Which was worst;Yugo,FSO or Lada ??

[Morgan84]

They are all pretty rare beasts now !

[warren t claim]

FSO. Every time.

 

I drove examples around the rostrum at a car auction that weren't even due their first MOT that were knocking their brains out and falling apart.

 

I'd happily own one now though.

[Lufthansa-Terminal]

I have owned all three in the 90's and they all did what I expected of them. The Yugo was the best and the Skoda estelle I had was fun in a big Hillman Imp sort of way. The Ladas were great apart from the extra hard steering and were easy to sell too. F.S.O was the bad one as the bearings went in the engine ( not just mine ) and was a right pig to drive which if I remember right was due to an old design with a steering box and not a rack.

[Pete-M]

Yugo. Hideous nasty things to drive. How they managed to make what was originally an alright little Fiat drive that badly is beyond me.

 

How they managed to build the things so badly is another mystery. To build a Fiat badly... that's proper shoddiness.

 

NATO's finest moment in motoring history.

 

 

I once drove a bog standard Lada 1500 across a ploughed field at around 50 mph. It did not appear to suffer from this treatment and continued to work happily, without any maintenance at all, for three years afterward. They're 'orrible, but by 'eck they're tough.

 

Never driven an FSO. Not in a hurry to try one.

[Morgan84]

I think the last FSO to hit the uk was the Cara ? which had a 1.5 petrol,or a 1.9D Peugeot engine - least the engine would have been good !

[wuvvum]

Never driven a Yugo so can't comment, but the FSO 125P I drove didn't seem that bad - never tried a Polonez though. Wasn't too impressed with the Lada Riva when I drove one, and my Samara was a rather crude old beast - crap, but not in a charming way.

[nigel bickle]

Owned all 3 within the last 12 months. They all have their good/bad points -but none were terrible.

 

I'd have any -in reasonable condition again in a heartbeat.

[Cavcraft]

Only ever tried a Lada which was great. Ok it wasn't a Rolls Royce but it was a decent, competent car and I'd go as far as to say they were very underrated and equally misunderstood.

[trigger]

I'll just leave this here. (again).

 

Bargain Car Test 1983 1 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

Bargain Car Test 1983 2 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

 

Bargain Car Test 1983 3 by Trigger's Retro Road Tests!, on Flickr

[scooters]

I thought the Yugo was a hoot to drive, handled ok with the Alpha Wheels on it - the engine was no different in behaviour from the fiat equivalent and the steel they are built from is superb quality. Yes the fittings are a bit basic but it is a basic car - certainly handles a lot better than some of its contemporaries.

 

FSO - never driven one

 

Lada - yes old fashioned but the biggest problem was build quality ...any survivors will be a good bet because they were obviously good 'uns - also the Lada Niva/Cossack is actually one of the best serious 4x4 go anywhere machines and still is - you wouldn't want to drive on one on the road though

[eddyramrod]

They were all old-fashioned, so I just treat that as a positive... Not one was a new design owing nothing to an earlier generation of Western traffic. In fact of the three options listed, all were based on old Fiats. Another plus, really.

 

Lada: had several 124-shape models and two Rivas. Good seats (lower models had vinyl, which is a bit grim). Laughable panel gaps, especially for the interior fitments. You think a Hillman Hunter is heavy to steer? Try one of these, if ever a car was screaming for power assistance that never came, it's the Lada. But: strong as a house, and handle surprisingly well if you're pressing-on across country. More power would have been nice. I never had a Samara, but I knew someone who had two, and he said they suffered fuel-pump issues that the RWD models never did.

 

FSO: 125 estate, followed by two Polonezes. OK, one was my dad's, but I probably drove it more than he did, even when I had one of my own. Really comfy seats, especially the Polonez, and a good ride. You soon realise you're on cart springs at the back, compared to the Lada's IRS (had the first Riva at the same time). Again, heavy to steer and a bit lacking in power, but forgivable because they were simply so much more car than anything else at the price (same way the Lada scored).

