Lancia Motor Club

Down in Annecy in the French Alps. Very nice dealership FIAT/Alfa/Lancia - all very modern and clean. There in the window was a new sliver Delta ....

Interesting to see it after all that I've read and be able to sit in it. Smaller that I expected , very nice car, not much rear visiblity. Wouldn't complain if I owned one :)

Never saw one on the road though ... in France, Belgium or Switzerland (don't know whether it's too early yet!)

I asked for a brochure but they didn't have any (got a french shrug :))

I am working in Geneva and have yet to see a new Delta on the road. Silver suits the car, better than black on black. Maybe the dealer has given out all the brochures! I did see a Y10 4wd today which I did not know existed.

oooooooohhhh double spooky !

We went to Geneva for the day (last Wednesday I think) : didn't spot you ;) or any deltas either ... The Swiss are  a bit quick on their horns though !!! pretty hard to find anywhere to park too ...

Also spooky, in the Bristol area we were talking about a Y10 4wd that is in the UK that was spotted (in Wiltshire)

small world.

we saw a couple on the road in Italy during our holidays. To answer the question raised below they are in the dealers in belgium and prominantly displayed as well. On my nearest dealer forecourt there is a grey one with a "come and test me" sticker on it. Annoyingly I haven't had the time yet .
I must say, having seen the car in the flesh, its nicer than I expected from the photos although I am still not in really in love with the grill, (somehow its a bit cumbersome).What is really impressive is the space for the rear passengers; it's vey good given the exterior dimensions. The grill is a matter of taste I suppose but its often the front treatment that influences people.Same with the Thesis, the most elegant car in years from the rear view but a bit fussy at the front.

Hi Peter,
I'm surprised that you hadn't heard of the Y10 4x4, tried looking for one to buy a couple of years ago but only found one and that sold before I could get to it in Lille, if anyone reading this has one & needs help I have the workshop manual amongst my collection.

Sorry about the photos the wrong way up, I forgot to rotate them, the cutaway and write up will both download into Adobe if you click on the Jpeg information at bottom of each.

Brian
8227 8)

Driving in Switzerland is an interesting combination of freedom and fear. On the whole the Swiss are law abiding but as with the French, demand their rights. Dont expect any favours. The motorway limit of 120kph means just that. Cameras are set with no margin. Legal street parking in Geneva is difficult but enforcement is lax and anyway, there are plenty of underground spaces. Public transport is so good nobody really needs a car in town. Strangely the car almost always gives way to the pedestrian, whether on a crossing or not and aggression between drivers is penalised in law. Away from built up areas and motorways, ie in the mountains its time for fun. Expect all traffic to be on your side of the road and travelling as fast as conditions allow. The buses and delivery vans take a special delight in scaring tourists. Coming back to public transport, trains, ferry boats and buses are frequent and on time, typically Swiss and untypically British.   

I'm just back from a business trip to Germany and had a good look at one in a showroom - dealer wouldn't let me sit in it as official German launch is this weekend and the car had a black cover on - persuaded him to take the cover off but he was terrified he'd be in trouble if the boss came back from lunch....

No doubt (in my opinion!) that the car looks better in the flesh than in photos and the rear space is tardis-like considering the rakish lines of the car.

Price was (for this 1.4 base model) a shade under 25,000 euro which is a whopping £20k just about at current exchange rates.

My other half was very keen on the looks of the car!

The Y10 4x4 mentioned seen in wiltshire lives near me in Dilton Marsh, and shares its home with a Gamma saloon, Beta spider, Appia saloon and at least 4 Deltas !! I have spoken to the son of the family who uses the 4x4 as his everyday car. The rest belong to his Mother and Father who were on holiday at the time! I will be going back!!

Hi Marcus,
Yep that was the one ...
Are you going to Andy's tomorrow ? Still haven't decided on Sunday yet ...

Hi Steve, sorry a bit late getting back to you as its all over now! I didnt see you there so guess you decided against it. Have a look at Tonys Flickr page and see what you missed, great weather too, wish the AGM had been like this!

ahhhh ... but then you missed Andy's BBQ

Spoke to Simon Davis on sunday, he's in Turin celebrating his 40th birthday with a lovely meal at De Angelino's, amongst other things.

He informed me that he's had a test drive in the new Delta, so hopefully we'll get another first hand experience from a Lancisti, he sent me a couple of photos with the text, but I can't figure out how to get them out of the phone ::)

Brian
8227 8)

Bluetooth to your PC?

Remember the promise that technology would make everything so easy for us?  ::)

How about this ...

Pass ???

Brian
6227 8)

As Brian eluded to I spent a week celebrating the big 40 in Turin (belatedly), and managed to get a 30 minute test drive in a 1.4 T-Jet with the 150CV engine in Oro spec with some options, don't ask what they were as with only 30 minutes I wanted to see how it drove.

Firstly, the seating position is multi adjustable with the steering adjustable for both rake and reach. I being a short like to sit high and see the bonnet, which in the Delta I could do (as a mk2 focus, but not the astra or civic). The engine was willing but needed to have the turbo spinning to get progress. The car was quiet with a gruff sound only when pushed. It was smooth and took rubber speed cushions with easy and no crashing from the suspension.

All controls were light:- throttle, clutch, brake and steering; switching off the city mode on the steering did not seam to change the feel to be noticable. It maybe speed sensitive but in heavy town driving could not be detected. Visibility from the car was good, rear passenger space (excellent behind me) was good even with front seat back and rear seat forward. The only critisim I could possibly see with the car was the boot, may have a large area with either seats up/down/forward but it had a high sill and a small apperature.

Would I have one, well YES, YES, YES. but would like to try the diesel option or 1.8 petrol turbo.

Attached is picture taken on phone at the central show room

Regards

Simon Davis

the more i see one, the more i love its design!