car.
The steering was heavy and a bit wayward, the 1500 engine had to be worked to keep
up with other traffic, the brakes worked but it learned you how to keep a safe distance.
The fit and finnish left a lot to be desired, the plastic parts never fitted well, and aged
very quickly, don't even mention the rust problems.
They provided a cheap way into a new car until the Japanese and Korean makers got
their act togeather,
A great piece is nostalga to remind us just how good modern cars are.
@@crispindry2815 The heavy steering also gave me strong arm muscles!
To be fair it always got me to work and started on cold mornings that other cars failed to cope with.
They were built to withstand Russian winters, so the UK climate was no problem to them.
I often gave a lift to my neighbour whose Cortina didn't like cold mornings.
Here in Brazil we also have Ladas in early 90s, we had the Lada Niva, Samara and the Lada Riva was colled Lada Laika here. We also had the Lada Laika station wagon.
Great vídeo! Already susbscribed to your Channel! Congrats From Brazil! Muito obrigado!
I visited Brazil in 2008 and actually saw one of these there. But not in the traffic. At a car dealers yard of course :D
@@juhojalonen3046 They are extremely rare here dude so consider yourself luck! :D
I saw this car in the flesh and it's a lovely thing for sure :) Great stuff!
Glad you got to experience it too! I found it genuinely charming to drive
Had one of these as a hire car in Crete in 1988. Absolutely a great car for the awful roads. And it came with a comprehensive tool kit
I would actually love to have one of these on my driveway 🙌🏻
Along with a bear skin hat, Vostok watch on the wrist and enough vodka to sink a naval ship... I like this a lot 👍🏻
I own a Vostok Amphibia. It's actually worth a lot now. Lol
@@spencerhan7995 I've got an Amphibia too mate, not a vintage soviet era one though, one is definitely on the shopping list however 👍🏻
I prefer a Polyot on my wrist.
@@notharry I have a USSR Polyot De Luxe with a silver dial. You know your watches!
@@notharry got a few of them on the never ending wish list too!
Cant find a Lada on Autotrader or Gumtree, & only 2 on Classic cars now! Thanks for the memories Jay!
The Fiat 124 did have an alternator, and 4 wheel disc-brakes, whereas the Lada had rear drums. Lada generally less techy & more sturdy yes.
Many switch to the brilliant Fiat (Lampredi) twincam that was in the 124 Special T, the 125 & many more. Easily tuned to a +200hp. Powah!!
This car will get you more thumbs up kudos from proper car people than you’ll get driving a leased £70k Porsche Cayman which gets summarily ignored.
I'm not so sure. Around here the Seat Marbella is the equivalent. I have a 1999 model and a 981S. The 981 definitely gets more attention than the Seat.
The Lada is a very special kind of cool
@@ArbitraryFilmings not in my opinion. Off the top of my head there is nothing new AND cool (maybe with the exception of the GR Yaris) . Modern cars are designed and built from market research and are referred to internally as products (watch Jay Leon’s garage Porsche video from a few weeks back, and read those comments too) they’re then “marketed” to people who are easily influenced, who think you can buy cool. But each to their own.
Great video James. Good to see you reviewing such an eclectic range of cars. That Mountney steering wheel takes me back to the one I fitted to my first car - a Ford Cortina Mk 2.
Love the horn on the roof rack 👌
And you nailed it with the choice of road and surrounding for this lovely car 👍
I can’t believe how excited I am about this video😂
My mum had a pale blue fiat 124 I was 4 years old at the time. I remember my mums boyfriend throwing a large bag of spuds in the boot and going right through and landing on the floor that memory still make my chuckle 42 odd years on😀
5:01 "...these cars do have a reputation of overheating..."
No they do not. In the 70s and 80s there were a lot of Ladas in Eastern Europe (without the extremely harsh russian winter) and you couldn't see Ladas standing at the side of the road waiting for the water to cool down.
Furthermore.
Soviet Union was a HUGE country with places where the summers were much hotter than in the UK ever. And the Ladas worked well...
I was not expecting for that voice over to sound this professional :D well done
That makes two of us
@@JayEmmOnCars 3 of us !
Proper car, orange skin paint, plastic front spoiler and crap alloys, love it.
This is a car and will still be going long after most of the modern crap are made into coke cans
They were usually rotten before they were five years old, a modern car doesn’t rot away like these did, that’s why you don’t see then any more, this one looks like it needs a little remedial work if it is to see another mot pass. A modern car to this would be something 15/20 years old and loads of “modern crap” like that lasts way better than these ever did, a neighbour bought an FSO version and it failed it’s first MOT on rust.
"driving the wheels off this thing and not quite keeping up with a Vauxhall insignia."
