2009+ Lada Priora Universal

Did I say Mother Honda? What about Mother Russia?

Things are going blurry...stay away from the light!

Ah, Lada...how we sorta knew ya here in the States. Most enthusiasts worth their kvass know the brand for spunky little crossovers already eaten away with rust and afflicted with ancient technology.

The fascinating, rather French looking 111 Universal.

But Lada is a carmaker with a far more illustrious history and they've produced many cars that outshone that one part of their history. The Lada Priora is one such car. The replacement for the boxy Lada 111 estate, the station wagon was badged the Universal.

Though it looks like a design from the early '00s to our eyes, the Priora has most of the latest tech doodads in it, including bluetooth integration. We might complain (rightly so) about possibility of these things going south in the future, causing a car to be virtually useless and unfixable, but imagine that in a Russian-built car...even a modern one. Look out, Comrade.

On the official Lada website, the Universal isn't listed. I'm guessing that the car has a smallish four banger with around 100 hp. Probably slow. Probably fuel efficient. Other features are FWD and your choice of a 5-speed stick or a 5-speed semi-automatic.