Worked for a Skoda dealer back in early 80's. We had a Bright Green 105 S delivered from the importers. This was the very basic car. Under powered, no radio, absolute basic. It sat in the showroom for a month, no-one was interested in it. So the boss decided to add a couple of bits to it. We put a manual Sunroof in and on the sides running along the bottom of the doors in 30cm high Orange letters 'Skoda'. We also put in a radio/cassette with 4 speakers. It sold in 2 days. We got 2 more and did the same to them. Both sold in a couple of days.
These export cars were never the real "basic" model, which were sold in the Czechoslovakia. They all had something added and the quality control was much higher than what a common bloke could get in it's communistic home. For example, almost all export cars had 5 speed gearbox, the standard was 4 speed tho.
This is my old car, the mileage is genuine. The old chap who owned it parked it up when he stopped driving, I rescued it from his garage - got pics of how it was when I found it. Good to see it back on the road!
Nice to see an old car in such a nice condition. I actually think these cars look and sound very cool, wouldn't mind owning one, and thought you could now pick them up cheap for maybe a few hundred pounds. Nope, can't find a decent one for less than a couple of thousand.
This is what I miss. In the 80s different manufacturers did things their own way; Skoda, Saab, Volvo to a degree, Citroen. They all had their quirks and characteristics. Sometimes that may not have been a good thing, but variety is the spice of life.
Yes now they’ve all been amalgamated into boring monopoly manufacturers were their all owned by 2/3 big manufacturers so all cars are basically the same.
I'm from Czech Republic and these were (obviously) the most common cars even after 2000's. In my family, we owned more than 4 of these, the 105, 100, 120 and even a Rapid. Always loved the sound of the doors closing.. those two little "clap-clap".. ❤️
Swiss man here - I had a 120R in bright orange in the 1990ies - man did I love my little rustbucket. there's a motorway section with a moderately steep climb where I had to put it into 3rd gear to keep 95 kph going. The engine thanked me for that abuse by leaving a coat of oil on the rear cowling. Unfortunately, after about two years, one of the attachment points of the steering became loose due to rust so I had to abandon it because it had become unsafe to drive. Still have some photos in the trunk somewhere...
What I love about older cars that doors were designed to be slammed in order to shut them properly. Oh wait people still slam doors on any modern cars.
awesome. I learned to drive in primrose yellow one back in 1984. Imagine my disappointment as a 17 year old as it pulled up outside my house. but my instructor was quite a character - An Italian. In lessons in the Skoda he used to make me drive circuits around the market square in the centre in Bedford whilst he leaned out of the passenger window shouting at girls "Hey, Maria! Che bello!....Tim, go around again one more time..." On my last lesson we dropped the Skoda off at a garage where he needed to collect his own car. After what seemed like an hour of discussion in italian with the mechanics he gave me a lift home in his bright red Alfa GTV 2000. I can honestly say that I have never been driven as fast in my life. It made a lasting impression on me (you can imagine the impact after the Skoda) and think that one short experience made me a petrol head. Great people, great cars, great times.
If you went to Pilgrim, your lessons would have taken place during the time that you and I knew each other slightly. My Bedford driving lessons a few years later were much less exciting than yours sound...
Tim...loved reading your experience. I was stationed at RAF Chicksands, and in 82 or 83 needed a new car, so test drove a Skoda, a 2CV, and a Mini Mayfair. Bought the Mayfair and never looked back, but the Skoda was #2 on my list.
I really enjoyed watching this. I bought my first Skoda, a bright orange 105 in 1986. An unusual choice of car for a 22 year old lad and it's fair to say I had the pee taken out of me on a regular basis. As I'd just "traded up" from riding a Tomos moped though I'd become rather used to that. Times were hard in the early 80s though and although I dreamed of owning XR3i's and Astra Gte's they remained well out of my budget as a lowly supermarket assistant. Still my bright orange skoda gave me freedom to explore the cotswolds and South West and despite all the jokes she never once broke down on me. I did have to have the clutch replaced and was loaned a brand new 130LSE 5 speed Estelle for the day. My God it felt like sheer luxury, so smooth and quiet, fast too. I even got it up to the heady heights of 80mph on the newly opened super smooth Evesham bypass. Sunroof open and my Level 42 tape blasting from the speakers of the Phillips radio cassette player. I was in sheer ecstasy. So began my life long loyalty to these quirky little cars and even today I drive a Fabia. Now at home receiving chemo and fighting cancer this video made my day. Hearing that Estelle's engine and seeing its interior as it bobbed down the road I was briefly 22 again. Now where did I leave that Level 42 tape ?
5 speed, us Aussies still had to deal with 4 speeds on the falcons and commodores. Skoda perhaps the best eastern block cars, very underrated, and don't deserve the hate, they did the best they could with the limited budget the state gave them.
Most Škoda cars had four-speed transmissions. The first five-speed transmissions had 130L in 1984, types 105 and 120 still had four-speed. In 1988, the 120L received the first five-speed transmission and in our country it was renamed 125L (five means five-speed). Export Škoda cars had slightly different markings and better equipment than in the then Czechoslovakia. What was progressive about the Škoda were the aluminum engine blocks that are common today.
Big understressed engines like in the Falcon don't need as much spread of gears as a wheezy little four. The fourth gear in the Falcon, Commodore and Valiant in the 70s was the overdrive.
I remember way back in 1988 a guy in our office bought a new Skoda Coupe and the amount of stick he took was unreal. People seemed to ignore the great success they had in rallying. I think they where the best of the eastern block offerings.
Yes, the ridicule and mockery that Skoda and their owners had to endure, was totally inappropriate and unjustified. But skoda owners are the ones who are well and truly laughing now!!!!!
The Skoda was popular on both sites of the iron curtain. For East Germans it was a bit easier to buy than a Lada. In the West it was a reliable budget car.
This is peak Hubnut. A balanced, intelligent look at an overlooked and unfairly maligned car range. As you say British humour looks for people or things to knock, often based on class and perceived status. My dad nearly bought one of the early ones in the 1970s. He bought a Vauxhall Viva which was so unreliable. Always wonder what Skoda family life would have been like. Thanks for this video.
Hi Ian, I myself owned a 130lse and it was an absolute brilliant little car. I used to travel from Coleford in the Forest Of Dean to Gloucester 6 days a week for work and my Skoda managed to do this every week rain or shine for just over 5 years without any trouble what so ever. I would have it serviced once a year and I managed to rack up 100k miles in mine. It was a lovely little car.
Rather ridiculous obsession with this mediocre type of car. There's hardly anyone left for obvious reasons, while Volvo Amazon is still running perfectly and sells for the same price as new. Nostalgia blurs the mind...
This is exactly why I enjoy the Hubnut channel. This man “gets it”, the charm of just enjoying operating a piece of machinery, complete with all its charm and personality. Enjoyment is far more than just 0 to 60 times. This car, and so many of the humble former communists cars , are enjoyable in their simplicity, and the simple pleasure of “going for a ride”
Great example, cool video Ian. My grandparents drove these Estelles in the 80's (Holland) up until the mid '90s and as a child, I spent many hours on the back seat. Now, 30 odd years later, I am the owner of 5 Estelles and 2 Rapid Coupés. Over the moon with that, and they are getting really rare now in our country. Apart from that, the nice reactions whilst driving them prove that the Estelle and Rapid series have become true classic cars now.
Couldn’t agree more. And we still use them on a regular base. We even take them on holiday to the Czech Republic. Brings back memories of old family holidays.
In Hungary I spent the half of my childhood in a car like that😄 The other half I spent in Trabants and Ladas. I loved that time but I’m happy in my hybrid Toyota now😅 Every thing has it’s own time..
I used to have fun visiting scrap yards and literally upgraded my 1983 Skoda Estelle 2 with cheap parts unbolted from accident Estelle’s. There was a tan coloured F Reg Estelle with frontal damage - but an intact interior. I literally gutted that vehicle and swopped seats, door panels and the upgraded dashboard into my old A reg. Took the more modern alloy wheels too - they came complete with barely used Goodyear Tyres - I was totally ecstatic. The funny thing was it was all plug and play - the wiring loom for the dashboard was literally identical! And all for well under £100…!!! By the time I was done with the Skoda which also acquired a fog lights grille and a whale tail spoiler (the latter, £1.00 from a boot sale) - everyone thought I was driving an old classic SAAB….🤣🤣🤣. True budget motoring and I enjoyed every minute of it 😃👍
@@datathunderstorm I did the same in the past with ford's. Never with a scrap yard though those guys are often really gready. Friend bought a whole car from a scrap yard and it cost more than a used private equivalent and it was only a parts car. I once swapped everything from a 2.3 ghia Sierra onto a 1.6L bumpers, alloys, whole interior. Dash seats all electrics windows mirrors fuel computer etc. Sold the L spec gear to an old guy he never even noticed just happy it was a clean car with mot.
Passionate dealers: the then-dealers in Brackley not only sponsored a rally car, but did a run of conversions with a gas flowed head, higher compression, free flow exhaust and a dyno set up. My Dad did the dyno setting up (and a couple of conversions) and they were good for nearly 80 bhp. I drove one of them back to the dealer - a Rapid 130 Coupe - and spoiled a few people's day. It was indeed pretty Rapid. The late ones with semi trailing arm rear suspension were decent handlers too.
I always liked the Skodas of that era, at the time it was like having a secret crush on that girl who wasn't cool and maybe looked a bit different...but was attractive BECAUSE she was different and you just knew she'd be a lovely person. As a grown man I now openly proclaim my love for this car, and if anyone wants to make fun of her I'll give you a belt up the bracket!
I used to get a lift home from work in the late 80's in one of these. To me it seemed a perfectly good car and certainly more comfortable than some of it's contemporaries.
My friend’s Dad had one as a company car. He worked for Gledhill Boiler and Central Heating. Whoever selected the company cars certainly had an eclectic taste, as said friend’s Dad had a Morris Ital, then a Maestro, followed by a Lada Riva, then the Estelle and finally a Citroën Xantia.
my late father bought a white skoda rapid 120L 1984 A reg brand new for £3750 , i loved that car and always remember the seats was comfy, and all the nobs to turn things on was like off a gas cooker. he also had a stone slab in the front boot and heavy tool box to weigh the front down, and when the clutch went i was amazed gow easy to get the engine out, by unbolting the rear light panel unscrewing the gear knob and the engine seemed to just slide a little to do what was needed.
Extremely popular in Greece back then, as there were of the cheapest cars in their category! Lots of competition with Ladas, Dacias, Zastavas & Polonez in the Greek market!
My first car was Skoda 105L. I got it from my grandfather who bought it new in 1987 and drove just 25000 km till 2001. It even had original tires Barum OR 6 which allowed you to oversteer the car at 30 kph if you wish to do so. You could drive through your neighbourhood like being in a slow-mo movie chase :)
My dad bought one in this colour without telling us at the time when Skoda Jokes were rife. In short, I wouldn’t take it when offered it for free. I used to drive him to Clacton with a 40kg bag of sand in the front to aid steering. My brother had a red one that broke down in the way to the airport. In short, I miss it and would love another in beige of course.
I love how encouraging and passionate you are while introducing Soviet Block cars. I was also born in Czechoslovakia and drove a 125L for the first time (with new design of gauges from the very end of production). Many families had a limited choice back then and waited even 5-6 years for a new car during 60s, 70s and mid 80s. And like admirers in the UK, our parents and grandparents also treated these vehicles as family members. It was very easy to repair them, although spare parts used to be challenging to get (sometimes). Keep it coming, share your true feelings from a test drive as you always do, only those laugh on them who haven't experienced how they run long-term. Thumbs up for your work mate!
