New Delta

[peterbaker]

I have just spent an hour or so with my local Swiss Lancia dealer. The only Delta he has is a 1.4 petrol in middle (Oro) spec with an invoice price including metallic paint and blue tooth of 38,850 swiss franc or roughly £19,895.00. I have to say I am not impressed, particularly with the interior. The dashboard layout is a real strange mixture, a mess while the sobre black seats with black fabric inserts carry absolutely no feeling of quality. On the road and I am even more depressed. The car is noisy and feels, well, no better than an average Fiat. The cars on show in Geneva certainly looked more stylish. The base price of a 1.9 diesel in Platino form is 46,396 swiss franc making it £24,000 before extras. At the moment and as a fan I wanted so much more, I am incredibly disappointed. NB This is only my opinion.   

[ian.cleary]

Is this a dealer that you're friendly with, Peter? If so, how does the dealer feel about the new model? Often it's interesting to hear the opinions of the sales folk... as especially in multi-marque dealerships (which I believe will be the case in the UK) the salespersons "pet" brand will be the one pushed to the customer... if the customer has the choice of a Brera or a Delta, how will the salespeople position the two brands?

Worrying though, if the sporting pedigree is being played down and the luxury stylings are less than skin deep... it's going to take a devoted Lancia fan to overlook inadequacies... we're in a credit unfriendly market now, and if the car cannot deliver an aspirational badge or a rewarding driving / ownership experience then Fiat are going to have a tough sell here. Will be interesting to see how the European sales take off...

Fingers crossed for these being very short-lived concerns 

[peterbaker]

Okay. My local dealer has for the past four years only really sold Ypsilon and the odd Musa, alongside Fiat. He shared our hopes that the new Delta would allow him to compete with quality brands, We can only wait and see. Meantime his enthusiasm lies with Fiat 500. I am in the market for a new car and would love to say I own a new Delta, but not yet.

[fensaddler]

Peter - how do new prices compare with the UK?  Because if those prices are reflected in the UK, I'm not going to be having one, unless the contract hire prices are way out of line with the retail prices.  If they're going to be asking that sort of money, they might as well not bother in the UK, because no one will be buying.

[peterbaker]

I think that for £16,000 you will only get a base model, but dont forget discount and it would be unusual if pre reg cars were not avaliable soon into launch. Of course we still have little idea which models will be on sale and where! The Swiss Franc is approx two to the pound. Incidently, a litre 0f 95 unleaded is good value in switz at £1.00 (2 swiss francs) because tax is only 40p not 64p. Coming back to the subject, BMW and Mercedes use price harmonisation across the EU which works quite well but as Switz is outside EU they generally sell cars a bit cheaper. Another thing is because of oil price fluctuation manufacturers are not sure which way to jump. After all, the diesel option is no longer clear cut. At the moment petrol has the advantage up to twenty thousand miles a year but oil is dropping, probably too a low of $115/117 a barrel. The world needs stabilty. Maybe the Delta should offer an electric option. PS Vale of Evesham Meeting next week at usual place, sitting down to eat at 14.00hrs. Will be discussing Economy Drive.

[fensaddler]

I want the 2 litre diesel (the 160 bhp one) in Oro spec, and it needs to come in around £20k, or £360 pcm (non-maintenance, 36 months, 60k miles).  Like to hazard a guess as to whether I've any chance?

[peterbaker]

I have the price list for switz if you are coming on Sunday. Only two engines are avaliable. the 1.4 T-Jet 150 petrol and 1.9 D-MJ TwinTurbo diesel, both with six speeds. The diesel is avaliable in Oro or Platino. As an Oro it is 41.400 including swiss tax plus. Navigation including Blue and Me is 1300 or just Blue and Me is 550. MP3 is cheap at 100. It comes with 16 inch alloys but it looks like electric windows are 1800 (could be a mistake). Bi-Colour is another 1690. Metallic paint is 790. Trim is either blue or black. The alert for lane departure is 790 and tyre pressure warning 390. Expect a dealer prep package including RFL around 1000.
So in £'s it would be without extras 42.400 or £21,200 without metallic. Cars do appear to be slightly cheaper in Switz but it looks as if you are not far out if your Fleet look at base price comparison. Early cars will be Fiat specc'd with the dealer having little choice, although Im sure once you have struck a relationship they will be pleased to put in an early order. There will not be the same rush as with 500!     

[toby2449]

that is disapointing to hear, though sadly not a surprise.

Having read through many reviews of the Delta in various magazines, only Car & our own Viva Lancia have given it anything other than a lukewarm reception. Even Auto Italia weren't exactly blown away by the Delta, & by their very nature they tend to give good reviews to anything Italian!

Two major things seem to have a running theme, the whole handling of the car seems to be some way behind Audi & BMW, & even worse the quality of the interior seems more Fiat than Lancia. I mean no disrespect to Fiat, their interiors are nearly as good as any comparable Opel or Ford, but Lancia should be fighting Audi/BMW etc, & lets be honest here this Delta is supposed to be vital to Lancia's future, this Delta is supposed to be Italy's Audi (or as some have put it Italy's Lexus!), so why hasn't Fiat invested some more Euro's in the thing!

Theres no point Delta just taking away sales from the Bravo/147's of this world, it needs to take sales from the 1 series & A3, & from what i've read so far, its facing a bigger task because its not a quality product. Every car magazine seems to want to like it, but comes away feeling short changed.

Very sad indeed. I like the Delta, i wanted magazines to rave about it, i hoped it would be good enough to make me look at it when time comes to change my 147, but i feel this isn't going to happen

[Alan Temple]

Paul Hudson reviews the new Delta in this weeks Saturday Telegraph.

[fay66]

Here's one you can buy

The exterior shots I think are pretty dramatic, and some of the best pictures of the new Delta I've seen.

http://cgi.ebay.it/Lancia-Delta-1-6-Multiet-120cv-ORO_W0QQitemZ290256681278QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item290256681278&_trkparms=72%3A1025%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Brian
8227

[peterbaker]

Good colour combination and confirms the pricing structure. I still think the dash layout is a mess.

[fay66]

Good colour combination and confirms the pricing structure. I still think the dash layout is a mess.

I'll reserve judgement until I see one, but I have my reservations about all the siver coloured trims around the dash and steering wheel.
Until these photos I didn't realise just how imposing it is from the rear and rear qtrs.

Brian
8227

[toby2449]

ah i still love the look of the thing, i loved it when i saw it in the very first pics, loved it when i saw it in geneva...i'm hooked

[fensaddler]

Here's one you can buy

The exterior shots I think are pretty dramatic, and some of the best pictures of the new Delta I've seen.

http://cgi.ebay.it/Lancia-Delta-1-6-Multiet-120cv-ORO_W0QQitemZ290256681278QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item290256681278&_trkparms=72%3A1025%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Brian
8227

I still love it - I hope I can afford it...

[sparehead3]

Blimey ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suQev028HAI ... hadn't seen that before ... and in English