If your in a car like this, it's either fun or terrifying.
Great looking car!!
Fabulous video. I was expecting Jay to rip this car to shreds yet I reckon he fell for it at the end. Priceless. I thought it sounded wonderful, I think I am smitten myself.
Just to let you know I bought a z4 coupe based largely on your review and it is exactly what I wanted out of a fairly cheap sports car.
Thanks bud keep up the good work.
Omg what an episode- keep up the good work and apply for the TG job when it becomes available!
I remember people chuckling about this car: If you put a tennisball on it's trailer hitch, you'd have a Lada Sport.
Jay Emm you are the men! Man for all seasons. Right on! Straight down the the rally road! "Because this car's a little sweetie! . . . YES, Jay, I comment before the the video is not even half way, and savour the moment.
And if I can just barely remember way back when . . . my mother married a fighter pilot and he rolled the veedub coming onto to Penang causeway. And he had to walk home to ask his little wifey to help him put it on its feet again. So . . . we got . . . you guessed it, the mother of this little youngster. A Fiat station wagon. The joys of being an officer and a gentleman, 1961 RAAF Butterworth.
Totally wicked 👌🏻 Absolutely fantastic , really does bring back memories seeing this 😉👍🏻
Had a cab company in my town of lewes that had 2 riva estates brand new...I loved the cars but they didn't last. Rare beasts these. Great video!
Great video as always 👍I had a part time job when I was at school working in a local used car dealers cleaning cars, these were bargain used buys and I can still remember the smell of the interior, cheap plastic and glue, also remember cleaning used FSO Polonez, same sort of build quality and smell inside. Tried to get my dad to buy one but he went and bought an older escort mk3 instead.
Chris Harris was driving a BM 5 series wasn't it?
That Dad's car episode was one of the best.
My Dad had a VW Transporter (1987)
Some YT channels show cars as machines but you appreciate them and they are more than machines to the people on your way of thinking 🙂
Love they styling of this car. Great video. Keep up the good work.
I remember the top gear did a make over of a riva with lotus. Really lovely job
And cooked a curry for Gordon Ramsey, “3rd gear at 4000rpm for 30 minutes”
The Lotus Lada never saw the road again in the UK after that, so either it was exported, or, more likely, the parts were only on loan and Lotus scrapped the shell to recoup some of the costs of parts recovery...
My first car at age 18 was a Lada BA3 1200s. I still don't know what the s was for(probably slow) but it would rev up to 80 in third gear. It was lada burnt orange, had the full tool kit and alf a tin of Russian orange paint in the boot. 34200 miles on a Y reg and it had a horizontal speedo like those old 60's American cars. I bought it from the Wellingborough dealer for £350 and I loved that car to bits☺
I had one when I was 14 as a field car. It the worst car to drive in that field in the winter. Endless spinning :D
I had three as my first cars after passing my test. All from new and very reliable. They did have a tendency to rust but were easy to part exchange. I was told that if the engine was damp and wouldn't start or the battery was too flat to turn over the engine, put the headlights on full for a while and then it would start. I found it did actually work!
That is seriously brilliant! I love it
I enjoyed this video a lot, it made my evening better before returning back to work after 2week holiday!
Now you're officially qualified to test Škoda Estelle (I recommend trying also coupe Rapid)! Also a target of many jokes, but it basically was the most common car here in former Czechoslovakia when I was a little boy.
Outstanding James, and that's coming from someone whose first car was a 1972 Wartburg Knight! Slightly improved the driving experience since 1978, a few 3-litre Capris, plus a new 1983 2.8 injection. Followed by some very sad cars in the later 1980's: 1970 1600XL Capri, 1980 Fiat 127 and a 1982 Fiat X1/9 (actually, the little X1/9 was lovely). Later on, graduated to a couple of 944s, a couple of 928s , 2 328GTB Ferraris, a 1991 964, and more recently a 360 Modena and an F355 Berlinetta, plus a 456GT in May this year and 1996 993 Carrera last September. Ho-hum, many cars, much depreciation (apart from the 355). Keep up the good work, cheers from a (rather chilly) Otford, Kent.
That was a great Sunday drive with Jay 👍🏼
My Dad bought an apple green 2101 estate in the 80s. I learned to drive in it. I loved it
I have always liked these, haven't seen one in a long time
I'm so glad my suggestion was taken. My dad had 5 of these so this car was a big part of my childhood, annual family holiday from Hamilton in Scotland to the Isle of Wight
There was loads and loads of these in and around Glasgow back in the day due to Archers the Lada dealer. They originally started in Airdrie and were the largest Lada dealer outside Russia. We had a branch across from our school on Edinburgh Road in Glasgow. Rivas and Samaras were everywhere.
