by Guilherme Marques
The Nuova Ypsilon is a charismatic little car from an even more charismatic maker. It is time to start looking at Lancias again.
Since this is the first motoring piece about Lancia I have written for this newspaper, I believe it is important that we establish one thing: Lancia was once the most advanced car maker in the world, coming up with solutions to stun the likes of Mercedes or even Ferrari.
There was also a time when Lancia dominated the World Rally Championship with such ease that the only doubt was which Lancia driver was going to be crowned champion. If you know this Lancia I am talking about, you can skip the next three lines.
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If you don’t, before you keep on reading, Google this: Lancia D50, Lancia Stratos, Lancia Rally 037, Lancia Delta S4, Lancia Beta Montecarlo Group 4, Lancia LC2, Lancia Delta Integrale and Lancia ECV.
So now that you know where Lancia comes from, let’s talk about the Lancia that exists today, more luxury, comfort and style-oriented than sporting. And although I would love to see a new Lancia beating the competition at a rally stage, I know that will probably never happen again, so it seems only logical to try to find the good things remaining in this charismatic Italian maker – and there are plenty.
First of all, Lancias are the luxury affordable cars within the Fiat Group (affordable because Ferraris and Maseratis tend to be on the expensive side), and therefore offer something unique.
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The design: it is instantly recognisable and really quite different from anything else on the market today. To me that is very important, for two reasons. First, because there are not a lot of interesting cars on sale, design wise; and second, because if you are going to spend money on a car, you might as well choose something that challenges you a little bit.
We drove the best engine you can buy on the Ypsilon range, the 1.3 Multijet packing 95 horse power.
This little diesel is faster than expected and because the car is so light, you can easily keep up with much more powerful machinery on the highway and leave them behind around the city streets.
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Inside, the ‘pseudo-luxury’ is well thought out and the overall sense is that of an upmarket model. The ride is good, there is a lot of space up front and even the two back passengers travel comfortably. The materials work well together and, at night, the dashboard lights are fantastic, creating a really cool environment.
So, let’s do the maths. Good design, good solid materials, comfort, style, pace and at €18,300, good value too.
The Ypsilon is probably not a car most people will consider when buying a supermini, but that is because Lancia’s brand awareness is not as significant as its main rivals’ – which is a shame, because here is a car that does everything it was built to do really rather well, while exuding that peculiar blend of passion and flair only the Italians know how to master.
Still not convinced? Then bear this in mind: the Ypsilon ambassador is actor Vincent Cassel. You might know him as the husband of the most beautiful woman in the world, Monica Bellucci. Choosing Monica says a lot about his taste, which says a lot about the Ypsilon. And if you buy one, the Ypsilon will say a lot about you.