Exactly right. My mum has a 130, saved from the scrap 22 years ago, still going well and for sure it's a member of the family, its never left wet after rain when garaged at the end and she is happy to see it and take a drive.
Come on, spare us that romantic crap. Those days Soviet Block cars were mediocre products, to put it mildly. Why don't anyone boast about the mileage done by this crap? Those days Toyota, Volvo or VW is still running perfectly well, usually half a million kilometers and often 7-800.000. None of those Eastern Block cars could stand that amount of mileage!
I had a 120L5 from new… and it was one of the most glorious cars I’ve ever driven. Where we lived there were a lot of lanes… and a lot of ‘luxury’ marque owners who got very incensed when the found a Skoda in front of them - it was so satisfying to wind them up by doing the speed limit… and then leaving them for dead on the nice twisty lanes! There were a lot of of very upset Jag, Volvo, Saab and BMW drivers in that part of Surrey/Hampshire… when their ‘phallic symbols’ were made to look like Matchbox toys….
The exit to our office block car park was slightly up hill. About four inches of snow fell during the day. Come home time, everyone else was slip sliding wheel spinning around and getting nowhere. I picked my moment, got inside, started up, and drove out. No, I didn't stop to help anyone else, serves 'em right for their sarky comments.
My father used to own a Skoda Estelle in white and it was an excellent little car! Granted the car he had was not in top health suffering from a blown head gasket but man was it hilarious and really fun to work on with him! Fun story on that as well was that it had a few weird issues which were understandable but nevertheless bowel movement inducing such as the understeer, the really fun lift-off oversteer and the fact that the engine would spit fire! I think it was a 1.6 and sounded like a mini rally car with it's awesome exhaust note and engine. I remember he took me to school in it once and nobody there knew what it was as these were super uncommon in Wales at the time and everyone was asking me all day what the car was and how my dad got it. Bloody loved that old car and it was sold on to a restoration company so hopefully it's still out there somewhere enjoying the good life.
Many head gasket failure were down to lack of sufficient anti freeze and a common failure of the radiator temp sensor stopping the cooling fan operating……i always added full gallon of antifreeze and bypass switch on the rad fan….never had an issue on the three cars i had.
Hi Ian just wanted to say thank you and to miss Hub nut and Steph for arranging the meet up today, after 18 months not interacting with people found it daunting but fun, all hub nut people are lovely. Hope you like the tea sorry loose leaf, it isn't builders tea , keemun a delicate chinese tea, just add splash of milk. Thank you again. Kind regards Gerry
My dad had a 105 lux 4 speed in the late 80s when I was a teenager, we used regularly go from Bolton to Paignton to visit our grandparents, 2 adults, 3 kids and a Jack Russell with suitcases on the roof rack. Very reliable car.
Had a 120L for a few years, never let us down, towed a camping trailer fully loaded with canoe on roof rack, two adults and two kids Durham to Devon and back a little slow but 60 mph limit on motorways. Following year loaded up the same went to Isle of Wight no problem. Had 17,000 miles on when bought and 87,000 when sold, 100w/80w headlight bulbs made them the best headlights in any car I`ve owned, I bought it crash damaged repaired it and sold it after 6 years and made £200 profit,
Thank you for that trip down memory lane. I owned a Rapid for a few years. Great fun. The ceramic hob sunroof and that very distinctive engine. I found a bag of cement in the front helped the handling. Mine used to eject the tape from the stereo at 90 mph (yes they could shift). Really was a fun car and so much better than ever given credit for.
My parents had a late '60s Skoda 100 in the early-'70s before I was born. It regularly carried them from Portsmouth on the south coast of England up to the Inverness area in northern Scotland without any issues at all and very economically for the time. They would have happily kept that car for many more years, but it sadly got written off. These cars really were no joke, unlike the yuppies who often were the ones reeling those jokes off... Our local dealer got one of those 120L5s back from a regular customer who had used it as a company vehicle, covering just over 200,000 miles in 3 years without a single issue, other than wearing the gearbox out as the 5-speed units definitely weren't as strong as the 4-speeders. I drove that car after they'd put a new clutch and a 4-speed gearbox out of one of the parts cars they had laying around, and it still drove exactly like a new one. Everything on it worked perfectly too, not that they really had much, but nothing really did back in the late-'80s. Nearly 70,000 miles a year without issues, that's definitely no joke...
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Had one same green. Drove it 90 miles a day, 5 days a week. 50 weeks a year, for 12 years, plus additional fun runs. In the left hand drive version the wheel well made a fantastic foot rest so extremely comfortable to drive long distances. Also would not have called it cheap, but rather inexpensive. Would buy another in a heartbeat.
My dad had one of these in 'fastback' form for a year or two, back in the early 80s. I did borrow it from time to time, and it wasn't nearly as bad as people made out. It did sound a little agricultural, however. After a while he replaced it with a Hyundai Pony hatchback, which seemed something of a step up. Then he got a Toyota Carina II, which was a step up again. But I quite liked the Skoda, and didn't encounter any handling problems myself.
When I changed my second 120L for a Favorit GLXi Estate in 1996 that felt like a quantum leap forward. Two Felicias and a Fabia later I can say each one was better than the previous model, but imo, the Favorit fuel injected models were the great leap forward for Skoda. Even so, I still miss my old 120Ls. They were interesting and unusual cars to drive and quite solid and reliable.
Beacuse "fastback" (called Skoda Rapid) had more sophisticated rear axle than common Estellas and have much much better hadling and much les vibration and noise from engine.
I had two Estelles. The first was the earlier 120LSE with all the black plastic "aero kit" , the second was an Estelle 2 130LSE and I loved both of them. They were utterly reliable and never let my and my family down. A few things that I remember is that: 1, we could never have the heating set on full, even in the coldest U.K. winter or it felt like we were being roasted. 2, the steering always felt incredibly light, probably because of the rear mounted engine. 3, the fact that the engine had a manual fuel priming lever on the carb. This came in very useful when we had to leave on of our Estelles sitting unused for a long period of time. When it came to start it up we primed the carburettor with half a dozen strokes of the lever and turned the engine over and it fired up first time and began running as sweet as if we'd never stopped using her.
Fond memories of my 130L in that 'burnt orange' colour. Daughter stated I doubled it's value by putting a black vinyl roof on, like you did in the late 80's. Bought for £25 with 6 months Tax & 1/2 tank of petrol, next door neighbor was scrapping it having got a cheap Maestro Estate via BAE where he worked. Cam chain a doddle to do wiz the rear panel off and lower tube cross member, about 8 bolts I think. Mind, the rear axle nut took a 10ft scaffold pole and the taper fit hubs a nightmare to remove. Scrapped it for £50 3 yrs later!👍🤭😎🇬🇧
Happy memories, owned three skodas, first was the 136 estelle, then two rapides, spent many years in the 136 travelling over the North Yorkshire Moors, ended its life with 156000 miles on the clock, used to put two sand bags in front boot in winter to help with traction and handling, fantastic in winter, never got stuck, used Stomil tyres for winter traction, amazing cars.
Bought a very used Skoda 105 as my first rear engine Skoda. Few years later when I could afford a new car bought a new Skoda Rapid 136 sport, one of the last rear engine cars sold in 1990, in racing baby poo brown which was damaged at a few weeks old so they lent me a 120l five just like the one you tested. The 120l was quite a lowly spec as didn't even have a radio & I was overjoyed to get the Rapid back after a slightly delayed repair as the parts had to come from Czechoslovakia. I have some very happy memories of driving the Skoda's. Yes I did get some stick for driving a Skoda & sometimes ended up hearing all the Skoda jokes several times a day. Your test brought back a lot of memories.
I bought a beat-up and rusted S100R Skoda in the UK as a second car in '82-'83 only because it was less likely to get vandalised when parked in town at night. In the end it turned out to be one of my favorite cars. One feature I've always liked, common to this 120L, the water pump has a cap on the top (visibile in the video) which you can fill with grease and that gets pressed into the bearing when screwed back in place. The aluminium block had wet liners which in theory could be replaced instead of machine-boring the cylinders. The coupe had an oil cooler but I found out (after a tube burst) that its flow path paralleled the main galley and therefore could be blocked off without causing any problem. I always liked that a rear seat passenger could check and replenish gearbox oil while on the move to save time, lol. The swing-axle handling was a lot of fun at city speeds in the rain but at open road speeds it could catch you out.
1:55 - when I had an Estelle, one time I was in a supermarket car park loading shopping into the boot when a small boy of about 9 wandered over and was puzzled as to why I was putting shopping on top of the engine. It was a bit of an education to him to learn that the engine was in the back.
I worked in a garden centre in 1997 I was 17. Imagine my amazement when the lady opened the bonnet and asked me to load the bags of compost she had purchased into tht front. "does this car run on soil?!" I said!
@@andrewmairs5865 Just shows that most people don't know the Estelle engine is in the back. It just doesn't look like a rear-engined car. There is a reason for this - it was originally intended to be front engine front wheel drive, but Soviet Russia, who were stumping up the money to put it into production, refused to pay up on the grounds that Czechoslovakia as it was then would have a more advanced car than they did. So Skoda had to base the mechanicals on the Estelle's predecessor the 110R.
I never ceased to be amused by the looks I always got, when loading the shopping into the Frunk of any of the 4 Skodas I owned. Absolutely hilarious! People were eager to laugh at the car, but they didn’t have a clue about how versatile it really was!!!
@@datathunderstorm Indeed. They were good cars within their limitations. Just not mainstream and 'trendy' as most car buyers did and still do think is important in a car. They did just as they were intended to do - cheap basic transport.
@@Nooziterp1 USSR stopping development is popular urban legend, Skoda did develop front engine, rear wheel drive models 720 and 740 in late 60's, but at time, government plan was to industrialize Slovakia (result was BAZ - a car factory with no car to make), so there were no funds left to make so radically different cars - so Skoda only used some of styling of 720 (which was designed by Guigaro) for a new model based on 100. The 740 was replaced by FWD 760, which was codeveloped with Eastern Germany companies (they had technology needed for fwd, in exchange Škoda would supply engines and gearboxes) - but lack of cooperation doomed this project, too.
My very first car was a second hand chocolate brown Skoda Estelle 120LSE, it had the twin headlights, sunroof (which leaked). I remember going through a car wash and laughed as water came pouring through the footwell and once when I was driving on the M25, the spare wheel dropped down onto the road making lots of noise and sparks. It was a fun car though and I loved its quirky character. My heritage is from the Czech Republic of which I am very proud
In fact they couldn't even do that. My local dealer had several one owner mint low mileage models for the 20 quid the scrappy paid when he hauled them off for crushing each week. One even had a lovely note left for the cars next owner from the original buyer with a few of that cars quirks on it. It was a sad time for me as a Skoda owner.
@@VintageLynx That's nice about the note. My second car was a Wartburg. It had a few quirks so the previous owner presented me with a handwritten notebook with some quite detailed troubleshooting advice and even some diagrams. At the end was a bit of "Zen and the art" type philosophy and his phone number. It must have taken him ages to do. I paid £30 for the car. A few years later I paid £45 for a six year old Skoda S100 at auction. It wasn't immaculate but it had only about 30,000 miles and nearly a full MOT. I never did anything to the car and IIRC it was completely reliable. With about 3 months MOT remaining I was due to emigrate and had no one interested in the car. I ended up giving it to a friend who drove me to the airport.
