Tweed Jacket Reviews: 2011 Chrysler/Lancia Delta 1.4 SR Multiair - Lloyd Vehicle Consulting
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- čas přidán 20. 08. 2024
- In this review, suitably attired, we test a 2011 Chrysler Delta 1.4 SR Multiair (also known as a Lancia Delta) and see how practical it is, what it is like to drive and what it is like to own. Be prepared for more in-jokes for fans of 1970s ITC television programmes (as usual), references to Peter Serafinowicz's seminal spoof science series Look Around You, a comparison of interior quality to a pack of McVities biscuits, multiple ill-advised political jokes, (un)intentional corpsing, an attempt at Italian pronunciation, rather too much excitement about one of this car's illustrious predecessors, and some Italian-American corporate history. Nothing untoward, then!
As an independent vehicle consultant, I take potential buyers through the whole car buying process from choosing a make and model to a vehicle handover and road tax. In addition to information on this service, I also have a selection of written and video reviews of cars that I have owned, hired, borrowed or have somehow come into my possession. Please use the Contact Me page on my website to get in touch, visit my Facebook page for latest updates and share this video if you like it! Thank you for watching.
Website: www.lloydvehicleconsulting.co.uk
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Videography and Editing by Nicholas Franks
Website: www.nicholasfranks.com
Facebook: / nicholasfranksdigital
Theme Music "Here" by Laurence Callaghan and The Tin Cans Copyright 2013 Bezalel Records
Download the EP at www.completing.bandcamp.com
Great review of a very under rated and all but forgotten car! It speaks volumes of the legacy of the Lancia name over here that the Chrysler name was considered less toxic to potential buyers. In fairness Chrysler did have a couple of quite popular cars around that time with the 300C and Crossfire but neither bore any family resemblance with the Delta. This Delta was much more interesting than a contemporary Golf or Focus although if I was spending my own money I suspect i would go with a more mainstream alternative (probably a Civic, very conventional and dull but a very safe and solid choice).
Ah yes, with less than 900 sold in this country, it never really was a popular car, and I am really pleased to have been offered one for review. That is right, no common engineering at all with the American Chrysler models. I think I probably would have bought a Mazda3 or Kia Cee'd if it were me, but this was surprisingly good, much better than I expected.
Had a Lancia Dedra years ago had nothing but trouble with it! Great to drive when it was working and like a lot of Italian cars very good looking.
This one seems to have been relatively reliable. I think the Dedra which you had was perhaps symptomatic of the reasons why Fiat stopped selling Lancias over here in 1994.
I replaced a 2006 1.6 Ford Focus tank with a 1.4 MultiJet Delta. Really don't regret it - I can honestly say it's the best car I've driven. The turbo makes a real difference. If you get one, expect strangers to ask you about it! Also, garages get quite nervous when they see one of these roll in. Don't expect parts to be cheap.
Thanks ever so much indeed! Yes, I was really surprised by this car. The performance, handling, passenger space and gearbox were all much better than I was expecting. I would say that you are right about servicing, as no one has heard of these, but they do share many parts with the Fiat Bravo, so hopefully that helps a bit. I do happen to rather like the styling as well. What colour is yours?
@@lloydvehicleconsulting mine is grey. Apparently there's only around 90 greys left. Suppose I better look after it!
@@hypnotizedgamingtech, well, they only sold about 900 in this country in total, so whichever colour you have, it's definitely a rare car! Grey sounds like a good colour for one of these.
An eye-catching design. Roomy and comfortable with a very well designed interior. Wonderful engine as well.
The engine is a variant of the old FIRE unit and is a lower powered version of the one used in the 595 Abarth, so generally quite strong. It's quite an unusual car, particularly in this country.
Thank you for this video! I guess that this is the only Lancia you have reviewed to date! I understand this model was the last Lancia exported out of Italy.
Yes, the only Lancia I have ever driven, even if it was really a Chrysler. The last one was not the Delta, it was actually the Ypsilon.
I owned one of these until late last year and can confirm it's an underrated and appealing car. I also owned a Fiat Bravo before it and hired a new Golf for a couple of months while the Delta was being repaired after a taxi reversed into it. Incidentally, that model being reviewed has the hideous body kit which ruins the looks IMO.
The Delta's strong points were its controversial looks, pleasant interior ambience, low wind noise, space , well controlled ride at speed and smooth controls. It shares almost everything with the Bravo, the only differences being the exterior styling, the chintzy bits on the dashboard and a longer wheelbase.
