The “Netflix dell’auto”Finally arrives in Italy and we have had the opportunity to try it firsthand. During our test drive Lynk&Co 01 amazed us for the driving simplicity and amused with the many features of the infotainment. A car that would be interesting even if sold with a classic formula. But monthly subscription and sharing possibilities that the Lynk & Co team told us make it a vehicle that could become revolutionary.
Lynk & Co 01 test drive: a truly unique formula
Before driving the car made by the Sino-Swedish company around Milan, we had the opportunity to do an interesting one chat with the Lynk & Co team. Because if the car itself is interesting, its uniqueness lies above all in the super flexible formula with which you can drive it.
Lynk & Co’s formula is all about simplicity. There are two main options. On the one hand, the classic car payment: 35 thousand euros for the hybrid model and 40,700 euros for the plug-in hybrid (which we drove). And we’re not talking about a “starting from” price. There are only two options: black and blue. No options of any kind. Although perhaps it would be better to say that it is “Basic Full Optional”: we will see that above all the infotainment system is more than complete.
But the novelty concerns the monthly subscription. Again, no variation on the theme: 500 euros per month. Within this fixed price you will find everything. Insurance, road tax, roadside assistance, maintenance, tires. The Lynk & Co team explained to us that assistance and maintenance are particularly efficient: in one day you should have your car running. In fact, if the damage is not immediately repairable, you will have a new Lynk & Co 01 on the same day. For this reason there are no options: each car is identical to the others, so they are interscambiabili.
If you don’t want to pay your subscription for a month, perhaps because you have the opportunity or need to work from home, you can simply block it. No penalties, no advances, nothing. Lynk & Co takes back the car and you don’t pay, period. If you want to drive the following month, just start again with the payment.
The phrase we heard most often during the interview is “you just drive”: you just have to think about driving. Lynk & Co will take care of the rest.
Simple Car-Sharing, which allows you to recover costs
You have decided to pay the 500 euro subscription to drive (and that’s all) your Lynk & Co 01, enjoying the simple driving and the even easier payment mechanism. But if you want, you can even try to “lower” that subscription, using the car-sharing functionality.
Let’s say you are in the office working all day, forced to keep your car stationary for eight hours. And pay us the parking too. With Lynk & Co you can decide to share your car, setting the rate yourself. The company recommends 5-7 euros per hour, 30-40 euros per day. But you can ask as much as you like: less to avoid paying for parking, more because you are in an area with great demand. The “service fee” will be paid by the renter: if you ask for 5 euros, you will get 5.
Those who rent can use the very simple one app on smartphone as an electronic key to open your car. He gets in the car and drives, and then takes her back to where he found her. Making you earn something and avoiding keeping the car stationary. A situation in which everyone wins. A rating system ensures that you can “punish” users if someone leaves your car dirty, for example. This way you can trust to lend the car to other members of the Lynk & Co Club.
Lynk & Co test drive: simple and comfortable, in everything
If you have decided to drive your Lynk & Co 01 (longer than we did on our test drive!), Getting started is very simple. Having just arrived in Europe and Italy, for the moment she still uses a network of salons for the purchase or the start of the subscription. But when fully operational, delivery will be directly to your home, in the office or wherever you want to receive it.
Once you get the keys (which you just need to have near you to get in and drive), spend a few minutes adjusting your favorite options, from seat adjustment to mirror angle. By registering them in your Lynk & Co, will not only always be available for your 01 but also for all Lynk & Co cars. If you are abroad and use the car-sharing service, you will be immediately at home.
A great infotainment and navigation system
Once you’ve tuned your car to fit you (and finished exploring every detail with curiosity), it’s super easy to start driving. The positioning of the seat allows you to see very well and “take measurements” for the maneuvers, with the rear camera and many sensors all around the perimeter which ensure that you are always safe.
After pressing the button Start&Stop e messo in Drive, you will immediately notice the great maneuverability of the car. An “intuitive” guide, very simple right from the start. Once out of the parking lot we were already totally at ease. We drove in the Milanese traffic with great tranquility, and then accelerated once we got out of the urban areas.
