I'm from Vietnam. My dad had one of these (or it might have been the 2101). It has been my dream car ever since my dad gave it away a few years ago. So many fond memories of drives along the beach sitting in the backseats with no seatbelts, and just letting the wind do the cooling. Coolest thing were the tiny swiveling front windows, my 7-year-old brain back then loved messing with them. It broke down several times on trips we would go during the summer and was too difficult/expensive to maintain, which was why my dad got rid of it. If someone has one of these, or knows a person who has one of these, it would be a dream if I could drive it just once! Thank you Zack, I very much appreciated this review :)
sadly your dad get rid of Lada, here in Russia is still a LOT parts for them, and they're cheap. Last month i've changed rear window in my 21063 and it costed me only 2000 roubles
Heater was not optional. It was standard in every lada. My family had ladas since 1980. Even the cheapest model called "2101" had a heater. Radio and rear window heat was optional.
This is an icon. This particular one looks wonderful. I remember a lot of them being in white from my childhood. Overall well robust cars from the 80s. Not really modern, but built to last. Just the corrosion wast the real problem on these. Keep up, you got my like.
Hi Zack, this car is based on the original mid sixties Fiat 124, an Italian mid size sedan very popular in my country. When it was discontinued they sent all the blueprints and the entire proction line to the Ussr. From then on the Lada became a much loved car in the Eastern world and a piece of automotive history. Always nice to follow you from Italy.
124 wasn't discontinued when Lada started. USSR made a contract with Fiat to create VAZ (Lada factory), this involved Fiat co-running the business for several years. Fiat and VAZ together did two redesigns: 2101 with overhead cam engine and strengthened body, and the quad headlamp 124S, which became 2106 in this video. The 2101 was sold in USSR from 1970, but original fiat 124 only stopped production in 1974. Only after Fiat stopped production could VAZ export cars.
My granddad used to tell me about the succession of about 5 Ladas he owned (As he was a high-ranking professor, none of them came with the dreaded 10-year wait as popularized by Reagan) - Starting from the 2101 up to a 21053 (which was apparently a 2105 with a meatier 2103 engine). I never got to see any of them; by the time I was born, most of the family drove Moskvitch 2141s, and when I was 3 years old my ma got herself a 1.8 first-gen Focus and never looked back.
I have never heard about that optional heater theory before.. I am afraid that is some kind of urban legend, have seen a lot of ladas and never one without heat.
Optional heater - this is urban legend. I am Bulgarian - my father had lada 2101 and years later I had 2106. No such thing as optional heater. I guess everybody in the world knows about Russian winters. And yes - all Ladas are heavyly based on Fiat and first models (2101) are copletly identical with Fiat from the 60s.
What a great find and review that hit home to me! My late father was a taxi driver in Budapest who went to heaven in one of these. When I find one I'm grabbing it up in his honor!
im from germany and will buy one next week hopefully... best car ever! still affordable in these days... it just needs old fashioned care every next 10kmiles... will last forever.
@@SteveOnlin looked one up today, it was a shit Hole... But on Saturday I will look for a really good one but a good way to drive ...about 4h away hope it pay out.
I drove in the 1977 version with a 1500cc engine. I remember the steering was extremely heavy and the clutch was an on/off switch. But they were luxurious, cheap, sturdy and spacious. Fun fact, the rev counter, the inside mirror and the hand brake lever can also be found in the Lancia Stratos WRC rally car from the seventies.
Really enjoyed your video. So nice to see a review on a Lada by someone who is not deeply biased against them before they’ve even driven one. In 1983 I bought a brand new dark red 2106. Here it was badged as the Lada 1600ES. It was well finished and amazing value for money. I thought that the level of finish and equipment was amazing, from that incredible toolkit, which also had an analogue tyre gauge and the interesting addition of the red safety lights on the inside door edges which came on every time the door was opened. One thing I did notice on your vehicle was that the gauges had symbols indicating their functions, the ones on mine had Cyrillic letters instead. It a great deal of car for your money.
I've never heard of this brand of car, lol. It looks very utilitarian, but obviously made well since it's 40 years old and looks pretty dang good still 👍
Sold in low numbers here in Ireland as a budget option, but there was massive stigma to owning one. And many many jokes attached to their image. All in all not a bad car but it was based on a Fiat design from the 60’s. Russia removed the fruity Italian twin cam and sporty suspension and replaced it with some Russian “upgrades”
They were cheap, simple, and sturdy to cope with Russian roads and winters. Millions were made over 40some years and a high number are still on the road today. Like Alan said, it's an old Fiat design that the Soviets simplified and reinforced. If you were an average Joe this was about as nice a car you'd be allowed to buy in the USSR.
Mechanically talking this cars were robust the big problem was electrical system (alternator/starter) i havent seen worst systems in any other car, the big problem is that this failures leave you stranded, the rest of the car was 0 problem tbh
@@bid84 The fiat version of the car didn't have a twin cam engine, it had a pushrod engine. The lada version was a legitimate upgrade with an overhead camshaft. This particular model (2106) was actually used as the basis for a high end fiat model, the 124S.