Although the Golf has a better made interior, I prefer the more visually appealing Delta interior. I also preferred the seperate stalk for cruise control and slightly better ergonomics. The seats are a bit on the hard side and have a short squab for long legged people like most cars in this class. I used the city button all the time when driving around town as it is nice to be able to twirl the steering with one finger at low speeds; why on Earth do you need road feel while bumbling along a busy high street or looking for a parking space?
I found the Bravo and Delta to be solid, reliable cars although the Delta had a problem with the brake pedal light switch which broke three times. The Alfa Giulietta was built in the same factory and shared part of its floorpan with the others as well as engines and gearboxes but had substantially different suspension, interior and switchgear.
Thanks Mark! I am really pleased to hear from another owner of a Delta, as these are very, very rare cars. What replaced your Chrysler, if you don't mind my asking?
I have also reviewed a 2019 Golf 1.5 TSI Evo Bluemotion on my channel, so I would be interested to see what you thought of it if you have not already seen it... Like a lot of Volkswagen Group products, there's not that much for me to say about it that is overtly negative, although they are expensive and it's certainly not as exciting to look at as something like a Delta.
As far as I can understand it, the 1.4 SR Multiair that Lorraine provided me with for review was originally a demonstrator car at a dealership in Scotland, as it was registered in the same month as it was launched, which would explain the bodykit. There are so few of them around that I don't think I have seen one in the same specification and colour to compare against, so you may well be right!
I agree about the seat squab, it is very short for me, and I am not particularly tall, so it could have been an issue on a longer journey. I did try the car around town with the city button, but I just gave up as even manoeuvring (which involved lots of push/pull steering), I felt that I needed just that little bit of extra reassurance that something was going on, and, like a lot of modern cars, it is very light without the city mode. Lorraine does use it, though, so you may well have a point, it is just down to my personal preference for an old hydraulic set up like on my wife's MG3.
As far as I understand it, the Delta has been reliable for Lorraine as well, so it is clear from what you say that as well that not all Lancias and Fiats have horrendous build quality. I do know of a friend who had a Bravo with lots and lots of problems, though. Matt from furiousdriving has done an excellent review of an Alfa Romeo Giulietta on his channel if you haven't already seen it, but from the sound of what you are saying, you may well have done!
I was pleasantly surprised by the serene and smooth driving experience of the Delta, as well as the space, although the column stalks and the centre of the dashboard did let the side down somewhat in terms of quality. The engine and gearbox were also much better than I was expecting! I can't say that I am surprised that you liked yours very much.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting I replaced my Delta with a new Ibiza FR115. It's a very competent car for its size, has sufficient power for overtaking safely and is quiet around town. However, I'm disappointed by the level of wind and road noise at speed and surprised by the amount of torque steer and tramlining that occurs on typical badly maintained Cornish roads. The interior is a bit cheap and ugly despite their attempt to upgrade it with a slab of stitched faux leather on the dash. It has LED headlamps which make night driving less tiring apart from occasional people flashing because they think you've left your main beams on. Ergonomics are rubbish as in the Golf I tried. The touch screen is too distracting while the cruise control switch on the indicator stalk is annoying as it gives the indicator a sharp edge and its too easy to accidentally engage the speed limiter. The instruments are not easy to read, especially the fuel and temp guages and it always takes too long to find the time among the readouts. The driving position is too cramped for my long legs and the suspension crashes badly over potholes. The gearchange is notchy and can't be rushed. The car has a fairly cheap overall feel to it, especially the tailgate which has to be slammed hard and the interior plastics and the nasty little sun visors. Yes, I regret buying this car and wish I'd gone for an older, quality car. My impressions of the Golf, a 1.5 R Line were similar. Quiet, apart from wind noise caused by the mirrors, dreary interior, short seat squab and impossible to drive smoothly at low speeds due to hesitancy and flat spots.
Thanks Mark! That's very helpful. The 1.5 TSI Golf I drove a few months ago felt exceptionally smooth, but that was maybe because it had an automatic gearbox. I didn't drive it over about 40 mph so I can't comment on the wind noise. The interior was fine (apart from the hard plastics on the top of the rear doors), although the design is certainly quite unadventurous in comparison with something like a Chrysler Delta, which feels more luxurious in the back.
