Sophisticated technology for comfort
 

The New Ypsilon is a veritable pocket flagship with a wealth of exclusive equipment that makes this a truly elite car. A trip on board the new car will reveal a passenger compartment that satisfies in all situations and weathers. Some of the credit must go to a large, innovative sunroof, a sophisticated dual zone automatic climate control system and an excellent Hi-Fi sound system. The most recent addition to the Lancia stable is no stranger to sophisticated technology and may be equipped with Blue&Me®, an innovative Windows Mobile based system created by a joint venture between Fiat Auto and Microsoft, which changes the paradigms of in-car communication, information and entertainment to improve comfort and the quality of time spent on board.

The Blue&Me® infotelematic system

The New Ypsilon may be equipped with Blue&Me®, an innovative Windows Mobile based system created by a joint venture between Fiat Auto and Microsoft, which changes the paradigms of in-car communication, information and entertainment to improve comfort and the quality of time spent on board.  The device is extremely simple to use, and allows you to make/receive telephone calls and to listen to music simply and safely as you drive. And thanks to Bluetooth® technology, you can also communicate with the outside world from the car using your own personal devices such as mobile phones or handheld computers.

The system on offer will be supplemented in future with more evolved devices giving access to the many new products that technological progress has in store for the coming years: from full multimedia capabilities to satellite navigation, plus a whole range of services that will make all your journeys more comfortable, safer and easier. The Blue&Me® device incorporates a sophisticated hands-free system with voice recognition that guarantees maximum driving safety in all conditions, and respects the law because drivers can use the system without taking their hands off the wheel. The system allows drivers with a Bluetooth® mobile phone to use the telephone even if it is in a jacket or a bag, automatically lowering the radio volume (when this is on) and routing the voice on the phone through the stereo speakers. The system is also extremely compatible with all cell phones currently on the market and can be updated to comply with new standards and future telephones.

The Blue&Me® device is built into the car and the control keys are positioned on the steering wheel for immediate, safe access to the system; the driver can find a number in his phone book by scrolling the control panel display, or mute the call for confidentiality. One interesting feature is the fact that the mobile phone only has to be registered with the system once. And more: it is also possible to transfer one’s personal phone book to the car, automatically updating it every time the system recognises a cell phone. Privacy is guaranteed because access is only granted to the phone book if the telephone registered with the system is in the car. The number or name of the caller is shown on the display if it is in the phone book and the number can be called using voice commands by dictating the numbers or saying the name if it has been memorised.  The advanced voice recognition process does not require a voice learning stage. The system also allows you to manage and store up to five mobile phones at the same time so that more than one passenger in the car can make direct use of the handsfree set. The programming may be modified whenever you want. And finally, the hands-free system with voice recognition can also reproduce a ‘personal’ call tone using the radio speakers.

These are the features of the hands-free system with voice recognition, but there is more to the innovative Blue&Me® system: it allows drivers to listen to their favourite music recorded on a mobile phone, one of the new smart phones, on an MP3 player or on a USB flash drive. This is achieved via a USB port on the tunnel that can be used to connect any digital device with a USB connection, allowing musical audio files (MP3, WMA and WAV) to be played directly through the stereo system. And because all the information is visible on the instrument panel display, customers can scroll through the system archive (divided by type, album, artist, etc.) either vocally or using the steering wheel controls, and select the track they want to hear using the controls on the steering wheel.

GranLuce sunroof

The Lancia Ypsilon may be fitted with a large glass sunroof (Granluce) that represents a first for this segment and offers a new way of experiencing car travel. The latest-generation device occupies nearly 70 percent of the roof and consists of two glazed panels (one fixed and one mobile) and two sunblinds that run independently towards the rear of the car.
This system allows you to choose how you wish to enjoy the outside world as you drive. The New Ypsilon can be converted from a closed car to a car with a glass sunroof, a car with a conventional sunroof or even a model with the feel of a cabriolet. Everything depends on the outdoor temperature and the type of day. When you want to flood the passenger compartment with light, you can close the glass part and open the underlying blind.

If you’d rather travel in an open-topped car, it takes just seven seconds to open the glass front panel and blind to enjoy your very own window on the sky. Or you could decide to open the front panel and the blind only partly. All you have to do is press the key on the central courtesy light to move the front panel. In the first position, the glass becomes a raised spoiler. When you continue to press the control, it takes up intermediate positions by sliding back on aluminium guides. Simply release the key to stop the movement in the required position. The same movements take place in reverse during closure. The Granluce roof also comes with an antipinch system that reverses the motion of the glass panel when it encounters an obstacle.

