Super-budget superminis of the Eastern Bloc face off

Europe was changing. We'd experienced the revolutionary Autumn of Nations successful 1989, which began successful Poland and soon dispersed similar wildfire down the Iron Curtain.

By the extremity of that year, ideology had returned to Czechoslovakia. Just a twelvemonth later, the precise linchpin of communism, the Soviet Union, fell apart. And Yugoslavia was soon to follow, violently disintegrating into respective Balkan states from 1992. 

And so, unbeknownst to Autocar's testers, our November 1990 trial of the 3 superminis representing these countries (or 'cheaps from the aged Bloc', arsenic we enactment it) was, successful a way, the past hurrah for commie cars — loved and maligned arsenic they had been by the British nationalist for the previous decades.

Those 3 cars were the Skoda Favorit 136LX (£5446), the Lada Samara 1300SL (£5549) and the Yugo Sana 1.4 (£5495). Each was front-engined and front-wheel thrust and the effect of their overseers' swallowing of nationalist pride. Italians and Germans had helped Skoda; Brits had done enactment for Lada; and Italians had assisted Yugo.

Which was the champion bet?

"None of these cars volition beryllium bought for its performance," we said, "but each volition supply capable mobility for the household and nary tin beryllium considered underpowered.

"As expected, the Yugo, with a Fiat Tipo 70bhp 1.4-litre engine, has the legs connected the others. It volition buzz and thrash its mode to 97mph, passing 60mph successful 13.2sec and managing 30-70mph in 14.1sec. Quite wherefore the motor feels and sounds truthful gruff successful this installation is simply a mystery.

"The Lada isn't acold behind. The Soviet's 65bhp 1.3-litre iron/alloy engine, with siamesed valves successful a non-crossflow cylinder head, doesn't savour revving. Only the cloth-eared volition extract each of the disposable performance. It runs retired of puff astatine 93mph, reaches 60mph successful 13.4sec and records a 30-70mph clip of 15.6sec.

"The Skoda, with the slightest powerful, 62bhp all-alloy engine, volition deed 92mph, pulls lustily past 60mph successful 14.3sec and keeps the operator waiting for 15.7sec during the 30-70mph increment. It makes up for its little spritely show by having by acold the astir responsive, anxious engine.

"The Lada is simply a unchangeable and unfussed motorway cruiser — astir apt this car's champion diagnostic — portion the Yugo trundles on astatine a respectable pace, but with much motor sound intrusion than tin reasonably beryllium expected and an accompanying chatter of creaks and rattles from poorly fitted interior trim items.

"The Lada's brakes are, by far, the slightest effectual of the bunch. Travel is agelong and a continuous propulsion would person the pedal spell each the mode down to the carpet. Stopping powerfulness was anemic and, if stamped connected hard, determination was grounds of premature rear instrumentality lock-up."

The Skoda besides came to the fore successful presumption thrust and handling: "By immoderate standards of the fashionable hatch market," we continued, "it's good suspended, reasonably composed and capable to soak up astir that's thrown astatine it. But it does endure from somewhat insipid damping which tin sometimes beryllium felt astatine the astir unexpected times: for instance, during motorway cruising. The Lada lacks composure, arsenic does the Yugo.

"The Lada jolts successful and retired of ruts and ridges, sometimes sending rather terrible shocks done the bodyshell. It likes things to beryllium smooth, and provided thing upsets the suspension mid-corner, it shows a safe, progressive, understeering stance.

"The Yugo takes unresponsive steering to a caller debased successful this company. On home-produced tyres, its steering is unacceptably dense astatine parking speeds, and though little effort is required arsenic velocity increases, it remains decidedly dormant and stodgy. The thrust is lively and uncoordinated, larger shocks being heard (and felt) arsenic they are fed done the bodyshell. The Yugo is simply a dogged and determined understeerer. Its dynamic responses are a throwback to the dark, aboriginal days of front-wheel-drive chassis behaviour. 

"Driven successful convoy implicit a assortment of choky and twisty Cornish roads, it was the Favorit that won the testers over. The Skoda felt bully to drive, with punctual turn-in and a sure-footed stance done corners, whereas the others were harder enactment connected the arms and little precise successful roadworthy positioning."

Much is made of interior worldly prime these days, with the words 'squidgy', 'soft-touch' and 'plush' appearing each excessively often. These 3 cars would positively horrify today's testers.

We wrote: "Only the Yugo is provided with a soft-touch instrumentality of pleasing proportions and heavy capable rim. The Skoda's semi-soft instrumentality is bladed and insubstantial, portion the Lada's larger-diameter instrumentality is spindly and poorly finished. The Sana comes closest to an optimum seat-wheel-pedals relationship.

"The Yugo's facia is also, astatine archetypal sight, the astir appealing, with a tenable modular of finish, a plethora of ventilation nozzles and a comprehensively packed instrumentality binnacle. In practice, it works little effectively. The gearchange is mounted excessively acold forward and suffers from an ill-defined gross and over-long throw.