 

Yugo: in 1987 I had a gf who drove a 1984 Yugo 45, this was not long after I'd had a 1975 Fiat 127 so I felt a direct comparison was in order. In the usual little-Fiat way, both were ridiculously willing considering the tiny engine (903cc in each) and a hoot to drive down country lanes, within speed limits obviously ossifer. Like the others, they suffered from interior fitment issues, and like the others, scored on price.

 

Which was worst? Depends what you want it to do. If you're on your own, or never carry more than one passenger, have a Yugo, they're a lot of fun for a small car. If you need to carry people or goods, forget the Yugo, but either of the others will suffice. If I was standing in front of all three varieties lined up, in identical condition, with orders to take one and use it for a week/month/year, by a narrow margin I'd choose a Polonez. Mind you: the 125 estate, being a unique body not based on the old Fiat 124, is huge, nearly as big as a Volvo.

[Andrew353w]

All eastern European cars (Ladas, FSOs' Moskviches, Yugos, Wartburgs et al) were built to a different mind set to western cars of the same era. Communist cars had to run in countries where garaging and repair facilities were minimal or non existent and had to cope with much harsher conditions in terms of weather and temperature, as well as road quality than any western car would be asked to deal with. They also were NOT built to "keep up with the Jones'"! That said, they did a job, did it well and, IMHO were (and are!) great pieces of machinery!

 

Ladas: Owned 2 in the past and currently dong up a third; The best of the eastern block cars IMHO. Good quality, NEVER don't start and have a heater you could fry eggs on!

 

FSOs: Owned 2; likewise of Fiat derived heritage but more crudely put together. Both Ladas & FSOs suffer from worm & roller steering but in the Lada it doesn't seem to be a problem somehow.

 

Yugos: Owned 1; The best if you want a small nippy hatchback that at least looks modern-both the Lada & FSO having conventional boots. that said, I found the pedals cramped, the brakes very spongey and the overall build quality poor bearing in mind the design was more up to date than either the Lada or FSO.

 

Just remember that many owners of all these cars were not exactly loaded with the folding stuff & so often skimped on routine servicing, thus causing problems that would equally occur with western cars if they weren't serviced properly, but because it was often the eastern cars that missed the services, they received a bad press!

 

Which one's best? I reckon the best one is a Lada Riva, but make sure it's a pre-cat one, as the post cat ones always had problems!

 

Here's my latest, expected to be up and running any day now!

 

[mattblack]

Having driven and worked on all three, and owned a cople of Ladas I would say FSO were the 'worst'. They seemed to suffer from more problems than the other 2 and be more crude. Obviously the Yugo was the most modern design of the 3, and didn't in my experience (working at a dealer) suffer from major problems. Things I can remember going wrong were water pump pulleys spliting, heater cable clips behind the dash breaking and the lead plug in the top of the accelerator pump jet in the carb coming loose leading to flooding...

[Barry Cade]

I think the last FSO to hit the uk was the Caro ? which had a 1.5 petrol,or a 1.9D Peugeot engine - least the engine would have been good !

 

 

Yeah, too good- they ripped the insides out of the gearbox

[Lufthansa-Terminal]

Ladas: Owned 2 in the past and currently dong up a third;

 

I know theres a few car pervs about but really!! Did you once own a Range Rover?

[Bren]

I am led to believe the Yugo was car of the year.

 

 

In 1970.

[Albert Ross]

Having ben in the enviable (pffft) position (Kchack.. Woo) of "working" at a Yugo dealer, I can honestly state, that the WORST Eastern Bloc Motor vehicle ever inported into the country is......................................................................... (Drum Roll) The Dacia Denem. They were fucking shit and some. Glass header tanks? Yup. Gear selectors made of cheese/bananas. Steering geometry designed as a Primary School "Topic" Lesson in 1975. Closely followed by Yogo/Zastava for the "Quality" Control, we had a brand-fire new (23 miles on the clock) 513 ready to be sold the the Service manager's Wife. It had a 4 speed box fitted, specced with a 5 cogger.... had the right lever though. Oh, and under the spare wheel? A wine bottle top. Still screwed to the neck of the bottle. I miss Yugoslavian Riesling.