AAAAH, the memories, My very first car in 1985 was a red 1981 Skoda 120L, quite rare in Australia, I'd never seen one before I saw mine at the back of a used car lot, It was only 4 years old and burning oil like it had gone out of style, my father paid the princely sum of $500AUD and we rolled the motor out on a pallet and a couple of skateboards, great times, we rebuilt the engine together and I still remember coming home from passing my driving test, jumping in my Skoda and feeling the freedom, I ended up buying another (white) one, most people had never seen one and I had 2, lol loved my little Skodas, thanks for doing this test drive, brought back many memories.
Before the iron curtain Skoda made prestige high quality cars but during the iron curtain years they were greatly restricted on what they could build and were forced to use components they new were sub-standard so had to do the best they could. One reason they did so well at rallying was because they were aloud to fit what they wanted to the rally spec cars so could show how good the cars could be given free rein
Nice to see the Estelle getting some love. I always fancied the Rapid, which was quite a lively beast. A guy I used to work with had one and loved it. I did have a Favorit estate and later two Felicias, the first with the Skoda engine and the second with the 1.6 VW Polo motor. That was a very competent car and served me well for several years.
The Skoda won its class because it was the only vehicle in that class .Having said that I know a bloke who purchased a Skoda brand new in the mid 1970 ‘s. His Workmates spared him no mercy & took the p*#s ,but he was seen still driving the same car in the 1990’s .
My father test drove one in 1985 - I still have the (Canadian) sales brochure with his notes re: price on it. Canadian market Škoda's were sold under their alpha-numeric names, 105L, 120GLS, etc. The last Škoda model sold here was the 135GLi, which was also sold in Finland and Austria.
Great video! I really enjoy your intelligent and decent commentary all way through. I drove four different Škodas of this line: Two 105L's, a 120L and a 120GLX. Iconic cars of the 1980's. Cheers from Czechia!
Was so much laughed at and criticized at the rear engine Skoda Estelle back in the 80's great positive review Ian do recall Autocar & Motor road test of the 136 Rapid coupe back in 1988 calling it ''The Poor mans Porsche 911''
My dad used to buy these from auctions in the 80's and do them up and sell them on for a profit. At times there would be 6 or 7 of these outside our house along with 3 or 4 minis. Great times, lmao.
They were good cars! Here in Czechoslovakia, they were popular and always reliable thanks to their simple construction. The engine was the basis for later vehicles such as Skoda Favorit and Skoda Felícia. The engine at the back helped in winter situations. The suitcase was not popular, but it was enough. Škoda 100, 110 and 120 were reliable cars, and one knew how to remove the malfunction himself. That is no longer possible today!
I had the 120 L with the steel wheels and chrome hubcaps, yellow paintwork and black vinyl roof no less! it was my 2nd car as 19 year old because a motorbike ran into to the back of my Escort 1100 mk1 and wrote it off!. But, for a teenager on a budget it was DEAD EASY to work on, you could change the complete exhaust system in 10 minutes, it had i triplex timing chain with no tensioner , the idea was to renew it at every 33K, the water pump even had a grease port, the non servo brakes ( on my model) had quite a hard pedal but was normal. it had a replaceable cartridge type oil filter , which is becoming the norm now. You could get parts anywhere. if you looked after it, it looked after you , very reliable on that basis, in the coldest of winter days, remember to start it and back off the the floor mounted choke to keep revs down until it thoroughly warmed up before driving off because if you did not yo could induce some kind of thermal conflict that could cause it to overheat, not a technical expert but that was my experience ,(only happened once no damage done, but sussed it out). it looked to me as though the same water pump from the rear radiator models was over worked with the plumping to the front radiator. When you went round corners the fuel gauge freaked out, wow nostalgia or what !! how much you want for it ??
Jeez, that's a belter of a memory jog, my dad bought one in blue, probably around the 85 era, my dads friend used to sit in the back when they went to work in it, little did they know the back window leaked, dads friend was wearing a grey suit, looked very much like he'd had an accident in the toilet, he had to hide for a bit until his trousers dried before he entered the office. Also seem to remember dad going through starter motors though, weren't tough enough. Superb vid, cheers for the memory.
Had Skodas since 1991, including 2 Estelles - 130LSE and 130GL. Loved them - so much fun to drive. Yes, you needed a new exhaust every year, but hey, they had variable intermittent wipe! Best moment I ever had was a gear lever coming off in my hand at 70mph on the M6. Thanks for the video.
Back in the 90s, I had the steering wheel on my 120L actually break off at the spokes whilst driving. Fortunately, I was able to steer using the centre stub, and being near Lowestoft, I remembered there was a main dealer there. It was fixed in 2 minutes as the service manager had an old steering wheel in his scrap pile. 'Call it a fiver, mate?' and I was on my way again.
It's unbelievable that the Octavia with Its chassis and engine dating back to the 1938 Škoda Popular 1100 was still quite modern in 1960 wheb your Octavia was made. They where really robust cars, you could see them driving around as daily drivers even into the 2000s here in Czechia. I'd love to own the 1970 Octavia Combi.
2 skodas in 18 years....reliable,,comfortable, nice cars to drive So easy and cheap to maintain keep up to date with servicing.Never missed a beat.Family transport with kids dog and a load of camping gear.They took us all over this country over the years.....R.I.P.Esttelle.
Oh blimey....I have mixed feelings. We had one of these while I was a teenager at school at the very height of the Skoda joke epidemic. Takes me back, not in a good way. But, now I can certainly acknowledge, some 30 years on, that this is an interesting little car with an undeserved reputation.
Nostalgia! My debut was in '84 with a '70 Skoda 100 L. Living in Norway it was unmatched at getting along during winter having most of its weight on the driving rear wheels ... but the narrow wheel base made it difficult to use the tracks in the snow left by "normal" cars. Great fun, and fond memories. Thank you for sharing.
Great memories! My dad bought a 120L brand new on a D plate from Hayes Garage in Little Clacton, Essex (still there, albeit as an independent Skoda specialist). It was the first new car he’d had, and he was very proud of it. The car was brilliantly reliable and dependable. I don’t remember it having a capitalist sunroof, mind. The whine of the gearbox and clack of the engine brings back memories. If you think the rear legroom is tight, imagine being a rear passenger with your brother on long trips down to the South of France, with the foot wells stuffed with sleeping bags and other luggage! One enduring memory of the car was the impossibly thin and cheap synthetic material of the seat covers.
When I was 17 and passed my driving test in 1989, I was working for an overseas property company called Costa Blanca Property (Ely)...they gave me the company car, a 120 LSE - I think it was an LSE anyway. It was very unique and the only one like it in the world....it had the company titles written in great big letters down each side and on the "frunk" was a massive yellow cartoon sun wearing sunshades 😂 and ya know what??....little 17 year old me and my mates loved zooming around in it 😂
Really good review Ian, I have watched it a couple of times. Our family run two Estelles, a 105 and 130. We have owned them both over 20 years now and they have been as good as a car can be, reliable, enjoyable to drive and part of the family. I do remember the last of the 'old school owners' who used to salute me as they passed by. One thing I still appreciate is how with not too much effort, they pass their MOT every year.
I can't remember ever getting my Estelle out of shape on bends. The most memorable features were the heater, which has yet to be surpassed in far more expensive motor cars, and a generally comfortable ride. The negative was that aluminium head on a steel block. Combined with less than brilliant rubber (reputedly from China), subsequent water shortage meant overheating and a warped head. A decent set of piping would have fixed the issue, a good ship ruined for a happorth o' tar. The jokes were mostly from Vauxhall and Ford owners, not Porsche and Lambo drivers, and reflected their status anxiety rather than any shortcoming in the Skoda.
You are right - it was pure snobbery and the opportunity and relief of being able to 'look down' on someone else because you drove a Cavalier 🤣 Silly humans! Porsche and Lambo drivers would be generally interested in looking around this quirky little car if they hadn't been up close to one before. Ford and Vauxhall drivers wouldn't want to see their dead reflection in its windows.
I've driven many thousands of miles in Estelles, both swing axel and semi-trailing rear suspension, and despite some very enthusiastic driving, I always found the Estelle to be forgiving and predictable. The Estelle remains one of the best handling cars I have driven, and a complete joy to own. I've not had issues with any rubber hoses, and haven't had to replace any of the bespoke items (though that isn't to say there weren't bad batches). The one time I did suffer overheating was when the waterpump gasket leaked collant on a long journey and the engine overheated on the motorway. Allowing the engine to cool a little, I topped up the water and made it home. The heat had, however, damaged the head gasket and the car tended to overheat because bits of gasket kept blocking the system. A new gasket got things back to normal. Comfortable ride? I've had both Mercedes and Volvo owners compliment the quality of ride in the Estelle.
An unusual feature in the 130GL and Rapid was the 3-stage intermittent wiper setting; each setting doubled the number of intermittent cycles the wipers made per minute. Good heaters in these too, but for those who dont know the heater lever to get heat to the rear passengers feet was under the dash and impossible to reach when driving. The air vents for the rear passengers feat was openings at each side of the central tunnel.
@@josephmullin5845 Yes, I used to love mentioning that my Rapid had 5 wiper settings when discussing my car! I think the theory for the rear heated footwells was that if you carry rear seat passengers, you'd turn the air valve before winter. A little rudimentary, but it did give you the option.
@@gord307 these were the only cars to have that intermittent wiper option I think. Despite them being outdated for their time they were basic and easy to work on from home. A good way of ensuring the radiator fan worked when needed was to add an override switch just wiring up a toggle switch and connecting it to each terminal at the thermo switch on the radiator. That prevented overheating in the longterm.
Excellent review of an underrated car. I would echo an earlier comment that cars used to drive differently from one another, I've had a 1978 spitfire and a 1978 midget with the same engine for example but they couldn't have been more different, a Volvo 240 obviously wasn't a BMW 520 even blindfolded. Modern cars have so much to praise that's for sure but there's something much more honest and interesting and charming about cars from even the recent past.
Always found the shape of these very easy on the eye. My Hungarian Aunt and Uncle had one when it was still a communist state, a white one. When we first went over in the 80s, I was always captivated by the picnics that were lifted out of the frunk! I remember it being really noisy, but it was fun. I have a soft spot for communist cars as I understand their reason for being and the part they played in mobilising eastern bloc countries. They're also very quirky!
I have great respect for cars made behind the Iron Curtain, having owned several Ladas back in the 1980s. My brother-in-law had a 105s Estelle and it was a great little car, if a little under powered. I don't recall him having any problems with it, and it was driven hard! Good to see one again, and what a colour! Please everyone, leave the Skoda jokes to die, the little cars deserve so much more. Modern Skodas are excellent cars, but I think the rear engined cars had so much more character.
Lada was absolute crap! Only ignorants or fanatic lefties bought those shitty East Block cars. They are all gone for obvious reasons. While Volvo, Saab and Toyota is still running perfectly well.
