SEAT IBIZA 1.2
The Entry-Level
SEAT Ibiza Offers Big Car Quality At Surprising Prices. Andy Enright Reports
For a car aimed at the young and trendy, SEAT couldnt have lucked into a better name than Ibiza. In 1.2-litre guise its a car thats still affordable even after youve booked your annual two-week bender in San Antonio, yet will never resemble the automotive equivalent of a bucket shop ticket.
When SEAT originally launched the Ibiza in 1984, they were hugely proud of the fact that it was their own undertaking and not merely a reheated
Fiat. Okay, so they had a little hand from
Porsche (and milked the subsequent PR opportunity) but as a first effort it was extremely good. At that time, Ibiza was just another buckets and spades Mediterranean destination. As the islands resorts developed into a sort of Mecca for holiday hedonists, so the Ibiza also became big business, attracting more new buyers to the SEAT family than any other product line.
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The latest version offers fun, a little Latin spirit and a notion alien to many of the spaced-out Balearic clubbers a little sophistication. The 1.2-litre version that we examine here is fitted with a high-tech three-cylinder lightweight alloy engine that generates a modest 64bhp. This equates to a specific capacity of 53bhp per litre, not a whole hill of beans for a modern engine but this does go some way to endowing the little
SEAT with an exceptional fuel economy average of some 47.
1mpg and a guaranteed place in the lowest carbon dioxide emissions taxation band. If youre interested in all out performance, the Ibiza isnt going to do a great deal for you with 60mph appearing in 14.7 seconds. The top speeds a respectable 103mph, but this is a modern supermini with the commensurate safety features that all tend to add weight.
If you want a quicker 1.2 wed recommend a
Suzuki Bandit motorbike, but aside from that, youll not find too much to touch the little SEAT.
"Compared to its predecessor, the Ibiza is a dramatic improvement."
Available in Reference, S or SX trim, the Ibiza 1.2 also offers the choice of either three or five doors in a package that starts at £8,000 for the base three-door and tops out at £9,400 for the five-door SX. Even in the car propping up the Ibiza range, buyers can expect to find big car features like autoclima air conditioning, tinted glass, a body-coloured rear spoiler, remote central locking, an eight-speaker stereo system, electric windows, a split-folding rear seat, electro-hydraulic power steering, a pollen filter and twin front airbags. Briton Steve Lewis was responsible for most of the Ibizas lines, but the final refinements were undertaken by Walter daSilva, the man responsible for the Alfa 156 amongst others.
Suddenly the reason why the rear doors dont uglify the car significantly becomes apparent. Much of the interior design was undertaken by Simona Falcinela, another who jumped ship from Alfa to work for SEAT. If you were asked to pinpoint the differences between this generation and its predecessor it wouldnt be easy, but daSilva has kept the basics in place the cyclops grille, the chubby posterior and the high waistline but has stroked, smoothed and melded the lines into something far sleeker. The details are more knowing and better integrated and hes succeeded in making the car appear far smaller than it actually is, a visual trick that will appeal to many buyers.
Inside youll spot a number of VW Group parts, reappearing like old faces at a school reunion. The window switches, the gear knob, the ventilation controls and so on are all sourced from that bottomless well thats disparagingly termed the VW parts bin, and are none the worse for it. The roofline is lower than weve become used to in Polo and Fabia variants, but otherwise the cabin holds few surprises other than a rather novel textured plastic thats softly abrasive but not particularly great looking. Thats not to say that da Silva hasnt left his mark however.
The dials are recessed individually into the facia in true Alfa style, giving the cabin a sportier feel. Compared to its predecessor, the Ibiza is a dramatic improvement. Not only is it far prettier, it also utilises its cabin space better, the engine range is far more economical and the perceived quality has been ratcheted up a good few notches. None of these factors, however, differentiate it hugely from its rivals.
SEAT point to the fact that the Ibizas based around the Agile Chassis concept developed in house. This combines suspension settings tuned for the keen driver with an intelligent power steering system that not only adjusts the amount of assistance according to driving speed nothing particularly novel there but also considers the position of the wheels and how quickly the steering wheel is being turned. Other small cars with power steering often incur pumping loss when being driven enthusiastically, that is the inability of the engine-driven power steering pump to keep up with the demands the driver places on the steering. This leads to inconsistent steering feel and the helm weighting up just when you dont want it to.
The Ibiza, by contrast, uses an electric pump that runs independently of the engine to power the steering. The result? Better feedback and keener reactions when you up want to up the ante. But is it all wasted on a car with just 64bhp to haul it about? Not at all. Although the 1.
2-litre models may not be the last word in thumping acceleration theyve still got enough verve to appeal to the fresh-faced target clientele. Moderation and Ibiza arent too words that are commonly associated. Lets set a precedent.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: SEAT Ibiza 1.2
PRICES: £8,000 - £9,400 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 2
CO2 EMISSIONS: 144g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 14.7s/ Max Speed 103mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 36.7 / (extra urban) 55.4 / (combined) 47.1mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, 3953/1698/1441mm July 1st 2004
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