Don't tell her please ..... (Seat Ibiza 1.0 3-door)

Member Name: ANDREWSJK

Product:	Seat Ibiza 1.0 3-door
Date:	27/02/02 (2668 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well built, and I mean the car !!!, Reliable, the other 'arf is !!!, Cheap to run, which of them though !!

Disadvantages: Slow !!!, Slow !!!!, Slow !!!

Well, a good and a sad day has arrived on our household. The good point is that we are getting on so well that we are going down to one car. The sad point is that the other 'arf is lumbered with me, no really.. Eeer both car's are going and she has asked me to write a requiem for her much loved baby, her light blue P Reg, Seat Ibiza 1.0 CL hatchback 3 door 1043cc.

It's a 1996 model that she has owned for two years, and has covered 33,500 miles altogether. It is quite an attractive looking car, and this one has the added attraction of a very nice looking set of alloy wheels. To further improve the other 'arfs impression of me I've been doing a bit of delving on some of the history of the Ibiza !!

Seat was some time ago this strange company who built strange old cars under licence, and us English only noticed them on our annual drunken binge in Spain. Then, Volkswagen bought the company, so we all sobered up. That's what the German's were doing on the beach at Santa Ponsa then ?? The company are now aiming themselves at being a competitor to Alfa Romeo of Italy and are not doing bad at it, the rally wins also establishing them with credibility. Volkswagen designs have underpinned the Seat image as well.

Now, forget all that cobblers I've just written, this is the one litre version right !! The engine has 4 cylinders, single point injection, catalyst, single overhead cam shaft, 2 valves per cylinder and produces 45 bhp. I got my five year calendar out to measure the following performance measurements :- Top speed 85 mph, yawn... 0-60 time was longer than the ride to work at 18.5 seconds.

The kerb weight is 895 kgs for anyone still awake, and the maximum torque is 63 lb/ft at 3,200 rpm. The car is front wheel drive and has a five speed gearbox. What else didn,t I like about it, well for me as it's a three door car, the doors are so big to ease getting in and out of the rear that the seat belts are
in the wrong place for me, but.. Well...nothing else really, it's a very pleasant car for it's size, and has been 100% reliable.

This is one of the now superceded second generation Ibiza's, essentially a supermini size car. Volkswagen's influence made sure it was a huge improvement on our first encounters with Seat, and are solidly built, have a quality finish and paintwork, and essentially are a less expensive alternative to the VW Polo. The competitors to this car would be the Vauxhall Astra, the Hyundai Accent or the Fiat Punto.

Originally this car cost £7,300 new, and would now be available in the range of £2,000 to £2,600. As such it is competitively priced. It is quite well equipped though I find the standard issue radio a bit weak, and miss such items as electric windows, sunroof etc, a reasonably basic car then. As regards running costs, the car is relatively heavy so fuel consumption is average at around 41 mpg, insurance is low at Group 2 and service intervals are long. The 30,000 mile service cost £160 and the tyres are still the originals which is very good. The only minor point is that the automatic choke now requires replacement, but don't tell the new owner !!!

Parts are relatively cheap, an air filter being £9, fuel filter £25, oil filter £4.80 and timing/cam belt is £19.50. Service can be had at Seat or Volkswagen garages, all Ibiza engines being shared with the VW Polo.

Driving. Ho hum da dee dah. I've only been allowed in the driving seat once, and that was to clean it, lol. The suspension is quite firm, and the steering has plenty of feel. The grip is pretty good, but the brakes are a bit vague. With the one litre engine, the car is a bit thrashy and noisy. One of the minor faults of the Ibiza range as a whole is that refinement could be a little better. However, ANDREWSGIRLFRIENDJK did get into the outside lane of the motorway once, doing 67.5mph !! There is a bit of road and wind n
oise at higher speeds, and that is just me !! Sorry !!!

Points to look out for if buying one :-

Poor paintwork on a few, though not this one, only a minor spot of corrosion on the nice wheels. Watch out for minor damage along the flanks though, as the whole side could need repainting at a cost of £250 to £500, and that's just me after she's seen what I've written.

There can be clutch problems due to sticky cables, and worn suspension on older models.There may also be some minor electrical faults.

What do I think, well actually it's a well built car, quite va bit of space for the size of vehicle. Has fulfilled it's purpose in life entirely. BUT, THERE are many versions, a 1.3, 1.4 and 1.6 petrol, and a 1.9 diesel. BUT, then again, there is a 1.8 and 2.0 litre version with engines shared with the Golf, a very wide variety of choice. Now if only this had been the Cupra Sport 2.0 litre 16 valve 'F2', which is a 200bhp road-legal version of Seat's Evo 2 rally car with 6- speed gearbox, lowered suspension, deep bumpers, rear wing spoiler, 17'' alloys, Recaro front sports seats.....

Rock on Tommy...

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