@@OmmerSyssel I resent being generalised as an ignorant leftie! For your information I have 42 years of experience in the motor trade, am a qualified MOT tester, have 7 O-Levels, and certainly have worked on more cars than you have had hot dinners! My colleague at work bought a flash Volvo; after only 4 years and 20,000 miles, BANG! No warning beforehand, new engine required, £12,000 bill. Common fault it appears. I could reel off hundreds of similar examples... Need I say more? Agreed Lada build quality was poor, but with regular maintenance they kept going! If you want reliability today look to Japanese brands.
My Nan and Grandads last car in 88/89. Sounded lovely… everyone took the piss, but it was solid, mechanically the Czechs knew what they were doing and it always worked.
I recall that in the very early days of the Estelle there was a spate of inexplicable crashes, until it was discovered that there was a fault in the steering geometry whereby a linkage could go "over-centre", so the harder you tried to straighten the wheel, the more lock was applied. It was also reported at the time that the car had been designed to have a front engine, but the engine designers were so far behind that the company had to quickly revert to rear-engine to get the car to market. I always thought they had rather nice, if functional looks.
The Estelle wasn't the first, that's just the late 70s model name, they go back to the 60s with 1000mb , and no it was never meant for a front engine, because they always aspired to make a version of the beetle for themselves
They did want to build an FWD car as early as the 1960s, but while the odd prototype was constructed, the never had permission to build one for production.
@@HubNut The prototype FWD model is at the excellent Skoda Museum at Mladá Boleslav in the Czech Republic, about an hour and a bit north of Prague. It's an attractive looking car, similar to the 120L, but looks a bit more balanced as the weight is at the front. Hope you get to visit it one day.
@@frglee The never built type was Skoda 720, few prototypes were built ready for production, but stopped by political decision in early 1970s ruclips.net/video/DWLTrxXOTKQ/видео.html
My old man had a few Estelle's but by far the best one, was the 120L five! Petrol blue in colour and had the rubber spoiler on the back! he dropped a couple of bags of sand under the front, helped LOADS with the lift off oversteer (and the light steering in general). its interesting to note they had lots of clever little developments, probably the best, that HubNut missed, was the lack of an aerial for the radio! well, that spiders web you see in the sunroof, there is the radio aerial! great motors, shame they mostly got sent back to Czechoslovakia as they are now few and far between! good video, brings back tons of memories!
Always had a soft spot for old Skodas, nearly bought a 110R years ago. Still have some old brochures from the 1970s and a poster from same time too with vintage Skoda on the front and what appears to be a Skoda concept/sports car on the back. Skoda used to also make tanks! Thanks again for a great video.
My girlfriend's father had one of these in the mid 80s. I wasn't impressed at the time but now I can appreciate it for what it is. He wasn't 'cheap' as he also had a Commodore Amiga which I used to play on when not engaged in other activities at their house.
I owned two 120GLS, two 135GLi, and one 130 Rapid here in Canada where they were sold new. The 120GLS was for me at least super-reliable even though it was 25 years old. The 135GLi let me down a few times, but nothing major (hick-ups with the FI system). The 120 could cruise at 120km/h no problem, easy to steer, comfortable, great rally history. Love these and miss mine!
My first car was a 105S. I have no idea what the "S" stood for. I paid £50 for it, it lasted 5 years, I drove it across Europe. Parts were stupid cheep, repairs easy to do. It's the only car that I have ever given a name to. She was called Annie.
I am a bit of a Connosuer of the Estelle/ Rapid Skodas, I have had pleanty of them including the Cabrio Rapid LUX.. I was living in Northern Ireland at the time in the early 90s, I was in my late teens and even then a Petrol head. They where cheap to run and buy. Easy to fix even if that meant an engine change on a Sunday afternoon. Being N.Ireland the roads where wet and I learnt car control. They like to use the pendulum effect if not treated with respect. They sounded great! In that time I had a Cinnamon brown 120L a Black and Gold Rapid 136 and a nardo grey and yellow 130. Now I live in Surrey and work as a Designer I had the opportunity to own another Estelle in hearing aid beige. I turned it into a 130LR rally car replica like the Matchbox car version. I now have a Saab Cabrio and an Alfa GT but would have a nice little 136, 135 Rapid in Orange.
Always thought an Estelle is your ideal car. You suit it, very hand in glove and a really fair assessment of a car far better than it was given credit for.
I had an 02 1.8 T and after 350k it was still living up to its name Superb. I always thought of a Favtrit as a thinking man's Golf I've driven those rear engine models and what a hoot they are. Underrated by many appreciated by the intelligent.
My father's last two cars were Estelles and were more reliable and economical than the Triumphs he had been loyal to until BL wrecked that marque. Often if he was working night shift in our east midlands winters his was the only car to always start without bother and his Estelles were frequently used to assist failed flashier cars. There was definitely a technique to driving Estelles in snow and ice and the dealer in our town arranged for free tuition in the finer points of "even driving" and using the gears for gentle braking. That said, I recall how quick off the lights the Estelle could be and its ease of parking as well.
I don't know how it is in Britain, but when I got my driver's license in the Czech Republic, the teacher also taught us these things on much newer cars
What a joy to see such a tidy example. This takes me back: their rally prowess was legendary, all that grip made them snow mobiles and with a bit of practice you could drive them sideways in the white stuff! And as for access to the engine, my original 130 (same green as this one) blew a head gasket and seized. My friend, who was a mechanical apprentice, and I completely swapped the engine in 90 minutes. When we started her up we discovered the clutch had gone, so we dragged it back out, fitted a new clutch and had it running in a little over a hour!
So did my dad. He bought a new one in 1989.I spent many hours driving around the country rescuing him. It was awful!!! Forever breaking down. Even he had to admit defeat and changed it for a favorit estate ☹
Same here. Ours never broke down but its brakes had problems as I remember, and it was the worst car to learn to drive in. Horrible sticking accelerator made clutch control a chinese puzzle for a newbie driver. The gearchange was clunky and imprecise (I swear I typed those two words about 30 seconds before Ian used them!) due to the connecting rods going all the way to the rear. The steering was horribly light with no feedback whatsoever. The engine truly was gutless and could actually have difficulty even in first gear if attempting to climb a very steep hill (this did happen to us, I'm not joking). But of course, my Dad loved it, I think mostly due to being able to bask in the glory of being counter-culture and giving a two finger salute to the world (at the expense of his teenagers street cred and sanity, which seems silly now of course, but was no joke back then, let me tell you).
Well this video set me off! That engine sound and then the mention of loyal owners! Had 2 120L's and I loved each one. Was young and daft and traded my second 120L in for a Lada Riva Estate, which was also a great car but didnt have the charm of a 120L. I was certainly unusual as a 20 something for driving around in Skodas and Ladas back then! Thanks for featuring this car. Many happy memories!
Good review, I have a lot of appreciation for cars such as this skoda because when they were new they were cheap enough to offer brand new motoring to people who might not have been able to afford it otherwise.
People used to see Skoda as a joke, they were never a joke, and won their class in all major rallys for decades, they need to be respected as a really decent car, not ridiculed.
This is without doubt one of my favourite model types, from a manufacturer I have had an obsession with since childhood, this is a lovely original example, which really set my pulse racing❤️.
Your best video yet! I'm on my fourth new generation Skoda,they are simply brilliant cars. I would dearly love a rear-engined example but prices are rising rapidly! A friend of mine has a similar example to this which I've sat in but never driven. He also has a Yugo,a Felicia,a Citigo,a Mercedes Optare bus,a Leyland Atlantean bus and a share in another!
0:53 The practice of adding a "5 speed" inscription on the back of cars was also done by Dacia on models made for the Canadian market back in the 1980s. (For those interested, Dacia sold cars in Canada between 1983 and 1987).
@@MapleMarmite There is only one Dacia left running in Canada, as far as I know.. It's owned by a romanian who bought it from an old man in Quèbec. There was another functional one in Nova Scotia about 5 years ago, but I don't know if it's still exists.
My Dad had a Skoda 100sl and I learned to drive in it. I thought it was the best car my dad owned and I loved it. It felt quite posh for my dad . Under powered but quite usable. You brought back many memories.
Worked for a Skoda dealer back in early 80's. We had a Bright Green 105 S delivered from the importers. This was the very basic car. Under powered, no radio, absolute basic. It sat in the showroom for a month, no-one was interested in it. So the boss decided to add a couple of bits to it. We put a manual Sunroof in and on the sides running along the bottom of the doors in 30cm high Orange letters 'Skoda'. We also put in a radio/cassette with 4 speakers. It sold in 2 days. We got 2 more and did the same to them. Both sold in a couple of days.
Frank Voisey?
@@tracypanavia4634 Eastwood Motors
What a great story, thanks for sharing!
These export cars were never the real "basic" model, which were sold in the Czechoslovakia. They all had something added and the quality control was much higher than what a common bloke could get in it's communistic home. For example, almost all export cars had 5 speed gearbox, the standard was 4 speed tho.
What is the nonsense with access to the engine trough the back seat? There is only battery there - engine bay iss accessed normally from outside.
This is my old car, the mileage is genuine. The old chap who owned it parked it up when he stopped driving, I rescued it from his garage - got pics of how it was when I found it. Good to see it back on the road!
We had several 1300s and Coupes loved them and great in the snow
Nice to see an old car in such a nice condition. I actually think these cars look and sound very cool, wouldn't mind owning one, and thought you could now pick them up cheap for maybe a few hundred pounds. Nope, can't find a decent one for less than a couple of thousand.
that car is in fabulous condition, has it been restored ?
@@starbarrothschild6597 Read James Wood's comment, please!
Could I ask did you get it from mossley???
This is what I miss. In the 80s different manufacturers did things their own way; Skoda, Saab, Volvo to a degree, Citroen. They all had their quirks and characteristics. Sometimes that may not have been a good thing, but variety is the spice of life.
I agree. Cars are all the same now. Grey SUVs, that if you removed the badges, you'd have a hard time picking who made ém.
Very true. Todays cars may appear to be different to each other, but all too often they exactly same underneath.
People unfortunatly do not buy new cars that are different.
Saab, Lancia, lada. at one point people just stopped buying them
@@jackthelad9933
they make what sells.
Everybody is trying to be vw and toyota
Yes now they’ve all been amalgamated into boring monopoly manufacturers were their all owned by 2/3 big manufacturers so all cars are basically the same.
I'm from Czech Republic and these were (obviously) the most common cars even after 2000's. In my family, we owned more than 4 of these, the 105, 100, 120 and even a Rapid.
Always loved the sound of the doors closing.. those two little "clap-clap".. ❤️
Old Skoda joke, `why did the Skoda 120 have heated rear windows?` answer ` to keep your hands warm when pushing them to the garage`
Swiss man here - I had a 120R in bright orange in the 1990ies - man did I love my little rustbucket. there's a motorway section with a moderately steep climb where I had to put it into 3rd gear to keep 95 kph going. The engine thanked me for that abuse by leaving a coat of oil on the rear cowling. Unfortunately, after about two years, one of the attachment points of the steering became loose due to rust so I had to abandon it because it had become unsafe to drive. Still have some photos in the trunk somewhere...
@@JosipRadnik1If you still have it dig it out repair the steering as it is a classic now .Good luck.
