I cannot believe that 30 years has passed.
That’s how long ago the Seat Ibiza was introduced. And boy how things have changed.
Think back to 1984 and the launch model was typically boxy but I still remember, aged eight, reading my
What Car? magazine that year and lusting after the three door sports hatchback. It looked sufficiently different from the crowd and certainly had clinched my interest. I seem to recall the sale price being around £8,000 at the time and for a car whose unique selling point was the Porsche designed engine, this seemed a good deal for a new car. However, the build quality was an issue.
My test model is just a 1.4-litre petrol, nothing to really write home about on paper, I think. And then I clap eyes on it. It is actually the FR Edition. Again this doesn’t really mean much to me until I carefully cast my eyes around the exterior. There are red brake callipers and twin exhausts. Is this just attractive dressing?
Open the doors and there are excellent bucket sports seats, red seatbelts, in fact there is a dash of daring red throughout this five door hatchback. But is she hot, I wonder? Once the ignition is turned, I can report that she most certainly is. There is an attractive rasp to the exhaust the harder the accelerator is pushed. Her figures are impressive too, 0 to 60mph in 7.8 seconds and a top speed of 130mph. The hard suspension somehow makes travelling feel even faster.
As is the way these days the edges have all been rounded off yet the current Ibiza still stands out from the crowd especially with the metallic white finish of the test model. The instrument readings report that it returns around 60mpg during the course of the test on the Isle of Wight when a variety of roads from sharp inclines to flat are experienced. It will cover over 350 miles on a tank.
I am surprised at how spacious the boot is because it is only a small hatchback yet it swallows all our luggage without complaint.
This very well made five-door hatchback reminds me so much of Volkswagens and Audis I have driven. Like them this is robust and extremely well made and even shares some equipment with these models, perhaps most noticeably for me the rear windscreen washer which shoots the water upwards onto the screen just as in the Audi A1. All of this comes as no surprise because these days Seat is part of VW.
The test takes place during the hottest day of the year – even hotter than the Bahamas, the radio reports claim. Anyway the Seat’s Garmin satellite navigation system registers over 30 Celsius and the air conditioning is extremely effective at maintaining a comfortable low temperature inside the vehicle. That sat nav is a bit fiddly to operate at first but the more familiar the driver becomes the easier it is to operate. However, it has to be said that this system while generally very useful, does have its issues. For instance, we need to find a restaurant in Ventnor and tap in the postcode only to discover that it wants to takes us down a dangerous sharp left hand turn which is actually one way. Another issue is that the commands are sometimes rather vague such as a right hand turn is referred to as bear right, which are not the same thing in my mind. I can see how it could also be easy to concentrate on the sat nav’s commands and lose focus on traffic lights, for instance. Therefore, a heightened sense of focus is required when using such a system.
Overall, as was always the case the Ibiza is something a little bit different.
Facts a glance
Seat Ibiza FR Edition 2009 onwards
Used price: £6,000 to £12,000
New price: £16,000 approx
0-60mph: 7.8secs
Top speed: 130mph
Power: 150bhp
Economy: 60mpg approx
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