The Geneva Motor Show once again proves the ideal setting for Lancia to introduce its latest products. This year, the manufacturer has come up with Musa, a compact MPV that meets the needs of people who love to live life with taste without giving up the pleasure of practicality. This new model expresses Lancia's new generosity in terms of features, equipment and good looks - and also the value offered to customers. The compact MPV is high and aerodynamic, spacious and flexible. It stands out for its opulent yet subtle elegance and its up-to-date, fine styling. In other words, an ideal place to receive your passengers and make them feel special as they enjoy all the care and attention of a traditional Italian welcome. The car is also reassuring in terms of control and safety, with an interior that is exceptionally welcoming, comfortable, lavish and - above all - extremely roomy.

This welcoming, sophisticated Lancia Musa is a car to experience rather than drive: 'a deluxe item to experience'. This MPV is an expression of Italian motoring philosophy in that it evokes deep-seated and sincere values typical of Italian hospitality: good taste, warmth and generosity, the satisfaction of people dropping in unannounced, a will to foster intense involvement. All these attributes, unprecedented in a car, make it ideal for long trips but also great around town.

Our Lancia Musa appeals without ostentation, is able to show personality without exhibitionism and is exclusive but not inaccessible.

The special marriage between sophisticated exterior style and exclusive technological heritage makes the model a new benchmark in the compact Multi Purpose Vehicle segment. It is a new type of car, designed for all but aimed in particular at those who love wellbeing and rare pleasures, people who are aware of new developments but share a love of good living. The attributes and appeal of Lancia's new compact MPV make it an experience to be savoured, in the same way as an exclusive hotel hideaway or a Tuscan farmhouse.

Lancia Musa takes its place between the Ypsilon, a slightly non-conformist exponent of the New Dolce Vita, and the Phedra, the car for highly sophisticated multipurpose family living. As protective as it is exclusive, this model is designed for everyone who makes a virtue of hospitality, who sees the art of receiving friends as an essential life skill.

GOOD TASTE

With full respect for the best Lancia tradition, the model interior is the outcome of special stylistic care that has created original combinations of colours and exclusive materials based on furnishing fabrics.

A sophisticated interplay of contrasts has been created through the use of hi-tech cloth, top-quality leather and soft microfibre. Brown tones reminiscent of exclusive wood such as wenge, matched with more neutral shades such as ivory that remind one of the style and fine looks of a comfortable sofa or armchair.

Metal detailing enhances interior lines and shapes while chrome trim emphasises the new interior colour nuances, making a statement about our intention to bring the world of Italian interior design into the car.

The facia is in sophisticated colours and features an original central gauge. Immediately below, the gearlever is in an ergonomic position close to the steering wheel. And there is more: all five seats are comfortable, ergonomic and safe - and can be moved to different configurations (32 positions including an unusual relax position) by means of a few short operations. The front passenger seat reclines and both rear seats slide forward and backwards and can be reclined independently.

Lancia Musa looks solid and safe from the outside yet is also original and elegant. Unmissable signs of Lancia sophistication and elegance are evident in the good-looking grille, essential lines and warm colours of the new model. The smooth shape with no sharp edges emphasizes the welcoming, protective shell-like nature of a passenger compartment that guarantees safety while also promising comfort.

All this packed into a car with much more compact dimensions than a conventional multipurpose vehicle: just under 4 metres long, 1.70 metres wide and 1.66 metres high.

WARMTH

When you think of Italian hospitality, the warmth of the people immediately comes to mind. Everything on the new Lancia has been designed to give the driver and passengers a pleasing sensation of safety and protection. A room with a view: sunny due to oceans of glass including a welcoming Sky-dome roof and colour schemes and materials that are warm to look at and touch. A comfortable environment where comfort means mastery of space through a raised driving position and also plenty of room exactly where it is needed. These attributes are made possible by exceptionally user-friendly controls and 21 storage compartments.

Lancia has made comfort a strength of this product by giving the model features that aim to create the right atmosphere: pure, powerful background music from the Bose® Sound System and an automatic dual zone climate control system to create an ideal atmosphere for all passengers. Because Italians believe that guests should never have to lift a finger, Lancia Musa is equipped with a D.F.N. ('Dolce Far Niente') sequential transmission that can be used in automatic mode to make driving as relaxed as possible.

GENEROSITY

Anyone who has lived in Italy or visited it even for a short period knows this already: a true Italian welcome is made up of many small and surprising details. Lancia Musa offers much more than you would expect of a vehicle of this type. Firstly, a range of generous engines that can meet the needs of any customer in terms of performance and running costs. These include a 100 bhp 1.9 Multijet, 70 bhp 1.3 Multijet and the comfortable 95 bhp petrol-driven 1.4, the last two of which can be combined with a D.F.N. ('Dolce Far Niente') gearbox.

Lancia Musa also offers equipment more typical of a higher segment. Examples include a panoramic Sky-dome sunroof that covers 70% of the roof area with glass; an automatic dual zone climate control system that allows the driver and passenger to set two different temperatures - plus leather interiors and alloy wheels. These are just some of the items fitted as standard equipment or options on the various specifications.

A service package known as Parure Lancia allows you to travel without care. The new compact MPV also offers an exclusive package that allows you to extend the contractual warranty to five years after the date of sale or up to 120,000 km and also combine it with an exclusive roadside assistance service. The following are completely free if you break down: towing (even if you have an accident), mobile workshop (only in Italy), recovery of the car after repair, courtesy car, cash advance, sending out of spare parts, hotel expenses and passenger return.

If customers decide to sell their car before the five year agreement is up, they have two options: firstly, they can save on the purchase of a new car (Fiat, Lancia or Alfa Romeo) by subtracting a refund for the unused portion of the Parure package. Secondly, they can transfer all the benefits of the Parure package to the new buyer until the expiry date or kilometre threshold. This makes the vehicle worth more at the time of sale.