Why did Skoda have such a bad reputation 10+ years ago?
Discussion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%A0koda_130/135/13...
They made horrible old rear engined junk. Think the original VW Beetle, but worse.
They made horrible old rear engined junk. Think the original VW Beetle, but worse.
BluePurpleRed said:
Yeah, it was just uncool to like them. They were viewed as a slightly improved Lada. Not good.
How do you double the price of a Skoda? Fill it with Petrol.
I think they are decent now, and have a strong rally pedigree IIRC
An improvement to the LadaHow do you double the price of a Skoda? Fill it with Petrol.
I think they are decent now, and have a strong rally pedigree IIRC
Thats not really saying much to be honest!! I owned a Lada Riva Estate and that thing was improved by the piece of cornflake box i had to use to keep the window shut!!
Both the old Lada and Skoda are rare things now though and quite sort after in some ways, very retro and they could be quite cool with modern engines/running gear etc.
This thread really takes me back to the golden oldies of car jokes
Why do they fit heated rear screens to Skodas - To keep your hands warm when pushing them (beaten to it!!!)
What's the difference between a Skoda and a sheep - You're less embarrased being seen getting out of the back of a sheep.
What do you call a Skoda on a hill - a miracle
My dad had one and the exhaust fell off completely on the way home one day and improved the car immensly - at least it sounded like a car. (this is not a joke, it really happened!!)
Why do they fit heated rear screens to Skodas - To keep your hands warm when pushing them (beaten to it!!!)
What's the difference between a Skoda and a sheep - You're less embarrased being seen getting out of the back of a sheep.
What do you call a Skoda on a hill - a miracle
My dad had one and the exhaust fell off completely on the way home one day and improved the car immensly - at least it sounded like a car. (this is not a joke, it really happened!!)
Edited by SuffolkFox on Thursday 9th December 15:13
Snobbery.
Skodas and ladas= Cheap, reliable motoring, made to last and be fixed easily. primative, but does what it says on the tin.
none of this "hand me £100 and plug it into the computer oh right computer say blah de blah well I'll replace this module then that module then the other module" bulls
t.
(from someone with a 3 year old 16,000 mile merc van that needs a new spring and a £200 accelerator thing module. who's laughing?)
Skodas and ladas= Cheap, reliable motoring, made to last and be fixed easily. primative, but does what it says on the tin.
none of this "hand me £100 and plug it into the computer oh right computer say blah de blah well I'll replace this module then that module then the other module" bulls
t.(from someone with a 3 year old 16,000 mile merc van that needs a new spring and a £200 accelerator thing module. who's laughing?)
hairyben said:
Snobbery.
Skodas and ladas= Cheap, reliable motoring, made to last and be fixed easily. primative, but does what it says on the tin.
none of this "hand me £100 and plug it into the computer oh right computer say blah de blah well I'll replace this module then that module then the other module" bullst.
(from someone with a 3 year old 16,000 mile merc van that needs a new spring and a £200 accelerator thing module. who's laughing?)
I have to be honest i really miss my Lada! It was bloody awful in almost every way but it was certainly built well! You could drive through brick walls in the thing and it would just keep going. My mobile phone possibly has more power though and the brakes on my mountain bike are better, still, it was proper old school technology and about as basic as an engine and drive train can get so very easy to repair i would imagine!Skodas and ladas= Cheap, reliable motoring, made to last and be fixed easily. primative, but does what it says on the tin.
none of this "hand me £100 and plug it into the computer oh right computer say blah de blah well I'll replace this module then that module then the other module" bulls
t.(from someone with a 3 year old 16,000 mile merc van that needs a new spring and a £200 accelerator thing module. who's laughing?)
Any of you actually had a RWD Skoda?
Thought not. The main issue was they were cheap. Very cheap and in standard form rather slow with a shoddy interior.
I had a couple and my brother had one. First was a visually standard Estelle with uprated carb, competition clutch, 185 tyres and various other bits. It could easily rev to 8000rpm and quite happily cruise at one lepton - 6500rpm. I never timed the 0..60 but felt about as my MG TF, so roughly GTI go. Noise-wise it was a bit similar to my MR2; though a bit buzzy for most people.
For a saloon handling was excellent though you could feel the effect of that weight in the back it still hung on well, again like the '2. The super fast steering was probably as good as any car I've ever driven (Elise included) so if the back got away you could (usually) catch it.
The interior trim wasn't the highest quality but quite comfortable and the electrics were pretty awful except the Hella headlamps (floodlamps more like). These were probably the best of any car I've ever driven but bulbs were about £30 ago - in the 80s.
I sold mine at 7 years old so it hadn't had chance to start rusting. Compared with mates Horizons, Escorts, Golfs etc. I'd say the Skoda (with performance mods) was probably the better car. They seemed to like it too.
Then when somebody went into the back of my Cavalier (awful car) I asked my brother to find me a cheap car. £80 of Skoda Estelle 120L was a pretty cheap car. What a disappointment, dog slow, the lower trim spec was truely awful (it could have been a Ford) but it still rode and handled fairly well; certainly better than that Cavalier MK2. Once we managed to get it off the speedo (downhill) on the Melton Mowbray road and up the other side for some distance. Strangely it never ran properly after that, then the sills disintegrated...
I reckon they're the nicest of the early 80s small cars, which is admittedly not that big an achievement; until the 205 knocked it off the top spot that is.
Thought not. The main issue was they were cheap. Very cheap and in standard form rather slow with a shoddy interior.
I had a couple and my brother had one. First was a visually standard Estelle with uprated carb, competition clutch, 185 tyres and various other bits. It could easily rev to 8000rpm and quite happily cruise at one lepton - 6500rpm. I never timed the 0..60 but felt about as my MG TF, so roughly GTI go. Noise-wise it was a bit similar to my MR2; though a bit buzzy for most people.
For a saloon handling was excellent though you could feel the effect of that weight in the back it still hung on well, again like the '2. The super fast steering was probably as good as any car I've ever driven (Elise included) so if the back got away you could (usually) catch it.
The interior trim wasn't the highest quality but quite comfortable and the electrics were pretty awful except the Hella headlamps (floodlamps more like). These were probably the best of any car I've ever driven but bulbs were about £30 ago - in the 80s.
I sold mine at 7 years old so it hadn't had chance to start rusting. Compared with mates Horizons, Escorts, Golfs etc. I'd say the Skoda (with performance mods) was probably the better car. They seemed to like it too.
Then when somebody went into the back of my Cavalier (awful car) I asked my brother to find me a cheap car. £80 of Skoda Estelle 120L was a pretty cheap car. What a disappointment, dog slow, the lower trim spec was truely awful (it could have been a Ford) but it still rode and handled fairly well; certainly better than that Cavalier MK2. Once we managed to get it off the speedo (downhill) on the Melton Mowbray road and up the other side for some distance. Strangely it never ran properly after that, then the sills disintegrated...
I reckon they're the nicest of the early 80s small cars, which is admittedly not that big an achievement; until the 205 knocked it off the top spot that is.
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