Editing Lada Samara (section)

===British market===
The [[United Kingdom]] had to wait nearly three years for the Samara to go on sale, after its launch in the USSR, but sales were reasonably strong when the first versions of the car left forecourts, in November 1987.

In a road test conducted by ''[[The Motor]]'' magazine, it scored more than 5 points out of 10 in most aspects and was praised for having a remarkably extensive list of standard equipment, "impressive" engine, good visibility and performance for its price segment, lowered fuel consumption, being good at cornering and "tolerably quiet", but also received criticism for having a cheap-looking interior and plastic mouldings and being "very turbulent" on poor roads.<ref>The Motor, 5 December 1987, pp. 40–41</ref>

The [[Pound sterling|£]]4,795 price at introduction "was much less expensive" than the competing Peugeot 309 or Ford Escort 1300.{{sfnp|Thompson|2008|pp=257–258}} The Samara remained on sale in the United Kingdom right up to 4 July 1997, when the decision was made to withdraw from Great Britain and most other export markets.<ref>"Lada History in the UK", [http://www.lada-owners-club.co.uk/lada_%20history_in_the_UK.htm Lada Owners Club UK] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101021093957/http://www.lada-owners-club.co.uk/lada_%20history_in_the_UK.htm |date=21 October 2010 }}</ref>
In countries where ruggedness was more important, it was more successful, selling reasonably well in Canada, Australia, and Finland for instance.{{sfnp|Thompson|2008|p=260}}

[[File:Samara.jpeg|left|thumb|250px|Samara 1500 hatchback (UK, Dec '92)]]

The attempt to appeal to a wider clientele failed; while an improvement over previous Ladas, the Samara's higher price pitched it against stiffer West European competition.

By the time of the Samara's launch, the British small family car market was effectively split into two segments: The large mainstream market was dominated by mass-market manufacturers, such as [[Ford of Europe|Ford]], [[Vauxhall Motors|Vauxhall]], and [[Volkswagen]]. The budget market consisted of [[Eastern Europe]]an and [[Far East]]ern brands, such as [[Škoda Auto|Škoda]], [[Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych|FSO]], [[Hyundai Motor Group|Hyundai]], and [[Proton (carmaker)|Proton]].

The aging Samara came bottom of the annual 1996 and 1997 [[JD Power]] and [[Top Gear (1977 TV series)|Top Gear]] surveys in Great Britain.

====Versions====
Initially sold as a three- or five-door hatchback with a 1.3 petrol engine, a 1.5 version became available in October 1988. Metallic paint became an option for the first time in November 1989 when the 1.5 SLX was launched. A new entry-level model arrived in July 1990 when the 1.1 petrol engine was added to the range (Select or L). An updated version of the Samara was launched in April 1991, with all new trim levels. This was followed by the introduction of the VAZ 21099 saloon version 15 months later. The saloon also became available as a sporty 1.5 "Juno" from July 1994, featuring alloy wheels, swoopy, ill-fitting sideskirts and a rear spoiler. A fuel injected engine became available on the 1.3 and 1.5 models in August 1996.<ref>''Lada Cars in the UK'', [http://www.lada-owners-club.co.uk/lada_%20cars_in_the_UK.htm#nogo Lada Owners Club UK] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100721003733/http://www.lada-owners-club.co.uk/lada_%20cars_in_the_UK.htm |date=21 July 2010 }}</ref>