2009 Seat Ibiza reviews

SEAT Ibiza SC Ecomotive 2009

In this eco-conscious era where it’s ’all for one and one for all’, the new Ibiza 1.4 Diesel Ecodrive couldn’t have come at a better time. The ’Three Musketeers’ of little cylinders combine to produce cardinal performance, high in the carbon sensitive arena, while reassuring the lucky driver that he has more than sufficient horsepower to gallop into the sunshine with a dash of style and a splash of chic sophistication. This Catalonian carbon buster has more ’Goya’ in the tank than you’d give it credit for. You may be forgiven for wondering at the surreal level of economy. Seat claim a combined mpg figure of 76.4mpg but I only achieved 67.4mpg. Readers must remember, however, that the car encourages enthusiastic use - and I have to tell you that my enthusiasm knew no bounds. Economy is so good that the Chancellor ought to check it out rightaway and make it a model for the dictum that you don’t have to be threadbare to be thrifty. In these penny pinching days you might question the need for a new car, but a turn behind the wheel of this endearing and exciting package will reassure you that the answer is - Yes! Three times: one for each of the little pumping cylinders. Built to the usual high standards of the Volkswagen Group, it feels solid and robust with not a squeak or rattle as you drive over the roughest surfaces. It’s a comfotable interior with plenty of room in the front, but rear accommodation is not that generous. Seat is the sporty arm of the VW Group, but the new Ibiza proves beyond doubt that a sporty heart and a sensible head do go together. Granny will adore its sense of security and its comforts (You put her in the front seat, of course.) and little Billy and Bettina (or the Spanish equivalent) will nod their heads with the enthusiasm of a thousand parcel shelf novelty dogs at the swiftness, nimbleness and altogether prowess of this car. And that’s without mentioning the stylish appearance of this well integrated package that, in the jargon of youth is `as cool as a brace of Barcelona organic cucumbers`. As for the driving - at low revs the little diesel pulls reassuringly. It’s not too much of a stretch of the imagination to compare the high gear torque with classic performance cars of the past - such, even, as the E Type Jaguar. In that supreme sporting machine one could pootle along at 15mph in top gear; apply pressure to the throttle and carry on all the way to 150mph. While the little Seat will achieve not more than 110mph, its robust engine imparts something of the high gear/low rev. torque sensation. Leaving the restricted confines of narrow streets and their customary proliferation of anti motoring ’street furniture’ , and welcoming, at long last the open road, a touch on the throttle induces instant alacrity - and all the feters of over concerned nambypambyism fall away in one burst of exhultation. On a dappled, twisty country lane, the surefooted nimbleness and peppery endeavour of the Ibiza makes one reflect on the very real progress made by automotive engineers. Those long of tooth tend to take as a yardstick, the cars they enthused about in their youth. Had a car such as this existed at that time, there would have been such a run on superlatives as to empty every dictionary in every library and family home up and down the land. To technically minded readers who want facts and figures and not purple prose, I say to you ’go read a workshop manual’ - for when discussing the actual driving experience, it is ’sensation’, not ’slide rule’ that rules. OK. The clutch is light with a positive take up, the gearbox is precise, solid feeling and altogether hassle free in operation, the throttle is light when you want it to be, but with an encouraging resistance to pressure that suggests more is to come. In the words of the song - ’The Best is Yet to Come’. Steering is direct, precise - just right: not over light and not over heavy. Goldilocks herself would find little to complain about. More than anything though, it’s the combined package that delivers the goods. This is a car compact enough to be nimble, large enough to be comfortable, light on its feet, solid in its protection, sensible in its ergonomics, appealing both to driver and passenger and economical enough for the most parsimonious parson. And, as if this is not enough, it’s actually stylish, exciting, stimulating - did I say sensational? Seat, drive it, like it, buy it. At £11,805 it’s not overly expensive.