Lada Riva


The VAZ-2105, VAZ-2104 and VAZ-2107 are a series of compact cars of Zhiguli brand built by Russian car manufacturer AvtoVAZ, introduced in 1980 in the Soviet Union, and progressively in other European markets through the early 1980s and sold in sedan and station wagon versions. AvtoVAZ cars are currently branded as Ladas.
Today they are generally referred to as the Lada Classic series, being derived from the original Fiat 124 platform which has been the now-iconic mainstay of the AvtoVAZ lineup since the company's foundation in the late 1960s. The production in Russia ended between 2010 and 2012, however, the Lada 2107 remained in production in Egypt until 2015.
It is the third best selling automobile platform after the Volkswagen Beetle and the Ford Model T, and one of the longest production run platforms alongside the Volkswagen Beetle, the Hindustan Ambassador and the Volkswagen Type 2.

History

Although introduced in 1979 and first produced in quantity in 1980, the Riva's origins are older: it is a modernised and restyled version of the original Lada type VAZ-2101 Zhiguli saloon, which was introduced in 1970 as a modified license copy of the Fiat 124. VAZ began development work on the facelift version as early as 1975, and the first prototypes were built in 1977, although it would not be until 1983 - three years after its release in the Soviet Union - that the car was made available in Western European markets.
The Riva itself is officially designated – and known in the home market – as VAZ-2105, VAZ-2104, and VAZ-2107. In Russia, VAZ-2105, VAZ-2104, and VAZ-2107 are considered to be different cars rather than variants but nonetheless all of them are part of a single "Klassika" family along with older models such as the VAZ-2101. They are popularly known as Pyatyorka, Chetvyorka and Semyorka.
Mechanically, the car is virtually identical to the first-generation VAZ-2101, featuring the Fiat-derived manual transmissions, coil spring suspension all round, and aluminium alloy drum brakes with cast iron brake shoes on the rear wheels. The smaller-engined variant, the version had a revamp of its inline four-cylinder compared to the original VAZ-2101. The old OHC design had its camshaft driven by chain, while the new one had a toothed belt drive. Some modifications of the Riva's larger-engined version carried on with the chain-driven OHC engine coming over from the original Lada 1500, while others had a later 1,6L VAZ-2106/21067 engine. Another change was made to the engine in 1992, when single point fuel injection and catalytic converters were specified to keep up with emissions legislation.
The 2107 was announced in 1982, offered as the luxury version, with improved interior, a new instrument panel, and a chrome grille; it came with either or engines.
The first 2104 station wagon appeared in 1984, in three models: the 2104 with ; the 21041 with ; and the 21043 with engine.
Export sales proved to be very good in Eastern Europe. In the West, Rivas had limited presence in such countries as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Canada. In Finland, they had much larger sales due to the fact that Finland had closer economic ties with the Soviet Union. Canada was the only market to offer whitewall tires. Canadian 2107s were "briefly sold as the Dennis Signet", after the importer, Peter Dennis Motor Corporation. Canadian sales, along with several European markets, ended on 4 July 1997.
Tightening safety and emissions legislation combined with the economic instability in the former Soviet Union during the 1990s led to the Riva being withdrawn from most Western European markets by 1997, although it remained in production at the AvtoVAZ factory in the Russian Federation and was sold as the Lada Classic. It was one of the cheapest automobiles available in the Russian market and remains the most popular second-hand car in Russia even after its production ceased.
In 2002, production of the wagon model was taken over by Izh, before assembly was also started at the Bogdan Group's LuAZ plant, and later in Cherkasy, Ukraine. The 2107 model was produced also at the ZAZ factory in Ukraine and at Suzuki's factory in Egypt. In August 2011, Russian production of the 2107 was moved to Izh. After about thirty years of production, the 2105 was discontinued in 2010, followed by the 2104 and 2107 in 2012.

