80's Cheap Car Test: Skoda, Yugo, Lada & FSO

[trigger]

From July 1985 What Car? Magazine, Basic car test.

Surprised that they rate the yugo so highly and the Skoda so low, I'd pick the Skoda everytime.

And look at that front wheel lift on the Lada!

[daverapid]

:)I've got that copy of What Car?. To be fair, the swing axled 4 speed 120 is a bit of a challenge for those used to "normal" cars! I'd still have the Skoda myself [obviously!], but all those cars are dead cool these days even though they were generally rediculed at the time.

[Odin]

Gone are the days when road testers were real men, judging by the cornering photos!

[stealthstylz]

The FSO had a hatchback but no folding rear seats lol.

Matt

[briandamaged]

My Dad, in what proved to be a cataclysmic error of judgment on his part, bought my mum a 3 year-old FSO Polonez from our local car auction in about 1988.

I had the dubious pleasure of driving it home, a journey I'll always remember for the moments of sheer terror followed by maniacal laughter every time we skated round a wet island swinging wildly from lock to lock.

Mum came out to see it in the gathering gloom as it sat there ticking away as it cooled down, tell-tale wisps of steam emanating from under the bonnet, turned on her heels, and slammed the front door shut.
;D

It was back in the auction a week later.

[hairnet]

yugo FTW

fiat always much better even with a yugo badge

[tenman]

love that picture of the Lada cocking its front leg... gotta say of the 3 I like the Skoda the best... (surprise) but I've got a soft spot for Yugo's to after me and a mate had success at autotesting with a Skoda Estelle (took the RWD championship of the beetles) we decided to try and take the FWD championship from the mini's... with a Yugo 45... got the engine and brakes competetive easily enough, but unfortunatly they just used to twist chassis on a grippy surface... you'd see one of the back wheels lift in the air while hooning round some cones and it just wouldn't go down again, the boot used to fly open as well as the chassis twisted... the damn things were cheap enough at the time though so we'd just get another one for 20 quid and chuck the engine and brakes in it...

[donttellhimpike]

:)does anybody else find it incredible that back then you,d rather have been seen with gary glitter than in one of these boggers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

yet now i'd love that lot lined up on me drive!![now imagine the same door slamming sound as the wife disapears!!]

[Rich606]

I find it kind of odd that the Yugo came out top, as I've never seen one in my life...
The later models, yes, but never one of those. Did they just not survive well, or was no one reading this review?

[mattblack]

Nov 16, 2008 0:24:44 GMT Rich606 said:

I find it kind of odd that the Yugo came out top, as I've never seen one in my life...
The later models, yes, but never one of those. Did they just not survive well, or was no one reading this review?

Do you mean the 45/55?. They were produced at the same time as the 311/511/513 models.

The Sana, which looked a bit like a Fiat Tipo, came out in 1989 IIRC (I worked at a Yugo dealer at the time)... just when the whole Balkans thing kicked off...

Not suprised the Yugo came out best TBH, as it was the most modern design of the group. And I'm not knocking the others, having owned 2 Ladas, an Estelle and a Favorit...