Lancia Delta HPE-What's the story?

[droptop]

Living my somewhat reclusive life and generally hiding from anything too modern, I've only recently discovered these cars and I'm fascinated to find a relatively modern car that actually appeals to me.
Can anyone tell me about them in relation to cost now, level of ease or hardship in long-term ownership and generally why I should or shouldn't consider buying one, disregarding the obvious arguments for and against left hookers? (I'd like a yellow one please)
Oh yeah, and it's about time someone posted in this section!

[rossocorsa]

great all round performer had one new in 99 I'll elaborate when I have more time

[rossocorsa]

basic car based on same structure as the dedra but they really sorted the suspension and the delta handles way better than the rather wayward dedra it is very similar to a 16v turbo fiat coupé underneath but maybe set up more aggressively, it's a compact looking car but surprisingly roomy and the recaro seats are just about the best that you would find in any car. Performance is pretty stunning and better than the figures would suggest you are looking at about 135 top speed and 0-60 in 6.5 but the mid range torque means that overtaking is a doddle. The 16v engine is both its strength and weakness it is no where near as reliable as earlier 8 valves is prone to cam belt issues and tends to have occasional engine management glitches also fuel consumption is pretty heavy (co2 emissions are 248 g/km). The engine bay is pretty tight to work on although not as bad as a 'grale. It's a really fun every day car but getting very old and the more modern tech included could well be a big headache the hf turbo is very rare only about 2000 built for the whole of Europe. I had mine for about 6 or 7 years ,don't recall exactly now!, never regretted buying it had a lot of fun with it would I buy one now? probably not as a classic it's better to have something a bit simpler and less awkward to work on     

[droptop]

Great honest description.
Thanks for that.
I'm looking for something interesting as a weekend car so maybe a well-kept example would work for me. Milage would be less than 1,000 P.A. and with the punitave road tax we have in Ireland, I'm really trying to not exceed a 2 liter engine which still comes in at a ridiculous €660 annually.
It's really a stablemate for the spyder I'm looking for but with a little more poke and without going down the 'Grale route, plus its' scarcity here appeals to me.
I suppose the main thing is that I'm not dependant on it as a 100%5 reliable daily driver so if and when the niggles occur, I'm not stranded.
I'll have to find one here and have a drive in it and see from there.
Would love it in RWD though!

[rossocorsa]

forgot to mention the last versions have the brilliant fast rack 2.2 turns lock to lock :-) fab for twisty roads.
l know
I'll get shot down here for saying it but if you can tolerate 2 seats you will not get much more fun per pound than a MGTF 160 or a really off the wall choice and a 4 seater a MG ZS 180 facelift version

[droptop]

I understood the head gasket was an ongoing problem in these cars.
Most posts I've seen regarding them were about issues in the head area.
Down to doing it once and doing it right after the first failure?
Personally I find both these models very attractive propositions both aesthetically and financially (purchase price anyway) but the idea of living in fear of a blown HG was putting me off, or is this just another example of the low-volume negitavity I always claim Lancia fell victim to?

[rossocorsa]

the TF can suffer headgasket issues but if caught early and the engine is not allowed to cook itself it is not so bad a competent repair is no more  than about £400 there's lots of other issues that can cost more than that on other cars. The TF isn't all that well built and suspension components take a bit of a pounding too probably because they can be driven quite hard but smiles per pound it is quite unbeatable we only have a 135 version and it is still lots of fun. The ZS180 uses the KV6 six cylinder this engine had a substantial redesign during the rover 75 design period and is not prone to HGF cam belt change is quite elaborate though.

[droptop]

The problem with the 180 is the engine size.
€1200+ P.A. does nothing to encourage me towards ownership!
I have a beautiful (in the eye of the beholder) 1994 BMW E36 coupe with a 2.5 sitting unused because I simply won't tax it, but don't want to part with it either!

[rossocorsa]

I forgot that its a 2.5 :-(

[droptop]

You're spoiled over there with the tax rates1
Under our "eco-friendly" new tax bands applicable to 2008-on cars and based on emissions, a Mitsubishi Evo now costs over €2,000 P.A. and a vauxhall Insignia SRI 2.0 petrol is over €1200 P.A.
The result is I won't buy anything post-2008 unless it's an oil burner (which I neither need or want) unless it's a 2.0 or less, or if I want a bigger engine, anything newer than thirty years old as the tax on those is only €52 P.A. regardless of engine size so it's cheaper to tax a 1981 Bentley than a 2012 Insignia!