| Product: |
Seat Ibiza (1999 on) |
| Date: |
18.01.07 (539 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Good fuel economy, smooooth ride
Disadvantages: No light in boot, coil pack fault
The Seat Ibiza 1.2 is pretty much everything you could want or expect from any car at the price. It combines the German build quality of a Volkswagen (I'm led to believe its basically a Polo with a Seat body) with that touch of sportiness and flair you get from the Spanish Seat. I have the 3 door version.
The cost is less than most of it's similar class competitors, and I've been very happy with what I've got for it (I bought mine 2nd hand at 2 and a half years old for around £4500)
The gear ratios are excellent allowing for smooth changes, the engine seems to have a bit more pep than a 1.2 really should have, and it runs so smoothly it's like a dream. Of course this can lead to problems, having driven the old Clio and the Corsa prior to buying this, I expect a car to scream when it gets around 70-80mph. This baby just gets on with it, in fact on the motorway, I often catch myself running at 90, it just happens. Add to that the fact that if run carefully, you can easily get 400 miles from one tank.
The size thing is strange, when set up normally, the back seats seem to have poor amounts of leg room, but when they are taken out, and folded down, the thing just seems to hold as much stuff as you can throw it. The standard radio/CD player is decent, though the speakers are a bit fuzzy and crackly at any sort of volume. The controls are fairly well designed and easy to work out, and the bits and pieces are sturdy and feel solid, so the interior is good.
Add to that the best cup holder I've ever seen, a giant S (the Seat logo), which doubles up as a really cool boot handle and some nice smooth curves and this is a good package.
There are a couple of flaws I've spotted. The lack of a light in the boot just seems like a careless oversight when you consider how much effort it would have taken to include one. I've twice had to get something called a coil pack replaced (my mechanic informs me this is a common fault with VW and Seat cars, and that there are 3, so I should prepare to replace the final one any time soon) though they're not massively expensive parts to buy.
Also while the A/C is pretty good, the heater is pretty temperamental, it goes on no problem, but turning the knob down, or even right off often has no effect for several minutes, so I often end up cooling the car down by opening the window (a bit of a pain on a rainy day!)
Summary: Overall a great car for the price, and hard to beat for a smooth ride.
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