Lancia Delta Review

To most the 'Evo' is the most
sought
after model. It's a serious
pleasure to
drive and the wide squat looks
make
most performance car drivers look
twice, it's a true rally bred
special.

As far as buying one goes I would
be
careful. There are alot of imports
and
alot of bent cars around,
servicing
and running costs can be the most
expensive part of owning a
Integrale,
particularly the Evo models.

All i can say is it was amazing on
the
road, ive had a few cars
that 'handle'
well but the 'Grale' has to be one
of
the most precise, well balanced
cars
of it's time, it still challenges
the
modern greats such as the Subaru
WRX and Mitsubishi Evo for driving
pleasure.

Belts, Oil Changes, Rod Ends &
Bushes are important points to
look
out for, as well as complete
history
and bills, whilst Clutches and
Gearbox's may have taken a
hammering with abused cars.
Always get your car checked out
with
a Lancia specialist, if it's the
RAC or
AA, request you have someone look
at it who knows the car as most
don't.....

All in all the Evo is (and was for
me)
an amazing car, but with alot of
flaws.

Its expensive, it rattles but will
get you
from A - B faster than even some
of
the modern WRC cars.

The current market has Evo 1's for
£7000 upwards, not alot of money
for
an awesome looking car with
handling to match (and respect),
but
don't be tempted by
price.......there's
no such thing as a cheap
Integrale.....

The forum link Ive supplied is a
must
starting block for
potential/existing
Grale owners.

Well lets talk about performance the standard 0-60 is impressive at 5.5secs and while I'm not sure what mine is all I have to tell you is that its been tuned from 210bhp std to an estimated 350+bhp and all this can be done at a minimal cost as the engine is de-tuned to start with my mate with an Impreza has had to spend a fortune to keep up with me.

Now my pet hate reliability not the strongest of cars mine had a hole in the piston (£3k worth of work) at 34k miles less than a month after I bought it took it to a Fiat dealer for repair (seeing as Fiat own Lancia) and they had it 4 weeks without touching (they kept putting easy quick work ahead of my car) it before I took it back to a Lancia dealer 100 miles away 2 weeks work and it was back on the road again, I also had the turbo reconed at the same time good job as this packed in 3 months later but cost me nothing because of the earlyer work on it (which was good piece of mind).
there have been other little niggles with it but there not worth mentioning.
My car was bought from a Lancia dealer so your running the same risks (with car trouble) however you buy one!

Parts are no major problem as the engine is also used in Fiat's and Alfa's you just have to go around 3 or 4 car spares outlets to get exactly what you want, and there lies the only problem as the EVO was only an import parts lists either don't list it or listing details can be confusing (take old parts with you for a comparison).

As things stand at the moment the value of the EVO's is the best of the lot as second hand values are increasing all the time now is a good time to buy one as an investment (never leave it parked up for a long period time as this can cause the reliability problems mentioned earlyer!).

So the big question is would I buy another? yes

But remember with classic cars like this you are never the owner just the keeper until it moves on to the next keeper

Well lets talk about performance the standard 0-60 is impressive at 5.5secs and while I'm not sure what mine is all I have to tell you is that its been tuned from 210bhp std to an estimated 350+bhp and all this can be done at a minimal cost as the engine is de-tuned to start with my mate with an Impreza has had to spend a fortune to keep up with me.

Now my pet hate reliability not the strongest of cars mine had a hole in the piston (£3k worth of work) at 34k miles less than a month after I bought it took it to a Fiat dealer for repair (seeing as Fiat own Lancia) and they had it 4 weeks without touching (they kept putting easy quick work ahead of my car) it before I took it back to a Lancia dealer 100 miles away 2 weeks work and it was back on the road again, I also had the turbo reconed at the same time good job as this packed in 3 months later but cost me nothing because of the earlyer work on it (which was good piece of mind).
there have been other little niggles with it but there not worth mentioning.
My car was bought from a Lancia dealer so your running the same risks (with car trouble) however you buy one!

Parts are no major problem as the engine is also used in Fiat's and Alfa's you just have to go around 3 or 4 car spares outlets to get exactly what you want, and there lies the only problem as the EVO was only an import parts lists either don't list it or listing details can be confusing (take old parts with you for a comparison).

As things stand at the moment the value of the EVO's is the best of the lot as second hand values are increasing all the time now is a good time to buy one as an investment (never leave it parked up for a long period time as this can cause the reliability problems mentioned earlyer!).

So the big question is would I buy another? yes

But remember with classic cars like this you are never the owner just the keeper until it moves on to the next keeper

To most the 'Evo' is the most sought
after model. It's a serious pleasure to
drive and the wide squat looks make
most performance car drivers look
twice, it's a true rally bred special.

As far as buying one goes I would be
careful. There are alot of imports and
alot of bent cars around, servicing
and running costs can be the most
expensive part of owning a Integrale,
particularly the Evo models.

All i can say is it was amazing on the
road, ive had a few cars that 'handle'
well but the 'Grale' has to be one of
the most precise, well balanced cars
of it's time, it still challenges the
modern greats such as the Subaru
WRX and Mitsubishi Evo for driving
pleasure.

Belts, Oil Changes, Rod Ends &
Bushes are important points to look
out for, as well as complete history
and bills, whilst Clutches and
Gearbox's may have taken a
hammering with abused cars.
Always get your car checked out with
a Lancia specialist, if it's the RAC or
AA, request you have someone look
at it who knows the car as most
don't.....

All in all the Evo is (and was for me)
an amazing car, but with alot of flaws.

Its expensive, it rattles but will get you
from A - B faster than even some of
the modern WRC cars.

The current market has Evo 1's for
£7000 upwards, not alot of money for
an awesome looking car with
handling to match (and respect), but
don't be tempted by price.......there's
no such thing as a cheap
Integrale.....

The forum link Ive supplied is a must
starting block for potential/existing
Grale owners.

BAD:
New clutch cable every 3 months!
Headlight lenses falling out
Water pump (and week to fit new one!)
Exaust price (£400)
Lack of parts
Lack of dealer interest

But on the bright side it looks stunning, it goes like a rocket and it turns heads