1989 Yugo 311 1.1 from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Petrol tank rubber connecting hose perished, replaced.

Clutch cable snapped, replaced.

General Comments:

The Yugo 311 lacks a fifth gear, but still shifts very happily on the motorway at 65-70 mph. Fuel consumption is pretty good for a car of its vintage, it does 6.5-7.5 l/100 km, depending on how you drive it. I drive it around 50 miles daily and have been on several much longer roadtrips without incident.

The car is fun and torquey at low revs, and handles very well in all conditions. Given that there are probably fewer than 100 Yugos on the road now in the UK, it attracts quite a bit of interest, and surprised looks.

So far, the car has been very reliable, with only minor problems to fix in the course of driving it 10,000 miles in just six months. Parts when needed are becoming a bit of a trial, but they are still obtainable.

The only drawback I would note is that it is *very* noisy at speeds over 60 mph, I may have to install my own soundproofing - then again, the engine is the mechanical equivalent of a troubled nightclub singer who smokes fifty a day, so I may just put up with it.

This is a great character car, which does everything I ask of it with not much fuss. I really thought I would miss my old Yugo 513 (see separate review), but I don't - this model has proven far less troublesome.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th November, 2009

3rd Feb 2010, 07:02

Hi, I too had one of these little cars, in fact it was my first car, which my parents bought for me after passing my driving test back in 1990.

Very basic, 1983 A-reg, but easy to maintain and always a first starter in all weathers.

Looking back now, it was great times, and when it was time to move on, I went upmarket and bought a Lada 1600 top model!!! Twin round headlamp, built like a tank!! And so solid.

1989 Yugo 311 1.1 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

An excellent budget car

Faults:

Very little.

A bit heavy on clutch cables, but I always carried a spare one.

A do it yourself dream - I did all my own repairs.

When I had the car brand new I had to go round with a spanner and tighten everything up.

General Comments:

I hope Yugo can start exporting to the UK again. They were very good value for money. The quality control needs to be worked on.

Come on Yugo, get a multipoint fuel injection and a 3 way catalytic converter and bring them here again.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th April, 2002