I own one of these too, they are awesome cars with a ton of soul and character. From what I know the front seat belts on this one might have been replaced. They should have been the same brown ones as the back seat. Also these cars never came standard with a radio and the owner had to install one themselves if they wished so, so if the speaker is behind that vent near the gearshift it was put there by one of the previous owners, as thats actually part of the heating system. I'm also afraid the toolkit bag is not the original, the tools are. The real one is a bag which unfolds like a cross containing spanners, a air preassure gauge for the tires, the handcrank and a bicycle pump. The other part was a grey plastic case containing more spanners, that white screw driver and a feelergauge. Nice review! I love how passionate you are about this car. Normally people laugh and poke fun at them. Which gets old at times.
I still own and drive 1990 produced Lada 2106 (actually, 21063 - a version with smaller and less powerful 1.3l 62hp engine) and this review is pleasure to see)
The 2106 has nothing in common with any FIAT. The 2106 has its own OHC-Engine, Drivetrain, suspension, fuel system and so on. Even the interieur is special. What you mean are some optical similarities with the FIAT 125p.
@@erwing.3902 Sorry, but you’re mistaken. This is basically a Fiat 124, not a car that coincidentally resembles one. The shape is pure 124, the dash layout with those round vents that can defrost or vent are pure Fiat.
@@IanForsythWestCoast You know, that the Soviet Union developed five different LADA Models with different designations? Only the first Model, the "2101" has some (optical) similarities with the Fiat 124.
This is amazing review of a car honestly. You appreciate this thing for what it was during its times and era, you appreciate the history and that this was The dream for so many people which didn't have anything else to drive. You don't mock it like early version of doug demuro for the sake of views. This was a genuinely amazing review where you give this old puppy the love it deserves in the universe for being what it is. ❤️
I've always been fascinated by these.. and how unbelievably long their production run was. Variants of this thing were being built up until 2015 or 2016. This one is particularly nice and you can still see the Fiat lineage pretty clearly.
My grandpa and uncle had one,1977/78. indestructible. And the funny thing I remember is, that in the toolkit was a crank to start the engine in case the battery was dead.
That was my first car at 17 bought with my own money in Canada.It was a decent little learner car, as long as it only traveled in the city. As a side note, my Saab 99, had the exact same front seat belt set up....
That's probably the nicest Ziguli- er, Lada I've ever seen! I work at a rally track where we have a bunch of these old Ladas as rally cars. We always joke that there's never a day where you have nothing to do because there's bound to be a Lada that randomly decided that it didn't need its motor oil, etc.
Greetings from Canada 🇨🇦 ! We got these Ladas here in Canada back from the 70s through the mid 90s . These were known as the 1500 and Signet . Some of my friends had these and they were very roomy and simple cars . Great Times ...
@@runoflife87 most Canadians bought them and beat the shit out of them, then abandoned them in a field. Some decent examples do still exist out west though. In eastern shit hole provinces the road salt destroyed them
This is only car that will reliably start at -40. Some even came with hand crank thru front bumper, and these cars had low compression for easier cranking.
@@runoflife87 I didn´t explain myself good enough. The Lada 2106 design was made upon Fiat 125/124. My father used to have a Fiat 125 and a Seat 1430 Ranchera (Station wagon) in the late 70s in Spain. Later on, in late 80s we could realized in Venezuela Lada cars were as awesome as those Fiat/Seat cars 125/1430 we enjoyed a lot.
That Lada right there is what you call a basic car. No frills, not many features, it's just functional. They just don't make things like that these days. I kinda miss that, for some reason.
1983 was the year they were sold here in The UK,as the Lada Riva! They were quite common on our roads in the 80s & 90s,one of the cheapest cars you could buy here in England in the 80s & 90s,along with the FSO Polonez(Polski Fiat),Zastava Yugos(Serbian/Yugoslavian Fiat based),& the Skoda from Czechoslavia/Czechia& Slovakia today)
Жигули - ( Жигулёвские горы) name of montains near city where this car were produced. Lada - woman s name. Shallop - emblem on all Lada s - is because again - city where they producing build on river Volga, where a lot of this stuff travel up and down a lot time ago. Now you know more. )
The logo is what I believe stands not for an L...might be...but if you look closely it is a nice pictogram of a Viking ship or sort of. Back when my Father owned one Lada 2101 I noticed much later as it reminded me of the cartoon movie Vicky the Viking 😊
Lada is Russian female name from the ancient times. And the ship you mean - is ладья (ladia) Both words have one root - Лад - Lad, which means "Harmonized row or series" , Harmony itself. There are lots of words with root лад in Russian - adjective and verbs. To adjust, to fix, to apply carefully. The Lad itself means also a musical lad.
