Lancia Phedra 3.0 V6 – 2003 – 320,221 km – Clock Round

Peter Vaessen collects Lancias. We note: a Thesis, two Ypsilons Elefantino, Deltas of the second and last generation, a Lybra and this Phedra. How so? “My partner had to pick out an official car a long time ago. I pointed him to a Delta, because that is something else. He started driving Delta, and later I did too, that’s how it came about. However, if I go all the way back in time, Lancia’s appearance in the infamous Group B of the World Rally Championship in the 1980s sparked my interest in the brand.” The Group B rally cars were brutal monsters that could hardly be controlled, so they made an impression. In between more Lancia’s have come and gone. “I have owned another Kappa SW with a diesel engine and another Lybra. When the children grew up, the Phedra came into the picture, again a diesel.” That was a lease car, which he took over from the company in 2010 after, among other things, the turbo had already been replaced during the lease contract. “Then we would have already had that”, Peter winks. As an avid Lancia fan, he can put things into perspective. “They are far from flawless cars. Stalling along the side of the road rarely happens, you can always get on, but there is often a this or that going on with Lancias.”

Son Jordi even bigger Lancia enthusiast

Son Jordi is, if possible, an even bigger Lancia enthusiast and he also has the Vaessen trait not to praise everything or take it too seriously. “We always call it ‘inconveniences’ at home when a light comes on or something like that,” he laughs. Jordi is extremely well versed in the Lancia matter. The predilection for the brand is there, but they do not carelessly dismiss the defects.

Lancia Phedra part quad with Citroën C8, Peugeot 807 and Fiat Ulysse

The Phedra is a special Lancia, which saw the light of day in 2002 as part of a quadruplet with the Citroën C8, Peugeot 807 and Fiat Ulysse. Yes, more than twenty years ago the car world was very different! At the time, the MPV or space car was the ambition of many car buyers. That is why almost all brands started building such models, from compact to full-size. The aforementioned quadruplets belonged to the latter category, just like the trio Ford Galaxy, Seat Alhambra and Volkswagen Sharan. These are vans that drive like a passenger car and offer a lot of practical convenience and extra seats. As far as Peter is concerned, his love for the MPV even transcends that for the Lancia brand. “I would also like to have a flawless Peugeot 807 with a V6 in my driveway. With the Phedra I once went to the F1 Grand Prix at Spa with a few mates and we just slept in the car. And in the morning you put the chairs opposite each other, so that you can have breakfast together. Incredibly practical, such a car.” For this reason, the Phedra has always been the car of choice for winter sports and other joint trips. “The seats are really good. Worn out now, but they are great. The interior has had its best time. The luxury decoration was one of the unique aspects of the Phedra compared to the Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat. A beautiful, tasteful interior.”

Phedra heavily used

Given the large number of Lancias in the Vaessen house, it seems that the Phedra has not received the attention it deserves. Peter: “We were kind of on two tracks: continue with this car, or stop and use it as a donor for another, better Phedra. But we couldn’t find it. The cars we found were no better than our Phedra, rather worse. In the meantime, we didn’t do much about it, except use it very intensively. And have a lot of fun!”.

Brake lines corroded

The latter clearly emerges during the test drive of judge Joep Schuurman of Carrec and is also confirmed during the technical inspection on the bridge. We’re not even halfway there yet and Joep is already starting at the back of the A4 on which he notes what’s wrong with the Italian. There are certainly MOT cases that make you wonder why they did not result in rejection during a previous inspection. “The brake lines are corroded. I can’t imagine that wasn’t the case with the previous apk. The exhaust is particularly bad; it leaks and that is also not something that happened yesterday,” said the Carrec chief. Furthermore, the engine block is partly suspended from a completely rotten engine mount that is almost detached from the chassis. Furthermore, all kinds of bolts have broken off on the bottom of the Lancia. “I have the feeling that we are no longer crossing the Alps with this,” son Jordi comments dryly. Peter agrees: “Only a few more trips to the landfill with this thing to throw stuff away. Then we’ll leave the Phedra there too…” Yes, this van is ready. It was a great travel car, a beauty of a moving van and a space car that could transport everything without a murmur. But it’s neglected, worn out and needs to get off the road. And as soon as possible. No discussion.

This is wrong with it:

●Transmission selector not properly adjusted

●The front left window switches are missing parts and do not work properly

●The headlights are extremely dim

●Upholstery A-pillar is coming loose

●Driver’s seat is completely worn out

●The car is very dirty inside, when the sun is low you can hardly see through the dirty windshield

●Rear parking sensors not working properly

●Front wiper blades do not work properly

●Rear windshield washer not working

●Windshield is worn (many scratches and stone chips, has become dull)

●Steering column switch goes bad

●Steering wheel is crooked when driving straight

●Car pulls to the right

●Car shakes on the highway

●The chassis is plank hard, probably due to stuck shock absorbers

●Power delivery non-linear

●Machine thumps, sometimes vibrates and makes a whining sound

●The brakes squeal

●Cover of the right headlight washer is missing

●Front bumper is crooked on the car

●Three different ignition coils in the front bank of cylinders

●Space between ignition coils front row of cylinders full of oil

●Power steering fluid leaks in the region of the reservoir

●Plug on the throttle body is sealed

●Engine leaks a lot of oil

●Various brake lines are severely corroded

●Exhaust in extremely bad condition and very unprofessionally repaired

●Particularly cheap and bad tires mounted

●Various bolts of the subframe not or not properly tightened

●Front right shock absorber is leaking

●Rubber in crankshaft pulley dried out

●Pieces from the front brake pads broken.

This is the opinion of Carrec Technocenter:

“This Lancia has been dead for a long time, it just needs to be buried.”