Bose® Hi-Fi Sound System

You can let your emotions run away with you while aboard the New Ypsilon. Due to the Hi-Fi sounds produced by the Bose® Sound System. The system, created by the US Hi-Fi leader, offers realistic playing quality with crystal clear high notes and full, rich bass notes. The sound also wraps around all the occupants and gives them the sensation that it is travelling through a much larger environment, because the sound system and the passenger compartment have been designed together to ensure perfect harmony between the technical specifications of both.
 

To achieve this result, the Bose® engineers carried out measurements and recordings on the car and carefully chose all the parts of the stereo system. They then established the best possible speaker position in relation to the listeners with the aid of advanced design software.  The front doors therefore house two 165 mm broadband speakers with 50 mm tweeters designed for the best playing quality throughout the sound frequency range. The rear panels house two 150 mm mid-woofer speakers designed for medium-low frequencies. The boot compartment also contains a sub-woofer (Bass-reflex) complemented by a twin-coil 130 mm diameter woofer that allows outstanding reproduction of deep, powerful bass notes.

The Bose® Hi-Fi Sound System includes an audio power amplifier with 6 independent channels: four manage both speaker groups in each of the doors and vehicle side panels and the other two are dedicated to subwoofer control. An active equalisation circuit behind the subwoofer also ensures an excellent automatic electronic balance of all output frequencies, great stability and clarity of tone throughout the audio range. All this means that you can enjoy impeccable musical playing under all driving conditions without having to fiddle with the controls. The interaction between all these sophisticated components gives rise to the extraordinary sound that has made the Bose® brand famous throughout the world.

The Lancia Ypsilon offers two radio levels to complement this sophisticated Hi-Fi system. Both are designed to blend into the dashboard and share a user-friendly layout and a sound system that has been carefully designed and adjusted to the car’s interior configuration. Both come with six speakers and deliver a power output of 4x30 Watt. They offer RDS (Radio Data System) and a TA (traffic announcement) function. The radios are also fitted with a useful device that ensures the radio is turned on at the volume setting active when it was turned off. The difference between the two levels lies in the player. The first level can play CDs (singly) while the second level adds an MP3 file player. All come with a mechanism to adjust volume to vehicle speed.

The entire system is protected against theft due to a communication link with the electronic unit that manages the electrical system (body computer). This is how it works. When the radio is turned on, the body computer reads the radio safety code (four-figure) and activates it only if the numerical sequence is recognised. This makes the device unusable on any car (unless fitted with the same device). Lastly, customers may also fit a CD changer to their New Ypsilon and a multiple CD player (up to ten CDs) that can be controlled by the six keys present on the radio (optional).

Dual zone automatic climate control system

Interior climate is one of the main comfort factors during a trip and is also very important for interior safety because temperature, humidity and ventilation affect the driver’s well-being and thus his or her level of alertness. And of course the heating and ventilation system is also responsible for demisting the windscreen and side windows.

For this reason, the New Ypsilon comes with a sophisticated climate control system that automatically controls temperature, air flow, air distribution, compressor activation and recirculation by means of an electronic control unit (for the first time it’s different from driver to passenger). It also acts as a dual zone climate control system, i.e. able to ensure two different temperatures simultaneously: one in the right part of the passenger compartment and the other in the left.  The standard exterior and interior temperature sensors are joined on this device by another that determines air quality (AQS).  This Air Quality Sensor allows the occupants of the New Ypsilon to breathe clean air at all times, even when driving through town or in traffic jams and tunnels. The sensor controls the recirculation function that is turned on automatically to block the intake of outside air into the car when driving through places with high smog levels.

The New Ypsilon also implements an equivalent temperature climate control strategy. It records internal and external temperature by means of certain sensors and assesses the sensation of thermal well-being experienced by passengers, i.e. the energy exchange between human body and passenger compartment that is affected by humidity, temperature and treated air flow. Another sensor located in a central position at the windscreen base records solar radiation on the car and the angle at which the rays strike the passenger compartment. This allows the system to prevent an excessive increase in temperature inside the car caused by the sun and thus to inform the climate control system in time.

All these parameters are monitored continuously and used to update the distribution, ventilation and mixing automatically. Air temperature and fan speed are therefore adjusted to ensure passengers experience the desired sensation of thermal well-being (achieved by setting the required temperature). The result is a constant climate, even with significant changes in external conditions. The system may be adjusted to one of seven set combinations to allow air taken into the car to reach all areas of the passenger compartment. The possibility of altering interior temperature gradually, half a degree at a time, makes for outstanding climatic comfort. The knob can be used to bring about a temperature change of 16°C, with a maximum temperature difference of 7°C between the left and right areas. Manual choices always over-ride automatic settings. They are also indicated by deactivation of the Full Auto led and stored until the user cancels the command. Each time the system is turned on, it returns to the conditions saved upon deactivation, except for the ‘MAX DEF’ function, which is zeroed. The entire system can also be turned off manually to deactivate the air conditioning system fully.