By rebadging Lancias as its own models, Chrysler hopes to crack into the small-car market with a proven product and established dealer network. With the Ypsilon the result is an intriguing – and affordable – hatchback, writes
NEIL BRISCOE
CHRYSLER HAS BEEN here before. Back in the 1970s, it created the Chrysler Horizon simply by applying an American badge to an Anglo-French Talbot hatchback.
That car, although well received at the time, wasn’t enough to sustain a European foothold, and it would take another decade, and the arrival of Jeep, before Chrysler dipped its toes this side of the Atlantic again.
But now, in the tradition of things staying the same the more they change, Chrysler is about to launch its first European hatchback in 30 years, and once again, its only relationship to one of the great Detroit brands is its badge.
Because, underneath, the new Chrysler Ypsilon is a Lancia. Having been swallowed up by Fiat after falling into bankruptcy in 2009, Chrysler is now being integrated into the Fiat group, and all future models will be built on platforms and with engines shared with Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo. For Europe, the Chrysler badge is being dropped in favour of Lancia for all left-hand-drive markets. For Ireland, the UK and other right-hand-drive markets, such as South Africa and Australia, Lancias will be rebadged as Chryslers.
Why? An existing dealer network is one reason. A brand that only needs to be publicised and promoted, rather than rebuilt from the ground-up, is another.
For all our misty-eyed car-nut love of the Lancia brand, it’s worth remembering that it deserted the UK and Irish markets two decades ago under a cloud of rust, unreliability and stagnant sales. Quite apart from trying to sell a supposedly luxury product in a price-sensitive segment, Fiat bosses are clearly hoping that branding the Ypsilon as a Chrysler, and selling it through the existing – six-strong in Ireland, currently – Chrysler dealer network will be enough to distance the Italian-as-pasta Ypsilon from such memories.
Actually, the Ypsilon is built in Fiat’s Tychy plant, in Poland, on, effectively, a Fiat 500 chassis lengthened by 290mm. The stylists have done much to make it look like a larger, more exclusive model. Possibly too much, actually; it’s hard to make a small car (the Ypsilon is just 3.8 metres long) look anything other than cutesy, but there’s possibly a bit too much going on between the deep grille, clamshell bonnet, swept-back glasshouse and “floating” roof. Busy designs like this tend not to age well.
Inside, there’s a surprising amount of space for such a short vehicle. Six-footers can fit behind six-footers quite easily, even if headroom in the back is a touch tight for the very tall. The boot is a useful 245 litres, so in spite of undercutting them on length, the Ypsilon will be a proper competitor to the likes of the Ford Fiesta and Opel Corsa.
Up front, there is palpably good build quality and the materials used create a cabin that is in keeping with Chrysler’s promise to create an affordable luxury model. A shame though that it doesn’t look quite as good. The main instruments, although classy and nicely backlit at night, are housed in the centre of the dash in a pod that looks as if someone just dropped a shoebox full of clocks. That’s a shame, as the rest of the cabin is good, with comfy seats and a decent driving position (which would be better still if the steering wheel adjusted for reach as well as height).
Three engines will be offered: an entry-level 70bhp 1.2 petrol “Fire” four-cylinder, the award-winning two-cylinder turbo 875cc TwinAir with 85bhp and a 1.3-litre 75bhp MultiJet diesel. Of these, it’s expected that the 1.2 will sell more in Ireland.
The TwinAir is a cracking little thing, fizzing and growling like it wants to grow up to be a Ferrari V12, and punching hard with 145Nm of torque (almost 50 per cent more than the 1.2) but it’s doubtful that Irish buyers will stump up the extra €1,300 for it. The 1.2, although much slower, is still a good choice, and is much more refined. And with 115g/km of CO2, it’ll cost the same to tax as the 99g/km TwinAir.
To drive, the Ypsilon feels very much like a larger Fiat 500; hardly a surprise, really. The steering is very short on feel but is well weighted and reasonably accurate, and the Ypsilon can be made to corner with enthusiasm. A shame, though, that, in those 2.3 million development kilometres, no one thought to tune the springs and dampers to deal better with rough urban tarmac. There’s just too much jiggling to keep up with the Ypsilon’s promise of downsized luxury, especially on a car that will be aimed at older buyers trading down from larger cars. The shift quality of the five-speed manual gearbox is very vague too.
Still, there’s promise here. The Ypsilon looks distinctive, has a couple of very good engines and appears to have its build quality well nailed down (though this was clearly a well-maintained test car).
It’s surprisingly spacious, looks great with an optional two-tone paint finish and can be fitted with any number of big-car style options, including Bluetooth infotainment and phone, a computer-guided “magic parking” aid and a panoramic glass roof. Yet prices for a basic 1.2 will start as low as €12,500 (approximately) with standard ESP, although Dublin and Turin are still wrangling over prices.
It’s very easy to get cynical about such blatant badge engineering as creating a Chrysler by simply slapping a new badge on a Lancia, but in this case the underlying product is interesting and intriguing enough to at least make it worth the effort.
FACTFILE
Engine1,242cc four-cylinder petrol engine putting out 69bhp at 5,500rpm and 102Nm of torque from 3,000rpm with a five-speed manual transmission
SpecificationBasic models will come with standard-fit ESP stability control (tbc), 15-inch steel wheels, MP3-compatible stereo, height-adjustable driver's seat, a gearshift indicator, stop and start fuel-saving system, capless fuelling nozzle and six airbags. There is a long options list of high-end items such as self-parking, a panoramic glass sunroof, leather upholstery, semi-automatic gearbox, bi-xenon lights and two-tone paint.
0-100km/h14.5 secs
Bootspace245 litres
L/100km (mpg)Urban – 6.4 (44.1); extra-urban – 4.1 (68.8); combined – 4.9 (57.6)
Emissions (motor tax)115g/km (€104)
Price€12,500 (approximately)