You can choose whether to drive in mode hybrid, “Power” O “Pure”To move only in electric. The difference in terms of performance is felt in the “Power” mode, but in general it did not seem like a car to “bite the road”. The guide is always simple, though responding very well to the throttle. A car that knows how to be fun but that first of all is comfortable and with a truly intuitive drive.
Among the busy streets of Milan, the guide is really simple. Continuous acceleration and braking while queuing at traffic lights is simplified by the safe brake and hybrid engine. As soon as we found a bit of free road, we tried to accelerate (with caution) and we were very impressed with it smooth and decisive driving in the seven automatic gears. Adaptive cruise control becomes very comfortable here. For geographical reasons we could not take it on the steepest mountain roads but the Lynk & Co 01 proved to be very driveable e responsive in every kilometer we have traveled.
Impressive technology, especially for infotainment
We tried to move with the Lynk & Co navigator, deliberately mistaking a few exits to see how responsive he was. The result satisfied us. We did not need to connect the smartphone (which we left on wireless charging) to make the most of the “smart” side of this car, which is autonomously connects to internet (all included in the price of 500 euros for the subscription).
Also in this area, simplicity is king. For example, in front of the armrest on the right you will find a Play / Pause button to start multimedia playback (starting from the last service you connected): just press it to listen to some music. Even if the first time you use it you try to do it in silence: Lynk & Co engineers are proud of the reduction of the noise in the vehicle and the silence of the hybrid engine. And they are right to be.
The Lynk & Co team has also put in some cool features. There is the Car-aoke to sing while traveling, perhaps with your friends or family. There are some interesting ones video games to try. There is even one selfie camera integrated next to the rear view mirror: frames the two front seats very well, with the rest of the group that can lean in the middle to capture the beginning of your trip outside brings.
These features and many others arise directly from user requests. In fact, you can send requests with the app. But even easier to do it by car: you can send audio feedback, which is transcribed and anonymized before reaching Lynk & Co engineers. In this way you will be able to find news born from your feedback, which especially from the software side can arrive very soon.
Lynk & Co 01 test drive: a car you can rely on
We have consciously left most of this article on the Lynk & Co 01 test drive rather lacking in technical details. We did it because this car was not created to meet the needs of those who “understand machines”. The idea is that you don’t have to know how road tax and insurance work, or what to do after opening the hood after a breakdown. You don’t even have to know how to change a tire: ci penny Lynk & Co.
Since simplicity is the first selling point, we feel like giving it a try on this feature great vote of confidence. You really just have to drive.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not a nice car. The Lynk & Co team has endowed the 01 with some fun and youthful aesthetic features, like the electric blue accents on the black bodywork. They have also been attentive to the environment: i very comfortable seats in synthetic fabric they use plastic collected from the oceans. And they have ergonomics that you usually have to pay extra for.
Blue accents give a very youthful look
The car is spacious inside (especially in the front) but handy when driving. 4.53 meters long, has the 466 l trunk. The infotainment system screen comes in at 12.7 inches, with another 12.3 inches on the instrument cluster.
A compact SUV with good technical equipment. Find a 1.5 three-cylinder turbo petrol with 180 HP and 215 Nm, supported by a electric powertrain with 80 hp and 150 Nm with seven-speed automatic transmission (become 143 and 54 hp in the hybrid only). The battery offers a mixed WLTP cycle of about 70 km (we started with 72 from the parking lot). Acceleration marks 7.9 seconds from 0 to 100 km / h. If you want to know more about mechanics and in general know the history of the House with Volvo genes in their blood, we refer you to ours introductory article on 01 and on the Lynk & Co brand.
A great car, with a unique subscription service
In short, to the new Lynk & Co 01 Plugin Hybrid would have convinced us even if it had been a car “normal“. It shares a lot with the Volvo XC40 (also part of Geely, the parent company) and with the other recent Volvos it has in common the historical solidity that is combined with the renewed attention to design and green mobility.
What makes the difference, however, is the subscription service. The Lynk & Co team explained to us that the 95% of their customers use the Netflix style service innovative company. It’s easy to see why: the comfort…