What I love about older cars that doors were designed to be slammed in order to shut them properly. Oh wait people still slam doors on any modern cars.
awesome. I learned to drive in primrose yellow one back in 1984. Imagine my disappointment as a 17 year old as it pulled up outside my house. but my instructor was quite a character - An Italian. In lessons in the Skoda he used to make me drive circuits around the market square in the centre in Bedford whilst he leaned out of the passenger window shouting at girls "Hey, Maria! Che bello!....Tim, go around again one more time..." On my last lesson we dropped the Skoda off at a garage where he needed to collect his own car. After what seemed like an hour of discussion in italian with the mechanics he gave me a lift home in his bright red Alfa GTV 2000. I can honestly say that I have never been driven as fast in my life. It made a lasting impression on me (you can imagine the impact after the Skoda) and think that one short experience made me a petrol head. Great people, great cars, great times.
If you went to Pilgrim, your lessons would have taken place during the time that you and I knew each other slightly. My Bedford driving lessons a few years later were much less exciting than yours sound...
I learned to drive in Bedford in 1983 and missed this, sadly, having to make do with a Metro... I am now jealous!
@@stewartellinson8846 Your name is also familiar...from the school I enjoy forgetting about.
Tim...loved reading your experience. I was stationed at RAF Chicksands, and in 82 or 83 needed a new car, so test drove a Skoda, a 2CV, and a Mini Mayfair. Bought the Mayfair and never looked back, but the Skoda was #2 on my list.
@@mike969696 I'm surprised that anyone remembers me at all!
I really enjoyed watching this. I bought my first Skoda, a bright orange 105 in 1986. An unusual choice of car for a 22 year old lad and it's fair to say I had the pee taken out of me on a regular basis. As I'd just "traded up" from riding a Tomos moped though I'd become rather used to that. Times were hard in the early 80s though and although I dreamed of owning XR3i's and Astra Gte's they remained well out of my budget as a lowly supermarket assistant. Still my bright orange skoda gave me freedom to explore the cotswolds and South West and despite all the jokes she never once broke down on me.
I did have to have the clutch replaced and was loaned a brand new 130LSE 5 speed Estelle for the day. My God it felt like sheer luxury, so smooth and quiet, fast too. I even got it up to the heady heights of 80mph on the newly opened super smooth Evesham bypass. Sunroof open and my Level 42 tape blasting from the speakers of the Phillips radio cassette player. I was in sheer ecstasy. So began my life long loyalty to these quirky little cars and even today I drive a Fabia.
Now at home receiving chemo and fighting cancer this video made my day. Hearing that Estelle's engine and seeing its interior as it bobbed down the road I was briefly 22 again. Now where did I leave that Level 42 tape ?
I hope you recover from the awful C word, and have many more memories....
@@supergeekjay Thank you so much for your kind message. Take care of yourself. Martin 😊
Get well soon, dude.
It's funny how these little "magic moments" stay with you, isn't it?
@@Rapscallion2009
Thank you my friend. Yes it certainly is. Take care, Martin 😊
Good Luck, sincerely.
5 speed, us Aussies still had to deal with 4 speeds on the falcons and commodores. Skoda perhaps the best eastern block cars, very underrated, and don't deserve the hate, they did the best they could with the limited budget the state gave them.
Most Škoda cars had four-speed transmissions. The first five-speed transmissions had 130L in 1984, types 105 and 120 still had four-speed. In 1988, the 120L received the first five-speed transmission and in our country it was renamed 125L (five means five-speed). Export Škoda cars had slightly different markings and better equipment than in the then Czechoslovakia. What was progressive about the Škoda were the aluminum engine blocks that are common today.
Czech' has always been innovative people. Still are, and down to earth. Unlikely their uptight bureaucratic minded neighbours...
In the US you could still get 3 speed manuals in pickups in the 80's.
Big understressed engines like in the Falcon don't need as much spread of gears as a wheezy little four.
The fourth gear in the Falcon, Commodore and Valiant in the 70s was the overdrive.
@@ahoneyman I had a 1985 Ford Falcon station wagon with a 3 speed manual.
I remember way back in 1988 a guy in our office bought a new Skoda Coupe and the amount of stick he took was unreal. People seemed to ignore the great success they had in rallying. I think they where the best of the eastern block offerings.
Yes, the ridicule and mockery that Skoda and their owners had to endure, was totally inappropriate and unjustified. But skoda owners are the ones who are well and truly laughing now!!!!!
*were. *bloc.
The Skoda was popular on both sites of the iron curtain. For East Germans it was a bit easier to buy than a Lada. In the West it was a reliable budget car.
Except the head gasket blew every now and then.
Reliable? This car was broken every 200km u donut.
@@suomenpresidentti Yes mine did. But you could do the repair yourself, very easily and with basic tools.
@@BruselskySluzebnik Mine was reliable generally. No worse than other affordable cars of the era.
if skoda had anything to do with the iron curtain it would have rusted away..
This is peak Hubnut. A balanced, intelligent look at an overlooked and unfairly maligned car range. As you say British humour looks for people or things to knock, often based on class and perceived status. My dad nearly bought one of the early ones in the 1970s. He bought a Vauxhall Viva which was so unreliable. Always wonder what Skoda family life would have been like. Thanks for this video.
My dad did buy one, Skoda life was all your mates/kids laughing when he picked you up!
Hi Ian, I myself owned a 130lse and it was an absolute brilliant little car. I used to travel from Coleford in the Forest Of Dean to Gloucester 6 days a week for work and my Skoda managed to do this every week rain or shine for just over 5 years without any trouble what so ever. I would have it serviced once a year and I managed to rack up 100k miles in mine. It was a lovely little car.
Rather ridiculous obsession with this mediocre type of car.
There's hardly anyone left for obvious reasons, while Volvo Amazon is still running perfectly and sells for the same price as new.
Nostalgia blurs the mind...
@@OmmerSysselthose old skodas are quite expensive now.
@@OmmerSyssel I don't understand what you mean with "mediocre type of car". Can you elaborate?
This is exactly why I enjoy the Hubnut channel. This man “gets it”, the charm of just enjoying operating a piece of machinery, complete with all its charm and personality. Enjoyment is far more than just 0 to 60 times. This car, and so many of the humble former communists cars , are enjoyable in their simplicity, and the simple pleasure of “going for a ride”
Great example, cool video Ian. My grandparents drove these Estelles in the 80's (Holland) up until the mid '90s and as a child, I spent many hours on the back seat. Now, 30 odd years later, I am the owner of 5 Estelles and 2 Rapid Coupés. Over the moon with that, and they are getting really rare now in our country. Apart from that, the nice reactions whilst driving them prove that the Estelle and Rapid series have become true classic cars now.
Couldn’t agree more. And we still use them on a regular base. We even take them on holiday to the Czech Republic. Brings back memories of old family holidays.
Dutch communist party on the road??
@@OmmerSyssel No.
In Hungary I spent the half of my childhood in a car like that😄 The other half I spent in Trabants and Ladas. I loved that time but I’m happy in my hybrid Toyota now😅 Every thing has it’s own time..
The ONLY car I ever knew that you could buy half a bumper. Very cheap on accident repair we loved em.
Saw a few with one really new black half and the other side was really grey and sun damaged. Probably looked worse than a damaged side !
@@chrishart8548 LOL yes mate the plastic was a bit poor.
I used to have fun visiting scrap yards and literally upgraded my 1983 Skoda Estelle 2 with cheap parts unbolted from accident Estelle’s.
There was a tan coloured F Reg Estelle with frontal damage - but an intact interior.
I literally gutted that vehicle and swopped seats, door panels and the upgraded dashboard into my old A reg. Took the more modern alloy wheels too - they came complete with barely used Goodyear Tyres - I was totally ecstatic.
The funny thing was it was all plug and play - the wiring loom for the dashboard was literally identical! And all for well under £100…!!!
By the time I was done with the Skoda which also acquired a fog lights grille and a whale tail spoiler (the latter, £1.00 from a boot sale) - everyone thought I was driving an old classic SAAB….🤣🤣🤣.
True budget motoring and I enjoyed every minute of it 😃👍
@@datathunderstorm I did the same in the past with ford's. Never with a scrap yard though those guys are often really gready. Friend bought a whole car from a scrap yard and it cost more than a used private equivalent and it was only a parts car. I once swapped everything from a 2.3 ghia Sierra onto a 1.6L bumpers, alloys, whole interior. Dash seats all electrics windows mirrors fuel computer etc. Sold the L spec gear to an old guy he never even noticed just happy it was a clean car with mot.
@@datathunderstorm Nice one.
Passionate dealers: the then-dealers in Brackley not only sponsored a rally car, but did a run of conversions with a gas flowed head, higher compression, free flow exhaust and a dyno set up. My Dad did the dyno setting up (and a couple of conversions) and they were good for nearly 80 bhp. I drove one of them back to the dealer - a Rapid 130 Coupe - and spoiled a few people's day. It was indeed pretty Rapid. The late ones with semi trailing arm rear suspension were decent handlers too.
I always liked the Skodas of that era, at the time it was like having a secret crush on that girl who wasn't cool and maybe looked a bit different...but was attractive BECAUSE she was different and you just knew she'd be a lovely person. As a grown man I now openly proclaim my love for this car, and if anyone wants to make fun of her I'll give you a belt up the bracket!
I used to get a lift home from work in the late 80's in one of these. To me it seemed a perfectly good car and certainly more comfortable than some of it's contemporaries.
My grandpa owned one
Funny how back in the day I wouldn’t have wanted to be seen dead in one, but now I think they are super cool and would love one on my drive
Proud to say I always liked them and still do. And totally true, many people who hated them back in the days nowadays like them.
I completely agree. I specially like the coupes.
Exactly my thoughts .
Completely the same here. Would go a treat next to the Proton. 😉
I'm not a fan of modern cars but honestly this is one of the few classic cars that I'm not ok with
These where everywhere when I was a kid but now you never see them. Good to see at least one has survived!
My friend’s Dad had one as a company car. He worked for Gledhill Boiler and Central Heating. Whoever selected the company cars certainly had an eclectic taste, as said friend’s Dad had a Morris Ital, then a Maestro, followed by a Lada Riva, then the Estelle and finally a Citroën Xantia.
that last one is a bit of a jump! did the choice of car mirror the company's fortunes at all? :-)
my late father bought a white skoda rapid 120L 1984 A reg brand new for £3750 , i loved that car and always remember the seats was comfy, and all the nobs to turn things on was like off a gas cooker.
he also had a stone slab in the front boot and heavy tool box to weigh the front down, and when the clutch went i was amazed gow easy to get the engine out, by unbolting the rear light panel unscrewing the gear knob and the engine seemed to just slide a little to do what was needed.
Extremely popular in Greece back then, as there were of the cheapest cars in their category!
Lots of competition with Ladas, Dacias, Zastavas & Polonez in the Greek market!
The polonez was a better car than the estelle.
Rear wheel lada's,Favorit's still can be seen in Greece.
RWD Skoda's,Trabant's , Wartburg's and Zastava's are rareties.
My first car was Skoda 105L. I got it from my grandfather who bought it new in 1987 and drove just 25000 km till 2001. It even had original tires Barum OR 6 which allowed you to oversteer the car at 30 kph if you wish to do so. You could drive through your neighbourhood like being in a slow-mo movie chase :)
My dad bought one in this colour without telling us at the time when Skoda Jokes were rife. In short, I wouldn’t take it when offered it for free. I used to drive him to Clacton with a 40kg bag of sand in the front to aid steering. My brother had a red one that broke down in the way to the airport. In short, I miss it and would love another in beige of course.
My mate had a beige Rapide. At the time it was a bit of a running joke, but I'd love one of these now. And I bet they can do snow properly.
And that car in good condition would be worth a small fortune now.
