50 years of Lada: The Cold War-era car that has a special place in British hearts | X8Y054R | 2024-05-01 11:08:01
What do you call a Lada on top of a hill? A miracle, the joke goes.
Although, as I found driving around the former Soviet Union where the car was born in 1973, a hill comes in handy when your engine fails.
Half a century after the Russian-made cars were first introduced to the UK, in May 1974, the cars are seeing a resurgence in popularity, and soaring price tags to go with it.
An entire community of superfans has formed around Ladas. Dedicated Facebook groups have tens of thousands of members between them.
Many look to Ed Hughes, 53, as something of an expert, and he firmly disagrees with their reputation for breakdowns.
Ed, who lives in Devon, owns a collection of 20 classic cars from the former Eastern Bloc, seven of which are Ladas.
Among them is a Lada Oka, a small city car his friend drove back from Moscow over three days in 2016.
He told Metro.co.uk: 'Most are a bit down at heel when you get them, so I put in time to bring them up to standard and they generally stay that way.'
The Lada arrives in Britain
Ladas, produced by the Russian state-owned AvtoVAZ company, first came into his life as a child in the 1970s, not long after the first models had rolled off the ships at Hull.
The economy was turning, heavy industries were dying, and people were in need of 'cheap, dependable transport'.
Quickly they became a common sight up North, in 'crapped out industrial towns when people were inevitably made redundant', Ed said.
He told Metro.co.uk: 'Cars used to go wrong with terrifying regularity and people were terrified of huge bills because the gearbox had blown up or something.
'So a lot of people would buy a Lada because it wasn't a fashionable car or anything, but it was a basic, reasonably sized car with a warranty.'
This caught the eye of Ed's dad – recently laid off from the textile industry – when he saw a neighbour driving one around Bolton.
He too joined the growing craze with a brand new model.
So when it came to buying his first car in 1991, Ed looked to the Lada.
He bought a second hand Lada Riva with 20,000 miles. At £1,400, it was the cheapest car available.
'I'm rather eccentrically still driving it', he said. And it drives 'beautifully'.
Ed added: 'It continues to run like a sewing machine. The gearbox is lovely and crisp.
'The engine is nice and quiet and smooth. There are never any problems with it.'
That's true even of the times he's driven 250 miles in a Lada 1200 from 1979 without a hitch.
A new era of popularity
Ladas are still a budget car of convenience in former Soviet states – from Ukraine to Uzbekistan.
You can buy a second hand, first generation Lada with a sticky door and tyres that need replacing for less than £100.
But they've virtually vanished from the streets in Britain.
Their popularity is climbing though.
As Ed puts it, there are three types of people who buy a Lada – those like him who've always driven them, those who fancy a classic car in middle age, and young people looking for a vintage aesthetic.
Something 'struck' Mike Tanas when he turned 30 in 2019. He wanted a classic car.
The 34-year-old told Metro.co.uk: 'I was looking around at all the typical stuff – Ford Escorts, Volkswagen Golf, Fiat.
'And then I thought, why not a Lada? I've got a lot of pictures of them from my childhood.'
Born to a Russian mother and a Moldovan father, Mike was well acquainted with Ladas.
Mike said: 'It's not something I've just plucked from the sky and thought, 'You know what, I fancy one of those'. I do have a connection with the car. I have fond memories.'
(Picture: Mike Tanas)
But it had been two decades since he'd last seen one when his uncle collected his family from the airport in Moldova when he was 14.
'To be honest with you', Mike said, 'I didn't think there were any around in the UK.'
He was planning to buy one in Ukraine and drive back with it until he found one for sale on eBay for £2,050.
Everything was worn from years of use – the tyres, the breaks, the steering wheel.
But it was still 'a solid car', even if the 45mph drive from Manchester to London was a bit 'sketchy'.
He said: 'I've had quite a relationship with the car, from buying it to driving it down year to having done loads of work on it, especially during lockdown period. That car has kept me busy.'
'Simple simplicity'
Luckily for Mike he's a motorbike technician by day, so navigating the tools needed to do up the car was no bother to him, even if he'd 'never done anything with a classic car' up to then.
But you don't need a high level of skill to maintain a Lada, and that's always been core to their appeal.
Mike said: 'There's nothing tricky about it. You just need to have a common sense.'
Classic Ladas are simple cars with wind-down windows, no headrests or radio, often heavy controls and breaks you have to clamp.
Their vintage feel and quirks are charming, but they're not as eye-catching or distinct as a Ford Mustang or Chevrolet Corvette, even if their appearance on the roads do turn heads.
Except for the thrill of driving sideways thanks to rear-wheel drive, there's not much exciting about a Lada.
If anything, it's their original appeal that's endured.
It makes them stand out from a crowd of modern cars with multimedia accessories.
They're basic, reliable and easy to maintain, thanks to a factory-made instruction booklet that was still with Ed's first Lada when he bought it second hand.
Mike said: 'It's simple simplicity. There's nothing complicated. You get in the car and there are no electronics, there are no buttons. It's just you and the car.
'There's something very pleasant about that.'
This new era of appeal has seen prices rise in the last decade, according to Ed.
He said: 'Most of the ones I bought, I paid about 100 quid for. I mean, literally, you couldn't give them away 20 years ago.'
Now a wreck of a scarce right-hand drive model would put a £1,500 dent in your pocket, but Ed 'wouldn't advise you to buy' that.
A 'decent' one might cost around £5,000.
Ed said: 'You never come across a cheap one anymore. Before you were falling over them.'
But there is some trouble in the classic Lada market.
War looms over the Lada
Although Ed and his friends have driven classic cars all the way back from Moscow in the past, and Mike dreamt of doing so from Ukraine, war has put a stop to that.
Sanctions placed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine halted production of newer Lada models.
Renault, the French car company, sold its stake in the company back to the Russian state.
Commercial imports from Russia have ceased.
One UK importer, Mark Key, wrote on his website before Renault's withdrawal: 'Lada production in both Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine under Renault majority ownership, employs everyday working people who have been building affordable vehicles exclusively for civilian use continuously since 1969 and I have built a simple enterprise dedicated to selling the great little Niva with its time limited production life to UK enthusiasts.
'As we discontinued new car shipments in February 2022, there are no vehicles left in stock.'
Even imports for personal use have wound down because the situation in both Russia and Ukraine is too politically and physically dangerous for a quick shopping trip.
Despite this, people still buy, sell and drive the Ladas they love.
Ed said: 'It's in many ways been a pleasing constant really, and it's quite nice to see them get a bit of appreciation.'
He added: 'When I go to a strange town, I really notice people turning around the look. It's usually along the lines of, 'It's been so long since I've seen on in general traffic, it's nice to see one scuttling around the place'.'
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