 

I wonder. Is there any Serbian/Croatian wine available in the UK? If so, I bet it tastes like Ethylene Glycol though.........................

[Autoplas]

The FSO Polonez is without question the worst car I have ever had the misfortune to have ridden in during my 41 years on the planet, and I have ridden in Ladas, Yugos, a powder blue Talbot Samba convertible driven by another man (I am not a homosexual) and a handpainted TR7.

 

Also don't be fooled into believing that FSO (Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych) translates into English as 'Factory for Passenger Automobiles' from the Polish.

 

It doesn't.

 

FSO translated into English is actually 'F***ing Sh*t Oblong'.

[warren t claim]

I actually miss this segment in the new car market.

[Shep Shepherd]

I wonder. Is there any Serbian/Croatian wine available in the UK? If so, I bet it tastes like Ethylene Glycol though.........................

 

Perhaps Sam Glover can help?

 

By the way, I nominate the Yugo as the worst car out of the triumvirate. The 1989 55A that my then-next door neighbour owned in the early 1990s was horrible to even sit in when parked for any length of time; my dad's 1988 Fiesta seemed like a Jaguar in comparison.

 

Having said that, worst is a relative term, and I actually have time for all three marques, as they appeal to me far more than many 'Western' cars

[Lankytim]

Ladas seemed to be much better than FSO's These things went rotten from the inside out, did daft things like lost half shafts out of the end of the axle and failed their first MOT on emissions and had to be scrapped. Total shit. Yes i'd have one!, but not for long.

[Negative Creep]

I actually miss this segment in the new car market.

 

 

I guess cheap finance deals killed them off. Whilst I would love to own one now (Skoda Rapid coupe please) I can't for the life of me understand why someone would have bought one of them new instead of a 2-3 year old Golf or Corolla

[scaryoldcortina]

I can vouch from personal experience on the Lada/FSO thing - My parents had both. Kids at school whose dad had an Austin Ambassador would pick on me.

 

1977 Lada 1200, followed by (then brand new) 1986 FSO 125p. Both the same reddy-orange colour, so no-one could tell they actually had a new car, and it's the ONLY time they ever had a brand new motor (something about a 0% finance deal and a good trade in price on the Lada).

 

Lada was a reliable old beast, if crude and noisy. Did us fine for about 6 or 7 years, never really seemed to go wrong (unless somone left a light on all night, and even then it had a cranking handle), the FSO however was a total disaster. It didn't make it to it's first MoT, mechanical failure and terminal rot killed it long before that was due. They bought a 1981 Volvo 245 instead, and continued to pay for the FSO even though it was dead. To add insult to injury, we saw the Lada kicking around for a good 3 or 4 years after that too.

[Alexg]

[RedSparrow]

I would like a Yugo one day.

 

Look at these guys, not a hint of irony on one of their faces:

[Felly Magic]

I'm sure the Yugo 45 featured in an episode of the TV series Moonlighting driven by Bruce Willis! Craptastic! I have first hand experience of Rivas, Samaras and the Estelle/Rapid. Ladas were pants (parents owned a blue 1200L Riva), and I drove a few Estelles & rapids when working at a Skoda dealer. I must say the Skuds were better made than the Ladas, and Rivas, well... And that odd shaped gearnob that Samaras had....

[AnthonyG]

I am led to believe the Yugo was car of the year.

 

 

In 1970.

 

The Fiat 128 was, not the Yugo that was based on it.

[Barry Cade]

I'm sure the Yugo 45 featured in an episode of the TV series Moonlighting driven by Bruce Willis! Craptastic!

 

LOL, you got some memory. Cybill Sheperd, mmmmmm

 

 

Didn't she drive a 6 series BM?

[ProgRocker]

 

Ah - Yugoslavia wasn't an Eastern Bloc country, apparently.

[Lankytim]

I thought it was common knowledge that F.S.O stood for For Scrap Only....