I spent some time behind the wheel of a "Zhiguli 7" (Russian: Жигули 7) in Russia. It was also sold as the Lada 7. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Mixing it up with other drivers in Russian traffic was more unnerving than the car itself. ;-) Because of the cost of model redesigns, Russian car models went largely unchanged for decades at a time. The 1997 model I drove also sported a small, carbureted engine, manual choke, manual transmission, and manual everything-else. ;-)
Where did you get the information that heater was an option? :o I'm not really familiar with 2106 but rather with the 2101 and 2105/7 models, and in those all had heating. 2106 is supposed to be the fancy version of the 2101, so I would assume heating being an option might just be an urban legend? These cars were produced where winters are really harsh, and actually their heating system is really hot and quick to warm up. But anyway, I'm curious, let me know
Im had to chance tomorrow work on this car back then my Father owns a shop some of the customers are from Embassies.,, Russian Embassy .. reminded my sweet memories of my late father and this car stay in mind .. thanks for the video
This was originally a FIAT 124 adapted to the USSR climate and needs. Therefore, this car was even more popular since it was sold in many more countries. Additionally, in Spain, it was manufactured and sold under the name of SEAT 124 and 1430. Cheers!
Thank God your channel is not big: otherwise there would be many famous guys from Russia, who want to hype in the comments. Btw, Lada officially was sold in Canada (80s-90s) by Lada Canada and Peter Dennis Motors.
Some VWs from the 70s sold in Europe had that unusual seatbelt buckling procedure! My cousin had a 1978 VW Polo in 1986,here in England, that had them. That was the first time I'd come across them
Well, many not true informations in video... Heater was in all LADA cars, Headrests were not in 2103 model, but 2106 has it... and I am only in1/3 of video, but I keep watching... 😀
My childhood car. When i was a kid dad owned some pretty cool cars like 944, Prelude or RX-7. But grandfather's beige 2106 was my fave hands down anyways))
That's a *clean* one. I basically honed my driving in one (the 1200 cc version hardly had power to break the rear loose even on snow). Momentum cars baybee!
the shape was a copy of Fiat, so it's a classic Rally car shape. I saw a pimped out rally version of this earlier this summer, looked so good. and the Logo is the most manly car logo ever made. Nothing is more manly then a viking longship.
I remember as a kid in the 80’s, a Lada dealership locally not far from my house here in Hamilton Ontario Canada(40 minutes from the Buffalo NY border)
73 horsepower from a 1.6 liter is honestly respectable and almost impressive when you compare it to a car like the mitsubishi mirage or nissan sentra. Especially when its a tiny engine from the 1980s
This car has a great condition. Most of them in russia can't brag about this. And you are right its a first car for a lot of people there. Not only this - all the models of classic lada 2101-2107. My fisrt car was 2104 and after that I can drive any car in the world.
Nearly bought one of these back in 1979.It eas a choice between this,a Ford Escort Mk 2 Mexico or an Opel Kadett coupé.The Mexico won.Likef the Lada though.l'm the UK,and these were sold here. Great review Zack👍😃!
I remember when Lada arrived in Canada, they where almost half the price of the cheapest car you could buy before. They sold a lot in the first years, and then the quality issues popped up and the sales tanked. I had a co-worker who was a taxi driver and had one... in the end he used to park on the top of a hill so he could start the engine on compression going down. I almost bought the Samara (the hatchback Lada) in 1997 I think, it was something like 5999$ brand new (Canadian dollars mind you). When I saw things added for the Canadian market like seatbelt lights and third brake lights that looked like they where handmade I decided to pass.
I had two of these. It was piece of...work. Unreliable, underpowered ,spare parts quality was (I guess still is) worse than factory ones. It's in constant need of maintenance. Originally seatbelt connector wasn't like that ,it was like the ones in the back. These ones in the front looks to be from some kind of "export" model (it has word "press" written in English which was never the case on soviet market).Interior heaters wasn't optional, they where all the same from 2101 to 2107 (and they had a relatively good heat output in harsh winters),but radio was optional ,not all of them had it from the factory.
My grandpa’s first car was a Žigulik Combi, so an estate version of this. He had it from 1976 to 1997. It cost around 65k Kčs, counting inflation and exchange rate for today it would be 31k USD. Lada (VAZ) made some decent cars back then. At least something good coming from the USSR 😅
We had many jokes about Lada in Norway when they were popular here. How do you double a Lada's value? Fill it up with petrol. Why do Ladas have heated rear windows? So that your hands won't freeze when pushing it. Are you happy with your new Lada? Yes! Now I'm always first in the queue on the road! And one lost in translation: What is LADA an abbreviation of? Laget Av Diverse Avfall (made from miscellaneous garbage).
Tbf you got lucky to get a soviet lada, Russian ones got greatly simplified after the end of the USSR to stay competitive, sometimes to the detriment of quality. The lada was more high end in the USSR, more common cars being the Zaporozhets and Msokvich, but after the fall of communism it quickly found itself as the budget option, which obviously affected the quality.
the russian pronounciation of "lada" (the name you didnt risk yourself to pronounce) is "jee" "goo" "lee" (written "jigouli" in french, i got this from a french/russian youtuber)