I have a Seat Toledo 1.0 TSI 110 Xcellence which has the same engine and gearbox as your Ibiza, albeit slightly detuned by around 5 bhp. The gearchange does baulk on me sometimes for no reason (an observation shared by a friend from another automotive CZcams channel who drove it recently), so I suppose it's a similar problem to what you have experienced. The list price was £20,500 brand new with metallic paint, but I got it for £12,500, so some of the common flaws you mention between both (the hard interior plastics, the tailgate which needs a good shove) can be excused. I don't find the ergonomics such a problem, although I not that tall and the Toledo is based on the last generation Ibiza and Polo, so they probably are a bit different, and I have had a lot of Volkswagen Group cars, so I am more familiar with the control layouts. The Toledo was certainly much less expensive than the Delta when they were both sold together in 2013 (the only year that was the case), but I don't think was aimed at the same kind of customers.
Mine has full LED headlamps as well, which I do like, although I take your point about other drivers maybe finding them too bright. The infotainment system on mine is not particularly large (again, the new Ibiza's one is different), especially compared to a Golf, and I haven't experienced the same problems with trying to read the temperature gauge and the fuel gauge you seem to have. I will have to try a new Ibiza and find out for myself, I think!
One thing that I certainly agree with is the current trend of making suspension in cars far too hard, which means that a lot of newer models, especially something like an Ibiza FR which has the sports suspension, do not ride roads in this country very well. I certainly wouldn't say that the Toledo's ride is too firm, but it is definitely not as compliant as the Delta, that's for sure! Regarding all the fussy details you mention, I tend to prefer the Xcellence trim Seats to the FR models due to the softer suspension and the lack of the "sporty" stitching, but that is just my personal taste. Haven't been to Cornwall for a number of years, but I am sure that the roads there aren't massively better than in Surrey, where we filmed the Delta, and may even be worse!
Thanks again for your comprehensive answer, it is very helpful.
A very intriguing car. One drove past me the other day and I'd forgotten what a quirky looking thing it was. For me the biggest mistake for this car was badging it Chrysler in the UK market. For a UK buyer Chrysler meant American inspired cars where the Americana style trumped things like build quality, handling etc. Yes, there is a market for them but, with eyes set more on the mainstream, I think UK buyers associate Lancia with quirky cars with a bit more driving, motorsport and style pedigree, like they do Alfa, and in sure most would rather tell their mates they drive a Lancia than a Chrysler. It also would have better matched the slightly upmarket image they were going for.
Thanks very much indeed! Yes, it was a delightful car to drive, actually. Much better than I expected. Very, very rare indeed as they sold just 900 when new. Using the Chrysler badge probably was a big mistake, and anyway, the marque has now disappeared from Europe and is now threatened with extinction even in America. The same is true with Lancia, which is moribund. They only sell the Ypsilon, and only for the home market. It would probably be dead too, but it's something like the third best selling car in Italy, which still keeps it going each year.
Great review. Really, a shame they've stopped selling it. But I'm a proud owner of a rare vehicle. :)
Yes, a very, very rare car indeed in this country! I was actually pleasantly surprised at how good it was, I think the way it was marketed over here didn't really help... Thank you for watching!
Still an exceptionally handsome car. I do still have regrets not getting one and somehow having a (pre-facelift proper) Lancia grille etc fitted.
Yes, a Lancia grille would be an excellent modification for one of these. They are around, just not a lot on sale due to low initial sales.
I drive a 1.9 multijet 190hp twinturbo diesel and it's fast. I couldn't find a 1.8 with 200hp so I settled for this one.
It has a platino package with a sunroof and creme leather interior. It certainly looks and feels expensive. :)
Thanks ever so much indeed! Yes, you probably have what was sold in Britain as the Limited, as the SR in the video (second one from the top) only has part leather seats. We never got the 1.8 turbo over here, not surprising as Chrysler only sold around 900 cars in total, so the 1.9 diesel was indeed the top of the range. Even in this SR trim, the Delta does feel like a premium product.
Ooh nice. It is simply a Lancia Delta of course. It had a bit of product placement in the 2010 movie Letters to Juliet as the hire car for Amanda Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave. Nice chrome touches on exterior and lovely upholstery. As for this platform, we my wife's friend has the 2015 Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.4 and it sounds lovely. While my youngest brother is about to turn 200,000 miles on his 2008 Fiat Bravo which he loves but he is finding the rear seat tight for passengers and baby seats. He is having trouble finding something that drives as well but is more roomy in the rear. Fiat reliability seems to right up there.
