Faults:

The manifold gaskets fail, causing a loss of antifreeze and a risk of it entering the pistons.

The copper injector washer can lose its seal, allowing diesel fuel to escape and form a thick layer of "sludge" or tar over the engine.

The pedal becomes a bit heavy.

The particulate filter clogs easily if the vehicle is driven extensively in the city.

General Comments:

Its natural habitat is the city, where its high driving position, good visibility—except for the front three-quarter view, due to the width of the pillar—and hyper-assisted steering make it an ideal car for navigating city streets.

The Musa is the luxury version of the Fiat Idea—unsurprising, given that Lancia is the Fiat Group's luxury brand. While structurally and mechanically identical to its sibling, it stands out for its interior appointments—featuring higher-quality materials—and an exterior design that conveys Lancia's signature elegance. All this is achieved without sacrificing any of the model's strengths regarding interior versatility.

The interior of the Musa is identical in layout to that of the Idea. The dashboard is T-shaped, and the analog instruments are centrally located. The gear lever is mounted high up, within easy reach, and the overall control layout is excellent. Only the light controls—located on the left and featuring a ring that is somewhat awkward to operate—could be improved.

Another surprise is that, even in this "Platino" version—the most highly equipped trim—climate control remains an optional extra, alongside features such as side airbags, fog lights, and ESP. It is surprising that Lancia has excluded these safety features from the standard equipment list, while instead offering leather and fabric upholstery, a dual electric sunroof, and dark-tinted rear windows on the Platino trim.

The seats are good. Up front, the driver can adjust the seat height and has the option of adding lumbar support combined with an armrest.

In the rear, the seats are even better in terms of size and versatility.

Mechanically, this Musa features the most powerful diesel engine: the 1.6 16V. It is more than fast enough for an MPV.

The engine feels a bit rough, but it strikes a good balance between efficiency and fuel economy, and is powerful, flexible, and frugal.

It is an engine that performs well across the entire rev range, delivering smooth, responsive power and excellent flexibility—all while maintaining low fuel consumption. Its acceleration in-gear is impressive. The performance figures reveal relatively short gear ratios, which enhances the dynamic feel of the engine-transmission combination. Acceleration times from 80 to 120 km/h in third and fourth gear are identical, as the third-gear maneuver necessitates an upshift to fourth midway through. Fifth gear is also relatively short; given the engine's capabilities, a six-speed transmission with a tall, relaxed sixth gear would have been a wise choice.

Another aspect that could be improved, in my opinion, is the brakes. The car stops well and the pedal has a good bite, but the rear drums should—as I see it—be replaced with discs.

It is a car that stands out—particularly to me—for its balance of city-friendly size, good ride comfort, and a diesel engine that is both energetic and economical.

Faults:

This car has been very reliable, I have had no major problems. The only issue that has arisen was a fault within the navigation system at about 11000km. The mapping stopped work and an error message displayed on screen. This was fixed by the dealer and found to be a wiring fault, which seemed simple, but annoyingly took the dealer a week to repair.

The car also seems to have abnormally high servicing costs. My previous car was much cheaper to run, but was I suppose a much older design.

General Comments:

This is such a beautiful small family car. It has really served us very well. It is wonderfully luxurious with many useful features. The engine is very strong and it will easily cruise along the autostrada and up to 200km/h, however the high narrow body means you have to slow down for corners, because there is quite noticeable body roll when cornering hard.

The interior is sculpted like artwork, very beautiful. It is very comfortable, especially the drivers seat, although I think some better quality materials could have been used, particularly for the plastic on the dashboard. I have taken this car all over Italy with two adults and two children, as well as luggage without a problem. Very spacious. Despite all the necessary features, I love the sky dome roof, really wonderful in summer.

This car is disappointingly rare, even in Italy, some people are not too fond of the shape, but I happen to think for a luxury MPV it's very attractive.

I feel very safe in this car, although perhaps it is not up to the same safety standards as the French MPV's? I have not been able to find any test results. But it does have a lot of safety equipment.

I hope this car continues to be reliable and lasts the distance, because it would truly be a shame for such a car to earn a bad reputation, only time will tell, but I have high hopes for this car.