@@TomAlter1000 Oh christ, a bolt counter. Who cares, does it matter? I think people know what I meant.
I love how encouraging and passionate you are while introducing Soviet Block cars. I was also born in Czechoslovakia and drove a 125L for the first time (with new design of gauges from the very end of production). Many families had a limited choice back then and waited even 5-6 years for a new car during 60s, 70s and mid 80s. And like admirers in the UK, our parents and grandparents also treated these vehicles as family members. It was very easy to repair them, although spare parts used to be challenging to get (sometimes). Keep it coming, share your true feelings from a test drive as you always do, only those laugh on them who haven't experienced how they run long-term. Thumbs up for your work mate!
Exactly right. My mum has a 130, saved from the scrap 22 years ago, still going well and for sure it's a member of the family, its never left wet after rain when garaged at the end and she is happy to see it and take a drive.
Come on, spare us that romantic crap.
Those days Soviet Block cars were mediocre products, to put it mildly.
Why don't anyone boast about the mileage done by this crap?
Those days Toyota, Volvo or VW is still running perfectly well, usually half a million kilometers and often 7-800.000.
None of those Eastern Block cars could stand that amount of mileage!
@@OmmerSyssel (and Tomas), Soviet Bloc, not block. Your pedant ambush of the day. Toodle-oo.
I had a 120L5 from new… and it was one of the most glorious cars I’ve ever driven. Where we lived there were a lot of lanes… and a lot of ‘luxury’ marque owners who got very incensed when the found a Skoda in front of them - it was so satisfying to wind them up by doing the speed limit… and then leaving them for dead on the nice twisty lanes! There were a lot of of very upset Jag, Volvo, Saab and BMW drivers in that part of Surrey/Hampshire… when their ‘phallic symbols’ were made to look like Matchbox toys….
The exit to our office block car park was slightly up hill. About four inches of snow fell during the day. Come home time, everyone else was slip sliding wheel spinning around and getting nowhere. I picked my moment, got inside, started up, and drove out.
No, I didn't stop to help anyone else, serves 'em right for their sarky comments.
My father used to own a Skoda Estelle in white and it was an excellent little car! Granted the car he had was not in top health suffering from a blown head gasket but man was it hilarious and really fun to work on with him! Fun story on that as well was that it had a few weird issues which were understandable but nevertheless bowel movement inducing such as the understeer, the really fun lift-off oversteer and the fact that the engine would spit fire! I think it was a 1.6 and sounded like a mini rally car with it's awesome exhaust note and engine.
I remember he took me to school in it once and nobody there knew what it was as these were super uncommon in Wales at the time and everyone was asking me all day what the car was and how my dad got it. Bloody loved that old car and it was sold on to a restoration company so hopefully it's still out there somewhere enjoying the good life.
Many head gasket failure were down to lack of sufficient anti freeze and a common failure of the radiator temp sensor stopping the cooling fan operating……i always added full gallon of antifreeze and bypass switch on the rad fan….never had an issue on the three cars i had.
Hi Ian just wanted to say thank you and to miss Hub nut and Steph for arranging the meet up today, after 18 months not interacting with people found it daunting but fun, all hub nut people are lovely. Hope you like the tea sorry loose leaf, it isn't builders tea , keemun a delicate chinese tea, just add splash of milk. Thank you again. Kind regards Gerry
My dad had a 105 lux 4 speed in the late 80s when I was a teenager, we used regularly go from Bolton to Paignton to visit our grandparents, 2 adults, 3 kids and a Jack Russell with suitcases on the roof rack. Very reliable car.
Had a 120L for a few years, never let us down, towed a camping trailer fully loaded with canoe on roof rack, two adults and two kids Durham to Devon and back a little slow but 60 mph limit on motorways. Following year loaded up the same went to Isle of Wight no problem. Had 17,000 miles on when bought and 87,000 when sold, 100w/80w headlight bulbs made them the best headlights in any car I`ve owned, I bought it crash damaged repaired it and sold it after 6 years and made £200 profit,
Thank you for that trip down memory lane. I owned a Rapid for a few years. Great fun. The ceramic hob sunroof and that very distinctive engine. I found a bag of cement in the front helped the handling. Mine used to eject the tape from the stereo at 90 mph (yes they could shift). Really was a fun car and so much better than ever given credit for.
My parents had a late '60s Skoda 100 in the early-'70s before I was born. It regularly carried them from Portsmouth on the south coast of England up to the Inverness area in northern Scotland without any issues at all and very economically for the time. They would have happily kept that car for many more years, but it sadly got written off. These cars really were no joke, unlike the yuppies who often were the ones reeling those jokes off...
Our local dealer got one of those 120L5s back from a regular customer who had used it as a company vehicle, covering just over 200,000 miles in 3 years without a single issue, other than wearing the gearbox out as the 5-speed units definitely weren't as strong as the 4-speeders. I drove that car after they'd put a new clutch and a 4-speed gearbox out of one of the parts cars they had laying around, and it still drove exactly like a new one. Everything on it worked perfectly too, not that they really had much, but nothing really did back in the late-'80s. Nearly 70,000 miles a year without issues, that's definitely no joke...
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Had one same green. Drove it 90 miles a day, 5 days a week. 50 weeks a year, for 12 years, plus additional fun runs. In the left hand drive version the wheel well made a fantastic foot rest so extremely comfortable to drive long distances. Also would not have called it cheap, but rather inexpensive. Would buy another in a heartbeat.
This is what's so great about this channel, who else does reviews on Skodas !
My dad had one of these in 'fastback' form for a year or two, back in the early 80s. I did borrow it from time to time, and it wasn't nearly as bad as people made out. It did sound a little agricultural, however. After a while he replaced it with a Hyundai Pony hatchback, which seemed something of a step up. Then he got a Toyota Carina II, which was a step up again. But I quite liked the Skoda, and didn't encounter any handling problems myself.
You need to really put your foot down to find the limits pal
When I changed my second 120L for a Favorit GLXi Estate in 1996 that felt like a quantum leap forward. Two Felicias and a Fabia later I can say each one was better than the previous model, but imo, the Favorit fuel injected models were the great leap forward for Skoda. Even so, I still miss my old 120Ls. They were interesting and unusual cars to drive and quite solid and reliable.
Beacuse "fastback" (called Skoda Rapid) had more sophisticated rear axle than common Estellas and have much much better hadling and much les vibration and noise from engine.
I had two Estelles. The first was the earlier 120LSE with all the black plastic "aero kit" , the second was an Estelle 2 130LSE and I loved both of them. They were utterly reliable and never let my and my family down.
A few things that I remember is that: 1, we could never have the heating set on full, even in the coldest U.K. winter or it felt like we were being roasted.
2, the steering always felt incredibly light, probably because of the rear mounted engine.
3, the fact that the engine had a manual fuel priming lever on the carb. This came in very useful when we had to leave on of our Estelles sitting unused for a long period of time. When it came to start it up we primed the carburettor with half a dozen strokes of the lever and turned the engine over and it fired up first time and began running as sweet as if we'd never stopped using her.
Fond memories of my 130L in that 'burnt orange' colour. Daughter stated I doubled it's value by putting a black vinyl roof on, like you did in the late 80's. Bought for £25 with 6 months Tax & 1/2 tank of petrol, next door neighbor was scrapping it having got a cheap Maestro Estate via BAE where he worked. Cam chain a doddle to do wiz the rear panel off and lower tube cross member, about 8 bolts I think. Mind, the rear axle nut took a 10ft scaffold pole and the taper fit hubs a nightmare to remove. Scrapped it for £50 3 yrs later!👍🤭😎🇬🇧
Maestro estate?? I’m guessing Montego. Cool story though 👍
@@OldCarsNewVan Corgi did a 1.43 scale version of a maestro estate, like you Mike, never seen one.
@@OldCarsNewVan Hah, 68yr old brain fade got the 'M' & 'O' in the right place though..🤔🙄👍
😂😂👍
Fill up the petrol tank and the car doubles in value!
Happy memories, owned three skodas, first was the 136 estelle, then two rapides, spent many years in the 136 travelling over the North Yorkshire Moors, ended its life with 156000 miles on the clock, used to put two sand bags in front boot in winter to help with traction and handling, fantastic in winter, never got stuck, used Stomil tyres for winter traction, amazing cars.
Bought a very used Skoda 105 as my first rear engine Skoda.
Few years later when I could afford a new car bought a new Skoda Rapid 136 sport, one of the last rear engine cars sold in 1990, in racing baby poo brown which was damaged at a few weeks old so they lent me a 120l five just like the one you tested.
The 120l was quite a lowly spec as didn't even have a radio & I was overjoyed to get the Rapid back after a slightly delayed repair as the parts had to come from Czechoslovakia.
I have some very happy memories of driving the Skoda's. Yes I did get some stick for driving a Skoda & sometimes ended up hearing all the Skoda jokes several times a day.
Your test brought back a lot of memories.
I bought a beat-up and rusted S100R Skoda in the UK as a second car in '82-'83 only because it was less likely to get vandalised when parked in town at night. In the end it turned out to be one of my favorite cars. One feature I've always liked, common to this 120L, the water pump has a cap on the top (visibile in the video) which you can fill with grease and that gets pressed into the bearing when screwed back in place. The aluminium block had wet liners which in theory could be replaced instead of machine-boring the cylinders. The coupe had an oil cooler but I found out (after a tube burst) that its flow path paralleled the main galley and therefore could be blocked off without causing any problem. I always liked that a rear seat passenger could check and replenish gearbox oil while on the move to save time, lol. The swing-axle handling was a lot of fun at city speeds in the rain but at open road speeds it could catch you out.
1:55 - when I had an Estelle, one time I was in a supermarket car park loading shopping into the boot when a small boy of about 9 wandered over and was puzzled as to why I was putting shopping on top of the engine. It was a bit of an education to him to learn that the engine was in the back.
I worked in a garden centre in 1997 I was 17. Imagine my amazement when the lady opened the bonnet and asked me to load the bags of compost she had purchased into tht front. "does this car run on soil?!" I said!
@@andrewmairs5865 Just shows that most people don't know the Estelle engine is in the back. It just doesn't look like a rear-engined car. There is a reason for this - it was originally intended to be front engine front wheel drive, but Soviet Russia, who were stumping up the money to put it into production, refused to pay up on the grounds that Czechoslovakia as it was then would have a more advanced car than they did. So Skoda had to base the mechanicals on the Estelle's predecessor the 110R.
I never ceased to be amused by the looks I always got, when loading the shopping into the Frunk of any of the 4 Skodas I owned.
Absolutely hilarious!
People were eager to laugh at the car, but they didn’t have a clue about how versatile it really was!!!
@@datathunderstorm Indeed. They were good cars within their limitations. Just not mainstream and 'trendy' as most car buyers did and still do think is important in a car. They did just as they were intended to do - cheap basic transport.
@@Nooziterp1 USSR stopping development is popular urban legend, Skoda did develop front engine, rear wheel drive models 720 and 740 in late 60's, but at time, government plan was to industrialize Slovakia (result was BAZ - a car factory with no car to make), so there were no funds left to make so radically different cars - so Skoda only used some of styling of 720 (which was designed by Guigaro) for a new model based on 100.
The 740 was replaced by FWD 760, which was codeveloped with Eastern Germany companies (they had technology needed for fwd, in exchange Škoda would supply engines and gearboxes) - but lack of cooperation doomed this project, too.