Yes, sir! Similar to the Bravo or Giulietta underneath, all three have now been discontinued (first the Fiat, then the Lancia/Chrysler and now the Alfa Romeo). I think what your brother may need is something like a Seat Toledo.... Lots and lots of room in the boot and in back of one of those for not a lot of money, although really you need to get one with over 105 bhp for it to be fun in any shape or form.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting thanks that sounds good.
@@seancooke4127 , I am always available for such jobs, lockdowns permitting...
@@lloydvehicleconsulting Toledos over here are starting around £3000 for the diesel. Closer to £5000 for a 1.0 litre turbo. Not sure if our Michael would stretch to that at the moment. He adores that Bravo too.
@@seancooke4127 , we don't talk about diesels on the channel, so try to find a 1.2 turbo Toledo, but only over 105 bhp, or even the 1.4 auto with 122 bhp. Otherwise, just keep the Bravo until it dies, which could be imminent if it has done that sort of mileage, but he may get a good while yet out of it.
If this car was Dr Who it would be the one played by Colin Baker - Not around for a long time, treated terribly by the public, but actually very good in its role. Aside from the spare wheel issue - not the only Chrysler with this annoyance - it is amazing, especially with the space and styling. Not the only Lancia badged as something else - original 1980s ones were also made by SAAB.
Well sir, the Saab 9000 was actually co-developed with the Alfa Romeo 164, Fiat Croma and Lancia Thema, it wasn't really just a rebadged version of the Croma/Thema, Saab re-engineered it quite fundamentally for themselves. I do remember Colin Baker as well...
Thanks Joseph, another interesting and entertaining review of a car I wasn't aware of. Looks quite classy, and despite the rarity there are a few for sale on the RAC Cars network for under £5,000.
Might have preferred the Lancia badge myself, but probably would have rusted a lot quicker!
My pleasure, Stanley! When I heard that Lorraine owned one of these, I was really keen to review it, and I am pleased to say that she was happy for us to do so. She actually plays the viola on the song we use for the title music, so she has a bit of a connection to the reviews, funnily enough.... They are very rare, but much better than I was expecting, and, yes, I would have preferred a Lancia badge as well, but at least we did get it over here! Definitely not an expensive car, but I think the Chevy Cruzes are even cheaper if anything. Hope that you enjoyed the Chevrolet review too!
Love that title song. You're really lucky to have all these friends willing to lend their cars for review.
Yes thanks, enjoyed the Chevvy review too (despite it being a you-know-what) - I did post and see it's there as a reply to Neil's post.
Would that "do you know what" happen to be a Daewoo, sir? I still have a Daewoo keyring that I bought for the car just as a joke... Can't have been easy for the Chevy salesmen in Britain when people kept calling them that right up until the end! Yes, I have seen your comment now, thank you ever so much. Glad you like the music, it is one of my favourite songs. Yes, I am blessed, I probably have enough cars to review to keep going right up until the end of the year at the moment! Watch this space for an update next week, which I think that you may find it interesting...
Got a 1.4 Turbo jet 150 hp. Great car!
It was a bit of a surprise, actually. No one knows these cars exist in Britain, let alone what they are, and yet it was a great drive.
Well, here in Portugal, they are also quite rare (although here they are badged as Lancia). I can go for weeks without seeing another one on the road. In here they are holding up their value quite well. You Get easaly over 10.000 euros for a delta...
@@telmafernandes1340 , they certainly don't hold their value like that over here due to the fact that Chrysler was discontinued in about 2014. The Delta itself was only sold for two years in the UK. A lot of garages won't even work on them, sadly! They certainly are quite rare.
They are easy to find on auto trader. There are many Chrysler Delta for sale, same for the smaller supermini sized Chrysler Ypsilon
They only sold about 900 of them, so I am surprised if there are a lot of them for sale!
@@lloydvehicleconsulting There are not as much as as an astra or a golf but a decent amount
@@lloydvehicleconsulting There are 6 for sale on auto trader. They all look in good condition judging from the photos. So not many but a good selection of different engines and different specs avalible. There is this gold 1.6 diesel one. I love the gold colour
@5:01 Premium maybe. Luxury, not so much. It is not a Bentley or a Rolls Royce.
@6:10 ... but a really decent one. Nothing particularly fancy but it is a budget brand anyway.
@7:55 That is the beauty of badge engineering. It is actually a Lancia Delta wich has nothing incomen with the Group B legend, either.
This is a really old video now, but since these cars are unbelievably rare in this country, it was nevertheless an amazing opportunity to try one out. They are becoming even less luxurious and even more obscure now. The future of both the Lancia and Chrysler brands does seem a little uncertain at present. I hope that they make it. Nothing to do with an Integrale, of course... Thank you ever so much indeed for watching and commenting!