@@JohnnyPaton my dad had 5 of them from 1984 up until 1996
These were the butt of every car joke when I was growing up but I had one (alongside several proper Mini's) for a while. Mine had the fiat derived ohc 1300 motor with a Weber carb, revved forever and felt faster than it was. With bilsteins and decent tyres it was a lot of fun, great car to hone your skills with. Great back to basics fun.
I remember as a kid in Jamaica, these were something fun. Guys would tuned them really well and have a good time.
What an adorable little machine. Thanks for the fun video of the old-time Russian ride!
'77 2101 was my first car. Great space at the back making it perfect for a 18 y.o. lad who couldn't bring his girlfriend at home.
That car is 6 years newer than my 88 E34 5 series, still, it reminds me more of the Fiesta mk1 81 mod I had, which also had some 60s root with its engine. However, my fiesta had half the power of this lada.
My dad had a baby poo brown 1200s with a beige vinyl roof & alloy wheels. It was a much more reliable car than the Vauxhall viva it replaced, he replaced it with a red Riva which was just as good. It was much better in the winter at starting than any of our neighbours Escorts or Astras.
I cannot remember the last time i saw a lada Riva on the road to say back in the day thay knocked out loads of these cars it's got to be a collectors car now who would of thought .
I had a 1500 Riva in the late eighties in the days of no dough. Never let me down, kept pace with
everything else, surprisingly comfortable but hated hot days and would get the right royal Russian hump
and told me so but for nearly two years it got me there without fail not once. Bought for £995 sold in good order to
fellow no dough guy with 10 months MOT for £325. Who's laughing now when dipstick peers were blowing thousands.
That's the thing about these. They're honest and dependable. They're never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around or desert you...
Brilliant car journalism, your intelligence and imagination 👏 will take you along way....
I had 2 Riva's, the first was a 3 year old ex-taxi with 95k on the clock, I paid a whopping £350 for it! I ran it for 4 years without any problems, I sold it for £200 with 146k on the clock.
The second one was a five year old car bought for £500 from an old guy who gave up driving, it had only 15k on the clock, again it never let me down during 5 years & 68k miles, ended up selling it to a guy at work after buying a 3 series BMW, which was always giving me grief......
My uncle used to operate a business called 'Lada Autosport' and raced them.....and won.
Fuckin Badass
I remember one season in F1 that Lada were one of the sponsors ( On the Lotus I think ). Also they have had come success with Touring Cars ( possibly World Touring Car Championship )
great fun! and a welcome change from OTT supercars and their acceleration numbers.
and whom among us remember when dad passed and blew by greyhound bus in a 100 yards at night on a two lane road as well as when he started his acceleration about a quarter mile back in the family's VW beetle loaded down with mom, you, and two siblings rooting him and the car on from the back seat! not many, i suspect.
BTW, the line "...the hill...the natural enemy of the LADA...". had me laughing out loud.
I loved my 1300E ran it for 4 years and kids loved it.1 year old played 2k for it only thing I changed was the carb put twin choke webbers in.Then sold it for a grand 4years later.Happy days
These were popular among certain groups back in the day as a FIAT 2L Lambredi engine would go in almost 'plug and play' and provide a different level of fun 😁
Great car,nice to see someone enjoying their car,whatever it is ,well done
I really enjoyed your video sir, thank you very much
Does have a charm the Lada Riva no matter what people joke about it great review
very beautiful example of a 2105, i myself own a 2107 and a 2104 but neither are nearly as close to being a "finished project" as that one though i absolutely love both of them
greetings from germany, ladas had a great reputation here during the time of the GDR, my grandpa had two aswell (yellow 2101 and blue 2103)
I’m not a huge JayEmm fan nor a subscriber but when this popped up in recommendations, I wanted to see it!
The hat suits you, comrade! You look like a supporting character in a 1980s Bond film. You know, one of those KGB generals who are not really the villains... Anyway, great review, as always. My grandfather had a Fiat 124 in the 80s and it was glorious! I have happy memories of that car. My dad's Lada, used as a second car in the early 90s, every other day when he wasn't driving the E34 BMW, considerably less so. Too bad my grandfather replaced the Fiat with a Renault 12 - based Dacia in the 90s. That felt substantially less robust than the Lada but was a bit more cheerful.
I can see myself as a mid level KGB villain
First car I bought was a 1979 lada1500 estate in blue.
It was 4 years old when I paid £975 cash for it from a type writer traveling salesman 😲.
I was 17,living at home, had a glass sunroof fitted,had it resprayed Porsche guards red by a friend's dad,and had a vinyl roof fitted.
Then a front spoiler,8 ft fibreglass aerial. 6 spot lights were added to the chrome front bumper, then a trip to the guys who ran the lada UK rally team,to have a wilder cam and twin Weber 40's fitted.