My very first car was a second hand chocolate brown Skoda Estelle 120LSE, it had the twin headlights, sunroof (which leaked). I remember going through a car wash and laughed as water came pouring through the footwell and once when I was driving on the M25, the spare wheel dropped down onto the road making lots of noise and sparks. It was a fun car though and I loved its quirky character. My heritage is from the Czech Republic of which I am very proud
I worked with a lady who had one in the mid 80s, she had a paving slab in the front to improve the handling.
It never let her down
75,000 views on this video in 12 days. It's good to see the amount of interest in old Skodas now. Twenty years ago you could hardly give them away.
In fact they couldn't even do that. My local dealer had several one owner mint low mileage models for the 20 quid the scrappy paid when he hauled them off for crushing each week. One even had a lovely note left for the cars next owner from the original buyer with a few of that cars quirks on it. It was a sad time for me as a Skoda owner.
@@VintageLynx That's nice about the note. My second car was a Wartburg. It had a few quirks so the previous owner presented me with a handwritten notebook with some quite detailed troubleshooting advice and even some diagrams. At the end was a bit of "Zen and the art" type philosophy and his phone number. It must have taken him ages to do. I paid £30 for the car.
A few years later I paid £45 for a six year old Skoda S100 at auction. It wasn't immaculate but it had only about 30,000 miles and nearly a full MOT. I never did anything to the car and IIRC it was completely reliable. With about 3 months MOT remaining I was due to emigrate and had no one interested in the car. I ended up giving it to a friend who drove me to the airport.
AAAAH, the memories, My very first car in 1985 was a red 1981 Skoda 120L, quite rare in Australia, I'd never seen one before I saw mine at the back of a used car lot, It was only 4 years old and burning oil like it had gone out of style, my father paid the princely sum of $500AUD and we rolled the motor out on a pallet and a couple of skateboards, great times, we rebuilt the engine together and I still remember coming home from passing my driving test, jumping in my Skoda and feeling the freedom, I ended up buying another (white) one, most people had never seen one and I had 2, lol loved my little Skodas, thanks for doing this test drive, brought back many memories.
Before the iron curtain Skoda made prestige high quality cars but during the iron curtain years they were greatly restricted on what they could build and were forced to use components they new were sub-standard so had to do the best they could. One reason they did so well at rallying was because they were aloud to fit what they wanted to the rally spec cars so could show how good the cars could be given free rein
The front storage area in a car should be known as a "froot"... 😁
My Friend has a White 1988 Skoda Estelle 120L in excellent condtion with no problems with it for the last 20 🤞😊
Finally, a REALLY decent car! Used to be loads of them about, sadly seem to be fo few on the road now. Seriously underrated cars,
My granda had one of these in duck egg blue. He loved Skoda cars and Leyland lorries. I still have his old toolbox with his spanners and socket sets.
Nice to see the Estelle getting some love. I always fancied the Rapid, which was quite a lively beast. A guy I used to work with had one and loved it. I did have a Favorit estate and later two Felicias, the first with the Skoda engine and the second with the 1.6 VW Polo motor. That was a very competent car and served me well for several years.
The Skoda won its class because it was the only vehicle in that class .Having said that I know a bloke who purchased a Skoda brand new in the mid 1970 ‘s. His Workmates spared him no mercy & took the p*#s ,but he was seen still driving the same car in the 1990’s .
My father test drove one in 1985 - I still have the (Canadian) sales brochure with his notes re: price on it. Canadian market Škoda's were sold under their alpha-numeric names, 105L, 120GLS, etc. The last Škoda model sold here was the 135GLi, which was also sold in Finland and Austria.
We had these in Canada, and have always really liked them. Quirky and cool. Very scarce now. This one looks like a beautiful example😍
Great video! I really enjoy your intelligent and decent commentary all way through. I drove four different Škodas of this line: Two 105L's, a 120L and a 120GLX. Iconic cars of the 1980's. Cheers from Czechia!
Was so much laughed at and criticized at the rear engine Skoda Estelle back in the 80's great positive review Ian do recall Autocar & Motor road test of the 136 Rapid coupe back in 1988 calling it ''The Poor mans Porsche 911''
My dad used to buy these from auctions in the 80's and do them up and sell them on for a profit. At times there would be 6 or 7 of these outside our house along with 3 or 4 minis. Great times, lmao.
They were good cars! Here in Czechoslovakia, they were popular and always reliable thanks to their simple construction. The engine was the basis for later vehicles such as Skoda Favorit and Skoda Felícia. The engine at the back helped in winter situations. The suitcase was not popular, but it was enough. Škoda 100, 110 and 120 were reliable cars, and one knew how to remove the malfunction himself. That is no longer possible today!
I had the 120 L with the steel wheels and chrome hubcaps, yellow paintwork and black vinyl roof no less! it was my 2nd car as 19 year old because a motorbike ran into to the back of my Escort 1100 mk1 and wrote it off!. But, for a teenager on a budget it was DEAD EASY to work on, you could change the complete exhaust system in 10 minutes, it had i triplex timing chain with no tensioner , the idea was to renew it at every 33K, the water pump even had a grease port, the non servo brakes ( on my model) had quite a hard pedal but was normal. it had a replaceable cartridge type oil filter , which is becoming the norm now. You could get parts anywhere. if you looked after it, it looked after you , very reliable on that basis, in the coldest of winter days, remember to start it and back off the the floor mounted choke to keep revs down until it thoroughly warmed up before driving off because if you did not yo could induce some kind of thermal conflict that could cause it to overheat, not a technical expert but that was my experience ,(only happened once no damage done, but sussed it out). it looked to me as though the same water pump from the rear radiator models was over worked with the plumping to the front radiator. When you went round corners the fuel gauge freaked out, wow nostalgia or what !! how much you want for it ??
Jeez, that's a belter of a memory jog, my dad bought one in blue, probably around the 85 era, my dads friend used to sit in the back when they went to work in it, little did they know the back window leaked, dads friend was wearing a grey suit, looked very much like he'd had an accident in the toilet, he had to hide for a bit until his trousers dried before he entered the office. Also seem to remember dad going through starter motors though, weren't tough enough. Superb vid, cheers for the memory.
Had Skodas since 1991, including 2 Estelles - 130LSE and 130GL. Loved them - so much fun to drive. Yes, you needed a new exhaust every year, but hey, they had variable intermittent wipe! Best moment I ever had was a gear lever coming off in my hand at 70mph on the M6. Thanks for the video.
Back in the 90s, I had the steering wheel on my 120L actually break off at the spokes whilst driving. Fortunately, I was able to steer using the centre stub, and being near Lowestoft, I remembered there was a main dealer there. It was fixed in 2 minutes as the service manager had an old steering wheel in his scrap pile. 'Call it a fiver, mate?' and I was on my way again.
That is a superb review of a car I had little knowledge of. Thank you.
A very underrated classic, that I should love to own! I actually own an even earlier Skoda, the 1960 Skoda Octavia Super!
It's unbelievable that the Octavia with Its chassis and engine dating back to the 1938 Škoda Popular 1100 was still quite modern in 1960 wheb your Octavia was made.
They where really robust cars, you could see them driving around as daily drivers even into the 2000s here in Czechia.
I'd love to own the 1970 Octavia Combi.
2 skodas in 18 years....reliable,,comfortable, nice cars to drive So easy and cheap to maintain keep up to date with servicing.Never missed a beat.Family transport with kids dog and a load of camping gear.They took us all over this country over the years.....R.I.P.Esttelle.
Oh blimey....I have mixed feelings. We had one of these while I was a teenager at school at the very height of the Skoda joke epidemic. Takes me back, not in a good way. But, now I can certainly acknowledge, some 30 years on, that this is an interesting little car with an undeserved reputation.
Nostalgia! My debut was in '84 with a '70 Skoda 100 L. Living in Norway it was unmatched at getting along during winter having most of its weight on the driving rear wheels ... but the narrow wheel base made it difficult to use the tracks in the snow left by "normal" cars. Great fun, and fond memories. Thank you for sharing.
Great memories! My dad bought a 120L brand new on a D plate from Hayes Garage in Little Clacton, Essex (still there, albeit as an independent Skoda specialist). It was the first new car he’d had, and he was very proud of it. The car was brilliantly reliable and dependable. I don’t remember it having a capitalist sunroof, mind. The whine of the gearbox and clack of the engine brings back memories. If you think the rear legroom is tight, imagine being a rear passenger with your brother on long trips down to the South of France, with the foot wells stuffed with sleeping bags and other luggage! One enduring memory of the car was the impossibly thin and cheap synthetic material of the seat covers.
When I was 17 and passed my driving test in 1989, I was working for an overseas property company called Costa Blanca Property (Ely)...they gave me the company car, a 120 LSE - I think it was an LSE anyway. It was very unique and the only one like it in the world....it had the company titles written in great big letters down each side and on the "frunk" was a massive yellow cartoon sun wearing sunshades 😂 and ya know what??....little 17 year old me and my mates loved zooming around in it 😂
Really good review Ian, I have watched it a couple of times. Our family run two Estelles, a 105 and 130. We have owned them both over 20 years now and they have been as good as a car can be, reliable, enjoyable to drive and part of the family. I do remember the last of the 'old school owners' who used to salute me as they passed by. One thing I still appreciate is how with not too much effort, they pass their MOT every year.
if it's older than 40 years no mot required..
My OH had a Škoda Estelle in Orange with Black Vinyl Roof then he traded it in for a Rapid 136 Bosch Injection. I enjoyed driving his Rapid.
I can't remember ever getting my Estelle out of shape on bends. The most memorable features were the heater, which has yet to be surpassed in far more expensive motor cars, and a generally comfortable ride. The negative was that aluminium head on a steel block. Combined with less than brilliant rubber (reputedly from China), subsequent water shortage meant overheating and a warped head. A decent set of piping would have fixed the issue, a good ship ruined for a happorth o' tar. The jokes were mostly from Vauxhall and Ford owners, not Porsche and Lambo drivers, and reflected their status anxiety rather than any shortcoming in the Skoda.
You are right - it was pure snobbery and the opportunity and relief of being able to 'look down' on someone else because you drove a Cavalier 🤣 Silly humans! Porsche and Lambo drivers would be generally interested in looking around this quirky little car if they hadn't been up close to one before. Ford and Vauxhall drivers wouldn't want to see their dead reflection in its windows.
I've driven many thousands of miles in Estelles, both swing axel and semi-trailing rear suspension, and despite some very enthusiastic driving, I always found the Estelle to be forgiving and predictable. The Estelle remains one of the best handling cars I have driven, and a complete joy to own.
I've not had issues with any rubber hoses, and haven't had to replace any of the bespoke items (though that isn't to say there weren't bad batches). The one time I did suffer overheating was when the waterpump gasket leaked collant on a long journey and the engine overheated on the motorway. Allowing the engine to cool a little, I topped up the water and made it home. The heat had, however, damaged the head gasket and the car tended to overheat because bits of gasket kept blocking the system. A new gasket got things back to normal.
Comfortable ride? I've had both Mercedes and Volvo owners compliment the quality of ride in the Estelle.
An unusual feature in the 130GL and Rapid was the 3-stage intermittent wiper setting; each setting doubled the number of intermittent cycles the wipers made per minute.
Good heaters in these too, but for those who dont know the heater lever to get heat to the rear passengers feet was under the dash and impossible to reach when driving. The air vents for the rear passengers feat was openings at each side of the central tunnel.