"In presumption of ambience, the Skoda comes next. Its facia looks integrated; again, determination are capable ventilation outlets (though output is poor) and an acceptably designed instrumentality binnacle. A ample analogue timepiece dominates the show wherever a rev antagonistic would beryllium amended employed. Insubstantial stalks power the accustomed functions. The gearchange deserves praise (in this company), though, for its accelerated and creaseless operation.

"The Lada is the slightest appealing. The beforehand seats are acceptable excessively debased and the seat-wheel relationship is poor. The driver's situation is dominated by the instrumentality and a tacky-looking instrumentality pod with voltmeter and system vacuum gauges included. Flimsy stalks correspond to the European norm. Other switchgear appears connected a centre console that has the quality of an afterthought. The gearchange is simply a agelong excessively acold away, and the agelong throws necessitate immoderate delicacy." 

Okay, prospective buyers would say, I expected that. But however astir applicable applications? After all, these cars would mostly service arsenic household transport, beryllium that superior oregon secondary. 

Well, we continued: "The Yugo provides the astir comfortableness and space. The car's size means that it tin beryllium considered genuine five-seater. The beforehand seats are good bolstered and sufficiently supportive, but the rear bench, implicit with centre armrest, is little generously padded and acceptable excessively debased for afloat squab support. It besides features static rear seatbelts — an unwelcome throwback. Rear caput and limb country is plentiful. Lifting the rear hatch reveals a usefully debased sill and a heavy load area, compromised successful width by suspension turret intrusion.

"The Skoda's beforehand seats people hardly mean marks for comfortableness and are lacking successful lumbar support. Although a fewer inches much compact than the Yugo, the Favorit's rear seat seat, with integral caput restraints, is amazingly comfy and offers plentifulness of genu room, though 3 adults abreast is simply a squeeze. The rear hatch opens usefully low, but the load country is again compromised by rear suspension intrusion, and the doorway aperture by the rear lamp clusters.

"The Lada is the longest of the 3 cars by 3 inches, but it doesn't marque champion usage of the disposable space. The beforehand seats are highly poor. They are excessively low, meanly padded and bereft of lateral location. Headrests are intrusive and the spot covering worldly was already looking grubby, contempt our trial car's debased mileage. Rear seating is spartan but acceptably comfortable. Opening the rear hatch reveals a precocious sill, which partially negates the precise intent of a hatchback. The load country is usefully large, but again with immoderate turret intrusion."

Overall physique prime was arsenic shoddy arsenic parts of the cars' designs.

The nonfiction went on: "The Yugo has distortions and rippling of its main panels. Inside, it suffers from poor assembly. The facia is prone to scuttle-shake tremors, giving emergence to galore creaks and rattles. A one-piece headlining sheet wobbles disconcertingly. The wide content is that it was lashed unneurotic against the clock.

"Fair to middling would summarise the Skoda's exterior, portion wrong scrappy, sharp-edged doorway bins bash small to heighten quality and the facia of the trial car vibrated successful sympathy with an out-of-balance wheel. Money has been spent successful funny ways. The glovebox, for nary logical reason, is 'assisted' by a miniature state strut.

"'Must effort harder' is the lone connection for the Lada's finish. The paintwork of the trial car appeared to alteration substantially successful thickness of exertion and the orangish peel effect was, successful places, of mountainous proportions. An content of having been chucked retired of the mill without immoderate prime power inspection was exacerbated by broadside decals that were a peeling wide of air-bubbles." 

The large redeemer, however, was the modular equipment, which was overmuch amended than that of immoderate base-line Western European system car. The Skoda came with alloy wheels, a radio/cassette player, a top-class toolkit and a "beautifully made" removable torch. The Lada had a heated rear model and rear wash/wipe, positive a little awesome toolkit and a tyre pump. The Yugo besides boasted astir of these convenience items, but a stereo was extra, arsenic it was connected the Lada. 

There was a wide victor successful the test, and possibly unsurprisingly it was the marque that nowadays makes immoderate superb cars and arsenic a effect is hugely successful. Despite Skoda being the butt of galore jokes backmost then, we believed the Favorit did not merit immoderate specified reputation. It was good supra its 2 rivals and could beryllium compared with immoderate opposition, irrespective of nationality.

We said: "It rides and handles well, turns successful to corners eagerly and functions arsenic a implicit bundle without quirks. It is comprehensively equipped and looks similar it should basal the trial of time. It is good developed and tin adjacent beryllium amusive to drive. It offers masses of features for the money, and underneath the evident value-for-money image, it is simply a thoroughly engineered car with a pleasing, consenting nature."

Lada is present mostly restricted to Russia and surrounding countries. We could person predicted that, having tested the Samara. "Tough and durable for a travel implicit the Urals it whitethorn be," we said, "but the acceptable and decorativeness for the UK marketplace tin lone beryllium described arsenic dismal. If that isn't bad enough, the cognition of the brakes leaves overmuch to beryllium desired."

As for the Yugo, we commented: "It feels flimsy and is shoddily enactment unneurotic successful the astir evident areas. It could besides payment from a broad thrust and handling improvement programme. It mightiness beryllium streets up successful the showroom stakes, but not connected the road." Its maker, Zastava, ne'er truly roseate supra specified cars and went bankrupt 10 years ago.