Startling economy in Ypsilon

I HAVE to say that I was quite surprised by the Chrysler Ypsilon — in many different ways.

Firstly, there was the reaction of the public to the car; generally, unless you’ve got some class of a supercar, people tend to be rather shy about coming forward to quiz you about anything you might be driving. That was not the case with this pretty but curious looking machine as people seemed drawn to it magnetically. And the single most oft asked question was: ‘what is it?’ Secondly, I am long enough of tooth to be able to remember when the name Lancia meant something in this part of the world and I must confess to still being non-plussed by the fact that Fiat, which owns Lancia, chose to rebrand the product as a Chrysler (which it also owns) rather than trying to re-launch the more traditional name.

And, thirdly, I was surprised by the car itself, which is not only distinctive and very individualistic, but also because it drives really well, is sharp as a tack on the handing front, performs boldly and is also frighteningly economic.