I was interested to see this as its the luxury version to the sportier Alfa Giullietta I drove one recently for a video, I liked it a lot but it felt a little dated already
Thanks ever so much indeed! I love your channel, so I really appreciate you taking the time to watch the video and leave a comment. Great RS Turbo review this week, by the way! Yes, it's a bit dated now, but for a car from 2011, it's not too bad. I don't tend to like Italian cars, but this one really surprised me. I remember the Giulietta review, that was good to see the comparison. This week we are also releasing a Granada MK2 if you are interested...
Thanks, I noticed your channel name in the comments and then JayEmm mentioned you in the MG video so I thought I really ought to come and have a watch! Very fun, Ill look at the Granada later today. If you ever want to do a co-lab video drop me an email at bodyintheboot@gmail.com, Im only a county over
@@furiousdriving, thanks ever so much indeed! If you want to see our own review of my wife's car, then it's one of the first we ever did on the channel (I won't link to it, as CZcams may block my comment). The Granada isn't up until tomorrow, sadly, but I hope that you won't be disappointed! I will send you an e-mail a bit later on, thank you for providing your address. We have just moved to Hampshire from Surrey, but I would love to do a little collaboration. There's definitely not enough Rover content on my channel! James did a fantastic job with the MG3, by the way, he's a lovely chap.
looking at one of these ( 1.6 twin jet SR) I had no idea they were so vanishingly rare, in the uk at least. Kinda makes me want it more. I'm going for a test drive today ( my venerable old 2.0 focus titanium is due it's mot and I just can't bring myself to cough up to get it through) hmmm...what to do.....
Thanks ever so much indeed, John! They are very rare, as they only sold around 900 of them when they were new, so there are probably fewer than those around now. The SR is a good specification, although this one has an optional bodykit fitted. It is hard to price such a rare car, and so I hope you are able to negotiate a good deal if you wish to buy it. I also have a Chevrolet Cruze review on my channel, which is another rare car from the same era that has no more manufacturer support...
Hoping to get this myself, saw an sr for 3k but not sure about longevity. At 70k miles with minimal hard to get replacement parts of anything happens, do you think it would last a few years, only doing 5 to 7k miles a year with a third on the motorway. Either this or a guilietta or a Cruze. How was the test drive?
@@dfalekulo9138, I have a review of a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze on my channel! Do have a look for that, especially as I owned two different Cruzes (one from 2012-5 and another from 2015-7). All three cars you have mentioned suffered from very bad initial depreciation, which makes them incredible secondhand value. All are rare, but the Delta is the rarest of all. It was a great surprise to me, as I have driven Fiats before, and have not been too impressed, but it was comfortable, well equipped, good to drive and stylish. I couldn't really tell you about the longevity of these cars, as I don't have a lot of experience of them, but maybe try all three and see what you think. Many parts are shared with the Fiat Bravo and Giulietta in a Delta, of course. I source cars for people for a living, so if you do need any help in that department, by all means get in touch!
@@lloydvehicleconsulting appreciate it. It's actually gonna be my first car, I just love the deltas style so much. I'll have a gander on your website
@@dfalekulo9138, that is my pleasure! If you go on the "About" tab on my channel homepage, you will also find my e-mail address there if you wish to get in touch directly. The Delta is indeed a very attractive car!
New test Lancia Delta 2020
czcams.com/video/7QQDf5cF-3A/video.html
It's an interesting video, but it's not really considered to polite to paste links to your own videos on someone else's. Generally, you just mention you have done a review without putting the link in, though. I will leave the comment up for you, though.
Its basically a Fiat Bravo
Yes, it absolutely is on a stretched version of the contemporary Fiat Bravo platform! Much rarer car, however. Hope you enjoyed the video.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting hi, yes enjoyed the video thank you, quite interesting to get some knowledge on these. Im not usually a fan of American styling but i quite like these. Was looking on Autotrader yesterday and there were two Sr versions, three in total. Rare indeed. Have a good day.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting i put the comment shortly in to watching the video then you mentioned it. 😂
With a lot of modern cars [yes I know that this was a 2011], its a bit like virtue signalling beige.
Thanks Neil! This one was a bit different from the norm, which I hope came across in the review, and was a very pleasant surprise. Not sure if I would personally own one, but I can see why Lorraine likes hers! Got another review coming up next week.