Stock brakes and suspension made for an interesting drive, but took on any 2.0i montego, or 2.3 Cortina back in the day.
I wish TH-cam did a love button! My dad's first car in '79 (rode mainly motorcycles before then) was a Lada estate (VAZ 2102) in blue with a black vinyl roof. I nearly bought a Lada Riva from Lada dealership in Upper Buckleberry, Berkshire back in 1996 to replace my aging mk2 Escort I didn't bother as I didn't like the drive and couldn't get the finance. Would love one now though.
Nice to see one of these on your channel, I still see the odd one around. I used to see hundreds of them on a daily basis, when I to worked for the UK importers, the Satra Corporation.
Only jayemm can upload a video review of a lada and a lamboghini within a few days.. And prefer the Lada 🤣 love it
"in your haste along the way, take time to smell the flowers" The Czech equivalent was the Skoda, which had a rear engine, so was more tail-happy.
I once had a Lada 1500 Combi( estate)me being the third owner,i drove it for three years and never ,ever broke down.
Yes,it was slow,yes it was a bit noise ,yes it was underpowerd,but it always toke me and my family to where ever we wanted to go and back .
One of the best cars i ever had.
This is so cool, I have a massive soft spot for ladas
I had one in the 1980's! Good, practical sized family car. Did you know it was rear-wheel drive? Hence the in-line engine you can see at 1:51, as was the gear box.
But the quality - wow! The steering wasn't rack and pinion - it was a fishbone arrangement. Constantly needed adjustment, to take out the half wheel turn slack!
And the Russians didn't seem to know how to make plastic! The realight clusters - when I changed a bulb, the plastic holder cracked and crumbled! So, I bodged it with solder and other bits!
Can't say I was sorry when the 1990 UK storms blew the roof of my block of flats onto it, and wrote it off!
Brilliant James. Love how you judge every car on it’s on terms. Seems the Lada’s a bit of a laugh, in every sense. Loved the hat scene 😂 Used to see quite a lot of these when I was younger. Probably one of the more popular cheap cars at the time (more so than Wartburgs or Moskvitch, possibly even Škoda when they were rear engine). Interesting how different they were to the Fiat they were derived from, the body is nowhere near as crisply styled, as apparently when Fiat sold Lada the tooling it was pretty much knackered. That, along with the thicker steel used, meant you just couldn’t get the sharp edges the Fiat had. So the story goes anyway. Agree with you on Top Gear. Treat it as entertainment and it’s fine. Chris Harris still is allowed his test drives where he gets serious and the episode you mentioned about Dad’s cars was truly moving. Anyone like me, whose Dad is no longer with us, will know exactly the memories old cars bring back.
Thanks for watching and sharing your own memories Andrew :)
Don't remember being in a Lada but when I first moved to East Grinstead (in Sussex), there was a snowstorm and the only thing that was still moving was a Polski-Fiat, which was similar. (Fortunately it was the taxi I was riding in.)
James loves this reengineered Fiat 124 yet hates 500 Abarth. Das irony is thick as a curtain! Loved the video.
and the Abarth is only rubbish car that has been introduced in this channel, there might not be any other rubbish cars out there..
I remember my dad had a beige one as a courtesy car back in the 1980s. Got him to drop me off round the corner from school lest anyone saw me in it. Now I'd love to have one. Something brilliant about basic cars.
I worked at a Lada Main Agent in the early 90's the Rivas were being p/exed back in against Samaras and we had probably about 30 runners out the back we had epic fun in these thing when I say that try as we could they would not blow up and we tried really really hard shows how tough they are....fond memories indeed RIP Frazer !
Around the old USSR these were the most common car, and everyone rode in tens of them by the time they were twenty years old. My favourite experience was, hitchhiking to Poland from the war, a guy in the suburbs of Budapest picked me up in a sputtering red rust bucket, brought us 100 meters up a mild but dreaded hill, then ran out of go and had to let me out with an apologetic shrug and many Hungarian words. I learned that day to stick my thumb out at the top of the hill - a Lada which had made it up to the top was in better than average shape, and needed to pause and take a few breaths anyway. That made a perfect moment to pick up a twenty year old idiot me on the road, who, like car and driver was powered by vodka.
LOL Great story!
Well, that's a first for me..... hearing a Lada Riva described as cool. I've never owned or driven one.
What I have been in is... a Fiat 124 Special T. A twin cam 1600cc. Looks just like the Lada Riva.
Long ago.., 1974, someone gave me a lift in one across Salisbury Plain. A very, very enjoyable and fast journey.
Great car, a legend in many countries in the world. Very cheap and easy to fix.