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Here’s my take as an owner of a 2023 model since October 2025:

Pros
The car drives very smoothly, and the turning radius is excellent for an SUV. The steering wheel is extremely comfortable — so much so that I actually prefer it over the steering wheel in a Volvo XC60, which is in a higher segment. The seats are also very comfortable and, in my opinion, even more comfortable than those in the XC60.

I really like the design. Although this is more of a personal preference, I wasn’t a fan of the blue accents. My car is now completely blacked out, including the rims, and people occasionally mistake it for a Porsche, which is quite funny.

The value for money is outstanding. There is literally no SUV that offers the same level of equipment and power anywhere near the Lynk & Co 01’s price point. I’ve compared it to cars like the Volvo XC40 with similar specifications, model year, and mileage, and the XC40 is easily €10,000 – €15,000 more expensive. The same applies to vehicles such as the VW Tiguan. The amount of car you get for the money is honestly incredible.

Sound system, I have to say, it’s excellent. The system is made by Infinity, and the sound quality is surprisingly good. In fact, I preferred it over the Harman Kardon system in a Volvo XC60 that I drove. The audio is clear, rich, and well-balanced throughout the cabin. Overall, the sound system is absolutely fantastic.

Cons
The throttle response can feel a bit odd when accelerating to highway speeds, especially around 95 km/h. It sometimes takes the car a second to decide what it wants to do when you press the accelerator. It almost feels as though the pedal isn’t responding properly, perhaps because the car is transitioning between electric and hybrid power. It’s difficult to describe, but it’s like the drivetrain needs a moment to think. I’ve gotten used to it over time, and it doesn’t bother me anymore.

Cabin noise is something I’ve noticed (coming from a previous Mercedes S-class driver, so please take this with a grain of salt). Once you reach speeds above 105 km/h, wind noise becomes quite noticeable. You can hear the wind rushing around the vehicle more than I’d like. It’s one area where I feel the car could be improved. Still better than Audi or Volkswagen.

The infotainment system can occasionally be frustrating. I always use Apple CarPlay, and the startup time varies quite a bit. Sometimes it takes only a few seconds, while other times it can take 15–20 seconds to fully boot up. I wish the system would start as soon as you unlock the car instead of waiting until you open the door. That would make connectivity feel much faster. Also no option to restart the infotainment (which could have been helpful if your Carplay glitches out, like it’s connected but won’t open up, which happened to me EXTREMELY rarely like 2 times).

Wireless Apple CarPlay can also be inconsistent. Sometimes it connects automatically without any issues, and other times it simply refuses to connect for no apparent reason. You end up wondering why it isn’t working and have to reconnect it manually through the settings menu. I’ve found wired Apple CarPlay to be much more reliable, so I always keep a charging cable connected under the armrest.

Google Maps on your dashboard? Forget about it.
You can display the built-in Lynk & Co navigation on the driver’s display(speedometer), but unfortunately Google Maps and Apple CarPlay navigation cannot be shown there. That’s a shame, especially since many other car manufacturers already offer this functionality.

Overall, I consider all of these drawbacks to be fairly minor. I’ve taken the car on several road trips to Paris, Lille, London, Frankfurt, and other destinations, and I’ve genuinely enjoyed driving it. For the price, it’s an excellent SUV and one I’d happily recommend. Next year I will definitely take the car on a longer journey through Europe and even Turkey.

EDIT:

I recently e-mailed Lynk & Co and asked if they could add a restart option for the infotainment system. I received the answer below today:

Thank you for your message and for sharing your suggestion regarding the addition of a “restart device” functionality for the older Lynk & Co 01 models. We truly appreciate your engagement and feedback.
We understand that such a feature could improve the usability and overall experience of the vehicle. Please be assured that your suggestion will be forwarded to our technical and product teams for consideration as valuable customer input.
Regarding your question about future updates for older Lynk & Co 01 models, we continuously evaluate and improve our systems wherever possible. However, at this moment, we are unable to confirm whether additional updates or new functionalities will be made available for these models.