The Lada is set to return to Britain

The Lada could be returning to Britain after a 13-year absence, according to a report from the Daily Telegraph.

It's good news for car buyers who want the luxury of a new car at a fraction of the price - the new Lada will cost just £5,200.

Renault, which owns a 25% stake in Russia's largest car maker AvtoVAZ will be relaunching production of the car brand in Britain. Steve Norman, vice president of Renault, said in a BBC report: "The UK was one of the few markets where Lada was a success. I'm confident the time is right to bring it back."

As reported by the BBC last month, AvtoVAZ and Renault plan to reintroduce a new and improved version of the car as a "credit crunch cruiser".

The first Lada was built in the Soviet Union in 1970. In the 30 years that followed, nearly 20 million were build and exported around the world. Despite being the butt of many jokes, its success meant that, at one point in the 1980s, the Lada industry was one of the main raisers of foreign currency for the financially-challenged Soviet Union.

The Daily Mail is just one of the papers sceptical about the return of the Lada, including jokes to remind people just how poor the reputation of Lada's were. "What do you call a Lada at the top of a hill? A miracle," was the most quoted joke in the media coverage.

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