The Skoda 120 L embodies the ‘old Skoda’ – In the Wild

Skoda has been building cars in which you can be seen for years, but about thirty years ago it had a completely different image. This was partly due to the Skoda 120, one of which we see here in the wild.

AutoWeek forum member JFR came across a Ford Sierra sedan in the wild, but decided to ignore it for a while. We understand that, because a Skoda 120 L was parked next to it. It is just that little bit more special to just come across. You can actually see it straight away; we are dealing here with a car that emerged behind the Iron Curtain. It may not look as rudimentary as this Lada 2105 or this Dacia 1310, but it doesn’t make much difference.

After all, the Skoda 120 was also a car with modest origins and a long lifespan. In contrast to the aforementioned Lada and Dacia, the 120 was a model developed from the ground up, albeit a further development of the predecessor 100/110. Another big difference was that the Skoda had the engine in the back. In that respect it was somewhat outdated, because when it was released in 1976, regular rear-engine passenger cars were already outdated. The Skoda 120 did not exactly drive well when the going was a bit faster.

In the 1980s, the Czech received a facelift that fit perfectly with what was happening in the entire car industry: chrome made way for (black) plastic and larger square lamps were installed on the 120. This made it appear significantly more modern than earlier. With the Rapid, a coupe based on the 120, presented in 1984, as the successor to the Garde, which was also based on the 120, Skoda also showed itself to be more ‘fashion conscious’ than ever. Yet Skoda, especially in the Netherlands, remained very much a brand that you chose if it all cost barely anything.

This light blue copy was probably purchased with that in mind in 1987. Nevertheless, someone was crazy enough to drive the car from 1990 to 2006 and that undoubtedly made it a classic in the first place. After all, many of his peers have been discarded at a much younger age. The current owner has been driving it for just over a year and a half now and it appears to still be well taken care of. Nice!