@@josephmullin5845 Yes, I used to love mentioning that my Rapid had 5 wiper settings when discussing my car!
I think the theory for the rear heated footwells was that if you carry rear seat passengers, you'd turn the air valve before winter. A little rudimentary, but it did give you the option.
@@gord307 these were the only cars to have that intermittent wiper option I think. Despite them being outdated for their time they were basic and easy to work on from home. A good way of ensuring the radiator fan worked when needed was to add an override switch just wiring up a toggle switch and connecting it to each terminal at the thermo switch on the radiator. That prevented overheating in the longterm.
Excellent review of an underrated car. I would echo an earlier comment that cars used to drive differently from one another, I've had a 1978 spitfire and a 1978 midget with the same engine for example but they couldn't have been more different, a Volvo 240 obviously wasn't a BMW 520 even blindfolded. Modern cars have so much to praise that's for sure but there's something much more honest and interesting and charming about cars from even the recent past.
Always found the shape of these very easy on the eye. My Hungarian Aunt and Uncle had one when it was still a communist state, a white one. When we first went over in the 80s, I was always captivated by the picnics that were lifted out of the frunk! I remember it being really noisy, but it was fun. I have a soft spot for communist cars as I understand their reason for being and the part they played in mobilising eastern bloc countries. They're also very quirky!
Love it! The two door coupe was even better - Motor called it a budget Porsche 911 in their test!
I have great respect for cars made behind the Iron Curtain, having owned several Ladas back in the 1980s. My brother-in-law had a 105s Estelle and it was a great little car, if a little under powered. I don't recall him having any problems with it, and it was driven hard! Good to see one again, and what a colour! Please everyone, leave the Skoda jokes to die, the little cars deserve so much more. Modern Skodas are excellent cars, but I think the rear engined cars had so much more character.
Lada was absolute crap!
Only ignorants or fanatic lefties bought those shitty East Block cars.
They are all gone for obvious reasons.
While Volvo, Saab and Toyota is still running perfectly well.
@@OmmerSyssel I resent being generalised as an ignorant leftie! For your information I have 42 years of experience in the motor trade, am a qualified MOT tester, have 7 O-Levels, and certainly have worked on more cars than you have had hot dinners! My colleague at work bought a flash Volvo; after only 4 years and 20,000 miles, BANG! No warning beforehand, new engine required, £12,000 bill. Common fault it appears. I could reel off hundreds of similar examples... Need I say more? Agreed Lada build quality was poor, but with regular maintenance they kept going! If you want reliability today look to Japanese brands.
@@OmmerSyssel Lada still exists, you ignorant gob.
@@jakekaywell5972 Yep, Lada is still around and releasing new cars, where's L R's precious Saab these days?
My Nan and Grandads last car in 88/89.
Sounded lovely… everyone took the piss, but it was solid, mechanically the Czechs knew what they were doing and it always worked.
I recall that in the very early days of the Estelle there was a spate of inexplicable crashes, until it was discovered that there was a fault in the steering geometry whereby a linkage could go "over-centre", so the harder you tried to straighten the wheel, the more lock was applied. It was also reported at the time that the car had been designed to have a front engine, but the engine designers were so far behind that the company had to quickly revert to rear-engine to get the car to market. I always thought they had rather nice, if functional looks.
The Estelle wasn't the first, that's just the late 70s model name, they go back to the 60s with 1000mb , and no it was never meant for a front engine, because they always aspired to make a version of the beetle for themselves
They did want to build an FWD car as early as the 1960s, but while the odd prototype was constructed, the never had permission to build one for production.
@@HubNut The prototype FWD model is at the excellent Skoda Museum at
Mladá Boleslav in the Czech Republic, about an hour and a bit north of Prague. It's an attractive looking car, similar to the 120L, but looks a bit more balanced as the weight is at the front. Hope you get to visit it one day.
@@HubNut Would make an interesting ev conversion :)
@@frglee The never built type was Skoda 720, few prototypes were built ready for production, but stopped by political decision in early 1970s ruclips.net/video/DWLTrxXOTKQ/видео.html
My old man had a few Estelle's but by far the best one, was the 120L five! Petrol blue in colour and had the rubber spoiler on the back! he dropped a couple of bags of sand under the front, helped LOADS with the lift off oversteer (and the light steering in general). its interesting to note they had lots of clever little developments, probably the best, that HubNut missed, was the lack of an aerial for the radio! well, that spiders web you see in the sunroof, there is the radio aerial! great motors, shame they mostly got sent back to Czechoslovakia as they are now few and far between! good video, brings back tons of memories!
Always had a soft spot for old Skodas, nearly bought a 110R years ago. Still have some old brochures from the 1970s and a poster from same time too with vintage Skoda on the front and what appears to be a Skoda concept/sports car on the back. Skoda used to also make tanks! Thanks again for a great video.
Would e a good starting point for an ev conversion :)
Keep on dreaming, those days East Block cars were mediocre products, mildly said.
My girlfriend's father had one of these in the mid 80s. I wasn't impressed at the time but now I can appreciate it for what it is. He wasn't 'cheap' as he also had a Commodore Amiga which I used to play on when not engaged in other activities at their house.
I owned two 120GLS, two 135GLi, and one 130 Rapid here in Canada where they were sold new. The 120GLS was for me at least super-reliable even though it was 25 years old. The 135GLi let me down a few times, but nothing major (hick-ups with the FI system). The 120 could cruise at 120km/h no problem, easy to steer, comfortable, great rally history. Love these and miss mine!
Love your videos. You always talk respectful and positive, with humor. Greetings from the Netherlands
My first car was a 105S. I have no idea what the "S" stood for.
I paid £50 for it, it lasted 5 years, I drove it across Europe. Parts were stupid cheep, repairs easy to do.
It's the only car that I have ever given a name to. She was called Annie.
I am a bit of a Connosuer of the Estelle/ Rapid Skodas, I have had pleanty of them including the Cabrio Rapid LUX.. I was living in Northern Ireland at the time in the early 90s, I was in my late teens and even then a Petrol head. They where cheap to run and buy. Easy to fix even if that meant an engine change on a Sunday afternoon. Being N.Ireland the roads where wet and I learnt car control. They like to use the pendulum effect if not treated with respect. They sounded great! In that time I had a Cinnamon brown 120L a Black and Gold Rapid 136 and a nardo grey and yellow 130.
Now I live in Surrey and work as a Designer I had the opportunity to own another Estelle in hearing aid beige. I turned it into a 130LR rally car replica like the Matchbox car version. I now have a Saab Cabrio and an Alfa GT but would have a nice little 136, 135 Rapid in Orange.
Always thought an Estelle is your ideal car. You suit it, very hand in glove and a really fair assessment of a car far better than it was given credit for.
I had an 02 1.8 T and after 350k it was still living up to its name Superb. I always thought of a Favtrit as a thinking man's Golf
I've driven those rear engine models and what a hoot they are. Underrated by many appreciated by the intelligent.
My father's last two cars were Estelles and were more reliable and economical than the Triumphs he had been loyal to until BL wrecked that marque.
Often if he was working night shift in our east midlands winters his was the only car to always start without bother and his Estelles were frequently used to assist failed flashier cars.
There was definitely a technique to driving Estelles in snow and ice and the dealer in our town arranged for free tuition in the finer points of "even driving" and using the gears for gentle braking.
That said, I recall how quick off the lights the Estelle could be and its ease of parking as well.
I don't know how it is in Britain, but when I got my driver's license in the Czech Republic, the teacher also taught us these things on much newer cars
What a joy to see such a tidy example. This takes me back: their rally prowess was legendary, all that grip made them snow mobiles and with a bit of practice you could drive them sideways in the white stuff! And as for access to the engine, my original 130 (same green as this one) blew a head gasket and seized. My friend, who was a mechanical apprentice, and I completely swapped the engine in 90 minutes. When we started her up we discovered the clutch had gone, so we dragged it back out, fitted a new clutch and had it running in a little over a hour!
Great memories. The first new car my dad ever bought was one of these in "Soviet" grey.
So did my dad. He bought a new one in 1989.I spent many hours driving around the country rescuing him. It was awful!!! Forever breaking down. Even he had to admit defeat and changed it for a favorit estate ☹
Same here. Ours never broke down but its brakes had problems as I remember, and it was the worst car to learn to drive in. Horrible sticking accelerator made clutch control a chinese puzzle for a newbie driver. The gearchange was clunky and imprecise (I swear I typed those two words about 30 seconds before Ian used them!) due to the connecting rods going all the way to the rear. The steering was horribly light with no feedback whatsoever.
The engine truly was gutless and could actually have difficulty even in first gear if attempting to climb a very steep hill (this did happen to us, I'm not joking). But of course, my Dad loved it, I think mostly due to being able to bask in the glory of being counter-culture and giving a two finger salute to the world (at the expense of his teenagers street cred and sanity, which seems silly now of course, but was no joke back then, let me tell you).
@@frazzleface753 I remember trying to play a cassette and the unit fell into the centre console!
@@rodhili3946 Oh bloody hell yes, the radio cassette deck. I forgot about that. With the aerial being that sun pattern in the sunroof, apparently.
Nice colour,very much used today in high performance cars,come on a long way the colour grey 👌 🤣🤣
Well this video set me off! That engine sound and then the mention of loyal owners! Had 2 120L's and I loved each one. Was young and daft and traded my second 120L in for a Lada Riva Estate, which was also a great car but didnt have the charm of a 120L. I was certainly unusual as a 20 something for driving around in Skodas and Ladas back then! Thanks for featuring this car. Many happy memories!
Good review, I have a lot of appreciation for cars such as this skoda because when they were new they were cheap enough to offer brand new motoring to people who might not have been able to afford it otherwise.
People used to see Skoda as a joke, they were never a joke, and won their class in all major rallys for decades, they need to be respected as a really decent car, not ridiculed.
This is without doubt one of my favourite model types, from a manufacturer I have had an obsession with since childhood, this is a lovely original example, which really set my pulse racing❤️.
I`d do an ev conversion on it :):)
I still want another one of these. Just like this.
Your best video yet! I'm on my fourth new generation Skoda,they are simply brilliant cars. I would dearly love a rear-engined example but prices are rising rapidly! A friend of mine has a similar example to this which I've sat in but never driven. He also has a Yugo,a Felicia,a Citigo,a Mercedes Optare bus,a Leyland Atlantean bus and a share in another!
I remember driving a orange Rapid. This car drove lovely and enough power.
0:53 The practice of adding a "5 speed" inscription on the back of cars was also done by Dacia on models made for the Canadian market back in the 1980s. (For those interested, Dacia sold cars in Canada between 1983 and 1987).
Saab did it on the 99 in the early to mid 80s.
Didn’t know they made it here to Canada. But I wasn’t here, then, either. Can’t imagine many/any still survive. I’ve seen one Skoda Estelle, though!
@@MapleMarmite There is only one Dacia left running in Canada, as far as I know.. It's owned by a romanian who bought it from an old man in Quèbec. There was another functional one in Nova Scotia about 5 years ago, but I don't know if it's still exists.
@@gtafan9584 I’m in Nova Scotia - I’ll have to keep an eye out for it.
My Dad had a Skoda 100sl and I learned to drive in it.
I thought it was the best car my dad owned and I loved it.
It felt quite posh for my dad . Under powered but quite usable.
You brought back many memories.