You could be forgiven for wondering whether Lancia still exists. It’s been a long time since the heydays of Delta Integrales flying across television screens; the brand has been confined to Italy since 2017 and the only car it has sold from 2015 onwards has been the elderly 12-year-old Ypsilon. We’re now seeing the first green shoots of its rebirth, however, with the introduction of the new Ypsilon.
This latest fourth-generation model is a touch larger than the bijou city cars of years past, now a regular five-door B-segment hatchback that shares its Common Modular Platform (CMP) with the Peugeot 208. It’s also – for now, at least – a fully-electric vehicle that uses the running gear from the e-208.
All that means the Ypsilon has the same headline figures as the facelifted zero-emissions Pug – its single front motor produces 156 PS (115 kW) and 260 Nm of torque, while its 51 kWh battery delivers a range of up to 403km on the WLTP cycle.
Lancia hasn’t said how much DC fast charging power it can support (only that it can charge from 20 to 80% in 24 minutes and provide an additional 100 km of range in ten minutes), but we can safely assume it’s the same 100 kW maximum as the e-208. We can also reasonably assume the Ypsilon will be available with the Peugeot’s 11 kW onboard charger, allowing AC charge times of around four hours and 40 minutes.
While the underpinnings are very familiar, Lancia has at least tried its hardest to dress them in typical Italian style. The aggressive front end has been lifted straight from the Pu+Ra HPE concept and features an illuminated gloss black “chalice” grille (inspired by the Beta Montecarlo, apparently) and round headlights that are supposed to bring to mind the iconic Stratos – although these ones obviously don’t pop up.
The soft round forms, on the other hand, are meant to hark back to the classic Aurelia and Flaminia sedans, while the gloss black treatment continues on the C-pillars (housing the Lancia logo) and the tailgate trim linking the round headlights. Like the previous Ypsilon, the new model sports hidden rear door handles.
Inside, the Ypsilon evokes a stylish Italian living room, not least through the name Lancia chose for the infotainment system SALA (which, by the way, stands for Sound Air Light Augmentation). It consists of twin 10.25-inch displays for the instrument cluster and centre touchscreen, the latter of which also houses the air-con controls – although there are thankfully physical buttons under the centre air vents.
On top of the dash sits a round “hub” that lights up when using the “Hey SALA” voice control. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come as standard, as are adaptive cruise control with stop and go and lane centring assist for Level 2 semi-autonomous driving. The Ypsilon is the only car in its class to come with such a system as standard, Lancia claims.
The “living room” concept is taken a step further through a collaboration with Italian furniture company Cassina, which has resulted in the Edizione Limitata Cassina launch special, limited to 1906 units (in celebration of Lancia’s founding year). It’s resplendent in blue, a hue that’s carried into the double-stitched ribbed velvet upholstery as well as the distinctive tavolino (or “small table”).
This circular leather-covered panel sits above the centre console and houses the wireless charging pad. As yet it’s unclear whether the tavolino will be offered across the range (minus the leather, presumably) or limited to the Cassina variant.
The Ypsilon is the first of three models in Lancia’s strategic plan, and it will spearhead the brand’s return to the rest of Europe, starting with Belgium and the Netherlands in mid-2024 and followed by France and Spain, then Germany in 2025. It won’t be cheap, though – the Edizione Limitata Cassina will be priced at €39,999 (RM205,700), although that does as least include an AC wallbox charger.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with myTukar.
