The Soviet Union will never come to mind when talking about high-end cars. Being a communist power and putting most of its resources into the military, the USSR didn't consider high-class cars for the masses a priority. Thus, many Soviet cars were built as cheaply as possible and ignored things such as safety features or even a car that ran right.

Yet sometimes, the Soviet bloc would produce surprisingly good automobiles. Keep in mind that even the best Soviet cars can make a Vega look like a Lamborghini in terms of power and not that stylish, yet some could still be surprisingly good when compared to the disasters the nations of the time produced. These are five of the best Soviet cars ever made and five of the worst as a reminder of the mixed bag of the USSR auto industry.

10 Worst: Lada Oka

Lada Oka worst Soviet car
Via Wikimedia Commons

It's harder to get more avoidable than a car openly nicknamed the "capsule of death." Also known as the VAZ-1111, this was one of the last cars built before the Soviet Union collapsed and shows how resources were getting scarce at the time.

Worst Soviet made car LAda Oka
Via Wikimedia Commons

Originally intended to be driven by people with physical disabilities, the Oka itself seemed to have the worst body possible, capable of crumbling just running into another parked car. Somehow being a good seller for the time, the Oka is also one of the worst cars in Russian history.

9 Best: Melkus RS 1000

Melkus RS 1000
DriveTribe

It may not be the strongest car around but the "Ferrari of the East" not only looked cool (well, by Soviet standards) but was also one of their better attempts at a sports car.

Melkus-RS-1000-6
Via:Silodrome

Yes, the 2-stroke 3-cylinder engine with 90 hp may be laughed at by Ferrari buffs, but the styling was great with gullwing doors. The transaxle properly sent power to the rear wheels, and it was firmer than most Soviet offerings to make it the closest Soviet-era owners could get to a Ferrari.

8 Worst: SMZ SIL1

Soviet disabled persons car SMZ S1L red
Via somanyhorses.ru

The "Invacar" program was meant to provide cars for people on welfare. That might sound nice, but it also meant those people got some of the worst automobiles ever put on the road. The SMZ SIL1 might have been the worst of the bunch, starting with the tri-wheel design that looks more like a bathtub.

SMZ S1L in a parking
Via deviantart.com

The "engine" only delivers four hp and a top speed of 18 mph. That's on top of a weak frame that makes the car easily knocked over. There's a good reason they had to literally give these cars away to the public.

Related: 10 Weird And Ridiculous Soviet Cars America Never Got

7 Best: Lada Niva

Lada Niva front third quarter view
Biturbo228 Via Flickr

The Lada Niva can be a divisive car, with some calling it horrible and others holding it's far better than its reputation. Boasting a lightweight and unibody design in a time when most SUVs were hardbody construction, the Niva also had a good suspension.

Lada Niva rear third quarter cinematic view
Biturbo288 Via Flickr

It was never a fast car, but it's amazingly tough and reliable to the point that it was used in Antarctica for 15 years. The fact it's being set for a revival proves the Niva was a far stronger car than many claimed.

6 Worst: LuAZ 969

LUAZ 969 worst soviet SUV
Via Wikimedia Commons

One of the worst excuses for a "utility vehicle" ever put on the road, the LuAZ 969 was actually considered groundbreaking by Soviet standards in the late 1960s. On the one hand, it was actually capable off-road and later models with a decent enough 40 hp.

LuAZ Soviet van horrible car
Via Guns.ru Talks

But it was also slow, hard to handle, very uncomfortable, and had no safety features. There were also 60 deaths attributed to carbon monoxide leaks, making it one SUV that should be avoided at all costs.

5 Best: GAZ M21 Volga

Volga-Gaz-24,-1
Via: 1cars.org

When a car is considered the must-ride for the KGB, that indicates it's a good Soviet product. Produced in Poland, the Volga copied the looks of American cars of the late 1950s with a touch body and frame.

via toptenz.com

The 2.4 four-cylinder provided decent performance and a top speed of nearly 90 mph. It also had then-luxury tech such as reclining seats, a larger radio, a cigarette lighter, and more. It was a popular ride, especially by police and government officials, while a later V8 upgrade offered better performance for a strong ride for the USSR.

Related: 8 Cool Soviet Sports Cars You Never Knew Existed

4 Worst: ZAZ 965

ZAZ 965 soviet car zaporozhets
Via GoMotors.net

As one of the first mass-marketed public consumer cars for the USSR, the ZAZ 965 was a sales success. Too bad it was also one crummy car.

ZAZ 965 soviet car
Via GoMotors.net

It handled decently enough at first but got worse as time went on, thanks to the cheap materials used in its construction. It had too short and thin cylinder and exhaust pipes that led to overheating and engine fires. It was also horribly slow, and while later models were slight improvements, the first ZAZ offering is not a car to remember fondly.

3 Best: ZIL-117

via car.info

The rare case of a Soviet "luxury" car that lived up to the name, the ZIL-117 was one offering that felt like it was made in a different country. A 1970s Soviet car boasting a 300-hp V8 was stunning and aided by a well-constructed body that protected the passengers.

ZIL-117

Perhaps because it was so high quality, only 50 were produced as the USSR just couldn't afford to keep it going. But the ZIL-117 was a gem of the time to show Russia did know how to make good cars when it tried.

2 Worst: ZAZ-1102 Tavria

Via: wikipedia.com

A rare case of a Soviet car that became successful overseas, the ZAZ-1102 Tavria had a better engine than its predecessors with about 51 hp. That's where the good stuff ends as it was made of amazingly flimsy and cheap materials.

soviet zaz tavria car
Via Wikimedia Commons

The interiors were even cheaper, with little regarding safety features. They moved hundreds of thousands, but that's more because of how cheap they were to make than their real success. It's yet another case of a Soviet car that belonged in a junkyard.

1 Best: Skoda 110R

The Skoda 110R Sports Car
via skoda-storyboard.com

Calling something the "best Soviet sports car" may not be the greatest praise, but it's praise nonetheless. "The Porsche of the East" was a better car than given credit for. Skoda itself is the most successful Soviet manufacturer with cars not just in the old Soviet nations but abroad as well.

The Skoda 110R Electric- Sports Car
via Motor1.com

The 110R was an updated version of the typical Skoda sedan with a firmer 62-hp engine and four headlights to help it stand out. It was a good ride with some surprisingly spiffy performance and may rank as one of the best cars the Soviet era ever put out.