Britain

The British market was opened with the 1300GL in 1983, and the 21051 had the. British sales were based heavily on low sales price and durability. In 1986, 20,000 Ladas were sold in Britain, 30,000 in 1988.
In a review of the new economy car, the British automobile magazine Autocar noted its low price of only £3,158, improved road performance and an "impressive list of standard equipment", which included "height-adjustable headlamps, internally adjustable driver's door mirror, velour-covered seats, heated rear window, illumination lights for bonnet and boot", and a 21-piece toolkit. However, its spartan interiors and aging design meant that it was never aimed at buyers of market leaders' similar-sized but more expensive products, such as the Ford Sierra, Vauxhall Cavalier and Austin Montego. Nonetheless, the Riva was still selling well in the United Kingdom and many other Western markets in the early 1990s, but the next few years saw a raft of new models come from budget competitors such as Daewoo, Hyundai, Kia and Proton, pushing Riva sales into terminal decline. This, combined with the economic hardships and much-needed investment to adapt cars to stricter European Union emissions requirements not being available, resulted in the decision to withdraw Lada from the UK and Canada on 4 July 1997. They had tried to produce catalyst equipped cars using carburettors, when all other car makers changed to fuel injection to more accurately control fuel/air ratios, but this caused many reliability and emissions issues.

New Zealand

The car was also sold in New Zealand, where it was distributed by the New Zealand Dairy Board. The Dairy Board received the cars in lieu of cash payments for deliveries of mutton and butter to the Soviet Union. The last such trade was carried out in 1990.

Models

2104

Estate edition
Pickup Edition
Model variants included the Riva Signet, Riva 1200, Riva 1300, Riva 1500, and Riva 1600, with trim levels "E" and "L". A Turbo charged model Lada 2107 Turbo was sold in Finland, this version was made by Finnish Lada importer.
Small numbers of Lada rally cars were built with Wankel engines, fitted with a pair of Weber DCOE twin-choke carburettors.

Production at Suzuki Egypt

In Egypt, the Amal Foreign Trade Company and Lada's parent company AvtoVAZ signed a joint venture agreement to assemble Ladas for the North African market in 2000. However, as they did not have their own factory, space was found at a local Suzuki plant in Cairo to assemble the 2107 version of the Riva. As of 2006, production continued at Suzuki with an additional model, the 2110, being produced.

Safety

In the early 1980s, when it was put into production, the car complied with UNECE car safety standards and GOST technical standards.
In 2001, the 2107 version of the Riva scored 0 points out of 16 in a frontal crash test conducted by the modern Russian ARCAP safety assessment program, and was awarded zero stars out of four. The reviewers noted that the result of the test was easily predictable and couldn't be positive, as they were dealing with an old car having an outdated construction of the body and designed at the time when safety tests were different from those of 2001.
In 2002 Za Rulyom magazine performed crash tests on two Lada 21053 models, a new car from 2002 and a used one from 1994. The magazine's experts noted that the newer model complied with UNECE car safety standards 12-03 and 33, but the older and used one failed the latter standard. The story also expressed doubt that the 2002 model could meet the stricter safety requirements that would be imposed in October of the same year.

End of production

In the 2010s, the sales of the Lada Classics remained strong in the car's native Russia and some of the former Eastern Bloc nations. In April 2011, it was reported that Russian sales of the 2105 and 2107 series showed an increase of 140% on a total of 28,633 in the first quarter of the year. However, production of the 2105 ceased at AvtoVAZ's Togliatti plant at the end of 2010 after a 30-year production run and nearly 3,000,000 units, with production of the other variants being fully moved to the IzhAvto plant near Izhevsk.
The 2107 made the transition to the IzhAvto plant in August 2011, thus marking the end of production of the original Fiat 124 derived models at Togliatti after a 41-year production run and over 14 million units.
In September 2012, the history of the sedan model in Russia was over, when the last 2104 came off the IzhAvto assembly lines. The last unit of the Lada Classic series, a 2104 model, was produced by IzhAvto on 17 September 2012. Starting from the same month, production at the Izhevsk factory was replaced with the Lada Granta. However, as of 2014, the 2107 model was still in production in Egypt.