Lancia Delta Integrale 16v

My second integrale had a 16 valve ,now lagos blue evo 2.Great car ,plenty of power sticks like the proverbial to the road.Well made for an Italian car.it is expensive to service generally needs specialist who knows them.Cant think of any other car I would like to own or drive...puts a grin on your face every time you drive it.They are no spring chicken now so need TLC.

Good Points:

Excellent acceleration and handling plus great looks (to some people anyway)

Bad Points:

Italian wiring, small boot (but who cares, its an integrale)

I have owned 4 Deltas (3 HF Turbos) and this Integrale over the last 15 years. I have never had any serious mechanical problem with any of them, the drivetrains and engines have been absolutely solid on all my cars and I have never had a breakdown yet. As long as you understand and accept that the warning lights and elecronics have their own identity and consciousness then you are fine! Whilst you will always see lamps blinking randomly; it does nothing to take away the driving pleasure that can be derived from these cars.

Look out for rust in the usual places (especially on the rear roof line) as this is the biggest problem for these cars. The response from the steering is immense and gives great feedback, and as long as you keep in overboost there is no lag to be felt. If driven well these cars will keep up with just about any modern car in production; dont be scared if you feel it sliding, the torsen diffs will keep you on the road and have fewer problems than modern sensor driven systems

You will never be short of people to talk to whilst out and about in an Integrale - I would not hesitate to recommend these cars to anyone! Whilst they may not be the fastest any more you can't lose on one the back roads - you would need to spend a lot of money to outrun an Integrale

The looks are fantastic (mostly to men :) and this will surely be one of the all time classic cars in years to come (if not now) Definitely more of a fun car than a practical car it has to be said

As an Lancia enthusiast l've owned an Integrale most of the time since 1996. The first was my only car at the time and l used it as a family car (two sons) and the only real problem was the size of the boot. I'm now fortunate enough to have my current 1990 16v as a fun car and l can think of nothing better to drive on the roads of my North Devon home. It's a 51,000 mile example with full history and no rust (except a small pimple that will be attended to round the o/s windscreen wiper) and is an absolute joy to drive. A few years ago l gained the confidence to feed in more power when it starts to slide and it is so much more assured and confidence bringing that the Impreza that is my daily driver. My Grale seems smaller and much more precise on the windy roads l drive and the acceleration is more than adequate to take advantage of the smallest overtaking opportunity. I've grown to regard left hand drive as an advantage on the lanes and if you can't see inside the vehicle you're trying to pass (especially good after left hand bends) the car is narrow enough to lean over in to get a right-hand -drive view. I change the oil (fully synth) every 3k miles and cam belt at 16k and have never had a major engine problem. Most parts are cheap and when something crops up that's expensive (eg fuel pump) l console myself with the thought it's a stunningly fast car and worth the outlay. The electrics are a joke with random warning lights coming on and various temporary failures - nothing to stop a journey though - and in a strange way it becomes part of the charm of the car. I have friends with Lotus Elise, 550 Marranello, M3, M5, TVR Cerbera, E-Type and when we tour l'm never left behind and never without some-one to talk to in the car park. It's not the cheapest form of transport, but it's special, increasingly unique and so, so worth it.

If you can live with a left hand drive (doesn ' t take long to get used to) and don't mind being stared at a lot ,as long as you get a good one you should be o.k, engines are pretty bomb proof unless your running 500 bhp +. But this is a car that early ones are twenty years old so be prepared to spend the money to keep on road if you do this there is no better feeling than watching all from metro drivers to Ferrari drivers look and admire.

The Lancia Delta is one of the best cars ever produced in the world. 6 consecutive World Rally Championships attest to that.

The handling is amazing, the acceleration is blistering and as soon as you park it someone wants to talk to you about it.

I've driven many high performance cars and quite a few integrales, and it's Lancia's little hatchback that gives me the greatest joy. If you get one, and treat it with respect, it'll make you smile everytime you drive it.

The Lancia Delta Intergrale 16v is the most comfortable, reliable, sporty car and deadly quick I have driven

This Lancia Delta Integrale 16v was my dream car when I was younger. 2 years ago I finally got my chance to own one and it ended up being an EVO 1 in red, complete with adjustable roof spoiler, 50,000 miles (80,000km) yellow elephant badge and wads of history - the previous owner imported it from Italy 5 years previous from auto Italia. When I first had a ride in it I was really impressed, but that was when being a passenger. Within a week of ownership the initial 'WOW' impression had gone and I felt I was left with an '80s feeling car that back in the day would of course have been impressive, but up against today's cars will leave you underwhelmed. I hate having to write this because there really was and is no other car that I'd like to own, but my dream car turned out to be a disappointment. I had a cambelt change within 2 weeks and an engine mount replaced upon inspection, a days work = £721 at a Lancia dealer - John Whalleys. To put performance in perspective my friend has a Peugeot 306 GTI-6 with exhaust, air filter, uprated exh. cam (167bhp standard, maybe pushing 175bhp) - I could not shake him, on straights, bends, anything - and yes, I'm a better driver than him. On a trip to London and back, it worked out to 14mpg - £39 in fuel. When my Renault 16valver would use 17-20 quid. A few days before the trip to Whalleys I turned the key and... it was dead, only spinning and not firing. Take a look at the engines in them-not one you'd like to work on! lots of electrical connectors and sensors. On Whalleys' advice I ordered a crank sensor and a distributor pick-up sensor, it turned out to be the distributor sensor and fired up straight away once fitted - these are solid state parts and have no reason to fail.

Anyway general driving - it is difficult to just drive it smoothly, out the corner of my eye I could see my girlfriend leaning forward and back as the boost built up and I changed gear, even just slowly accelerating is great when you're in the mood but annoying when your passengers aren't!

Handling - I had Pirelli tyres all round, but under-steer was easy enough to provoke, and although it felt neutral it would slide before many newer cars would begin to let go. Before you begin thinking I had a dud, it was in fact one of the few that were really still in great condition - NO stress cracks in the shell to be found in the usual places, a full check over at the lancia garage and no rust at all, mainly due to it being in Italy for 6 years - it was also given a clean bill of health when test driven by the intergrale mechanic.

It was just that I was expecting more, don't get me wrong, I still gaze in awe when I see one and no other car could ever be as great looking, but it would have to have a dose more power and definitely stiffen up the handling to compete against toady's 'in' cars like the M3, Astra VXR, Focus RS etc. One day when I am set up in life I may buy another as a weekend car, because for me, the looks could kill at 50 paces!

When people say 'how quick, or how well does a car handle' , words cannot describe the LDI's capabilities. For all of you out there who are sceptical about my claims, I challenge anyone out there with a standard production road car to stand up and be counted in a head-to-head, under all driving conditions...you'll be last !

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I'm 45. This car is stopping me growing old gracefully. I suppose demographics would suggest I ought to drive a Mercedes coupe or something similarly dull, but I've owned the car for 7 years and it still gives me a thrill every time I drive it.

Despite the reputation of Italian cars from this era (1990), it has only ever left me stranded once, and has no rust despite not being garaged.

In the wet, the car is almost untouchable (especially for its age), and derisory comments like it looks like a cross between a Vauxhall Nova and a Golf are forgotten when you leave a BMW M3 for dead in the rain (ok, so his heater controls probably didn't fall off when he accelerated...).

Also, being left-hand drive really isn't as much of a problem as many think (even when you alternate with a rhd car, as I do).

Come on Lancia, when are you going to replace it?