Yes, it's actually a Delta with a boot... "The only appealing hatch with a boot" as CAR magazine stated at the time (with Vauxhall Belmonts and Ford Orions being the norms of what "hatches with a boot" looked like).

But the Prisma was not just a pretty face. In 1.6 litre form it had the twin-cam Lampredi, albeit (criminally) underfed by one twin-choke carb (instead of the twin double-choke - usually - webers found in the Alfa's bialbero)... meaning that even if 105ps was fine for the eighties, it didn't have that "get up and go" of its illustrious rival (the Alfa 75) lower down in the rev range - while also feeling boomy and not overwhelmingly powerful near the red line. Lancia tried to compensate with low gearing, if I recall correctly 120 km/h in 5th was something like 3800-4000 rpm. They finally gave up and used electronic injection on the top spec 1.6 from '86 onward, which theoretically should have spiced things up (but never drove this one to check).

Where it did excel was in the handling department: Absolutely stable at even its max speed (around 180 km/h), sailed through crosswinds as if they weren't there... and yet a chuckable B-road performer with brilliant (if unassisted as standard) steering. All these at the price of a very well controlled but quite firm suspension.

Interior quality was a testament of traditional cost-cutting imposed by Fiat, with cheap plastic used to create elegant forms and thereby give that feeling of luxury. But build quality was only skin deep, with, for instance, a soft touch instrument cluster round padding which would deform and become sticky after short periods of sun exposure. And brittle plastic everywhere. In that respect, the Lancia quality and engineering integrity of the 50's and 60's was largely gone... and only survived in the chassis/suspension design, with some of the best chassis engineers available working for Lancia (and paid by Fiat ....) in the 70's and 80's.

All this seems as a mixed-bag review of a car, but the reality is this: if I could find a later 1.6 fuel injected Prisma in a well preserved original condition I would buy it in a heartbeat. Several decades of living with Fiat/Lancia/Alfa's has taught me how well these cars respond to being treated with care, and how rewarding a drive can be in a well cared for example.

Excellent reply, thanks! It is an interesting car I would definitely considering buying as a useable classic.

Had a similar experience with a Lancia Thema many years ago. Not the most reliable cars, but fun and unique.