A Comfortable Ride, Shapely Silhouette & Integrated Bumpers - The Car's Okay As Well! (Seat Ibiza (1999 on))

Member Name: Sexy Kay

Product:	Seat Ibiza (1999 on)
Date:	04/09/02 (1351 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Extras

Disadvantages: Paying for it

Okay, okay. I know it was very naughty, and maybe I shouldn't have succumbed to temptation but I did take, what I thought to be, proper precautions - honest! But it was that feeling, the familiar urge. I just had to do it. I couldn't resist.

I was on a motorway, the road was empty, so I gently squeezed my foot on the accelerator until ... zzoooommmm ... I topped 100 mph. I had a silent(ish) whoop and then slowed down to seventy again with a big, ear to ear, grin on my face. Oh come on, you'd have done the same, wouldn't you?

I mean if the brochure says it does over a ton you've got to make sure they aren't telling porkies, haven't you? Well I had to, because ...

I've got a sparkling, spanking, brand new Seat Ibiza, the latest 2002 model, and it was all mine on the 1st of September - la la la le la! Yep, I've really turned into the sort of person I used to mock - suit, briefcase, expenses, new car! Three years ago, if you'd told me, I'd have laughed in your face. Still, there we go, time flies, we change - whoosh.

I could fib and tell you that I've bought the top of the range model with 130 bhp but, as I don't really understand what that means anyway, I'll tell you the truth. I've just got the basic 1.2 engine, but it's lovely. It has a fantastic feline front, ever so sexy curved headlights and the car looks happy, but with a hint of underlying sensuality. Mine is a knockout Flash Red colour, so you'll see me coming - which will make a change for my neighbours from just hearing me. It looks super, providing you are wearing sunglasses, and contrasts just right with the black radiator grille, door handles and mirrors. I think it's beautiful - now don't any of you 'experts' dare to knock me down! Let me enjoy my moment - please.

Oooooh where shall I begin? It's ... it's ... oh I know, it's got air condit
ioning as standard. Imagine being really cool in summer, hey, especially in my shades as well. No more arriving hot and sticky. I'll be Ms.Sophistication as I elegantly swing my legs out of the front seat, hopefully avoiding tripping over the kerb or flashing my knickers. And the seats are nice, they've got bits coming slightly out at the side so they sort of mould to your body, if you know what I mean, and there are headrests front and back. And you can be cooler still as there are one touch electric windows.

Hee hee and remote central locking with deadlocks - clunk-ker-click, I love doing that - clunk-ker-click

It's no good, I'll have to bring some semblance of order to this review.

"So tell me, why did you chose a Seat Ibiza, Kay", erm, pretend that's somebody sensible interviewing me - right?

Well, my Volkswagen Golf was getting past it's best, so I thought it was time for a change, before anything major went wrong. I was thinking 'used car' but another decent Golf seemed way over my budget and a Polo lacked that 'something' to make me go 'oooh' or 'wow' - maybe it was the hole in the middle. I like VW's, as you may have noticed. I think this is because I've grown up with them. My dad has had lots: Jetta, Passat, Golf etc. I associate them with reliability, and that's one of the essentials I want from a car.

I'd looked at a couple of Golfs but they seemed a bit basic inside. Then someone said to me, "What about a Seat?"

I didn't know at the time, but Seat is now Volkswagen and the engines in the Ibiza model are actually identical to the Polo. The difference is the far superior (in my opinion) body styling and the fact that they are made in Spain.

When I saw the new 2002 Ibiza I thought it looked great, it felt right, plus it had many extras as standard - like the air conditioning, electric wi
ndows and remote locking, I've already mentioned, plus radio/CD player with eight speakers, side protection bars, power steering, front air bags, tinted windows, adjustable steering wheel (height and reach), pollen filter, RPM counter, outside temperature guage and so on. There is also a three year warranty, twelve year bodywork anti-corrosion warranty and three years Seat Assistance in the unlikely event of breakdowns (this service is provided by the AA).

When I worked it out, I could get a better spec new car for just a little more than the price of a newish second hand Golf. As I now get car expenses with my job (they must be mad) I thought, "Why not? That'll do for me."

"So why did you chose the 1.2 model, Kay?"

'Price' I think is the one word answer. There are also 1.4 petrol models and 1.9 diesels but the cost leaps up. The one I bought has a list price of £7995 but I managed to squeeze a deal of £7522.80, a saving of £472.20. This was cheaper than I could find on the Internet (for a non import model).

Obviously mine isn't going to be as powerful as perhaps I'd have liked but it's ideal for my part of the world and, as I've proved, does over 100 mph. One of the diesels will shoot up to 129 mph but I guess that isn't a lot of use in this country. It would be good though!

I'm also conscious of trying to use less petrol and also CO2 emissions. The 1.2 Seat should do an average 47.1 mpg and up to 55 mpg at 'extra urban' driving conditions - I think this is half steady driving and half varying speed driving. The CO2 emissions are rated EU-4 or 144 g/km - sorry I can't enlarge on what that means, but the road fund tax is £100 (this was included in the 'on the road' price)

"Is there anything you don't like about the car, Kay?"

See, people always have to be a bit negative, don't they? Of cour
se there blooming isn't, otherwise I wouldn't have bought it, would I?

If you are going to compare it to say an expensive new Merc, then there would be a few things that aren't quite as good. At the end of the day you mostly get what you pay for, but with an Ibiza I believe you get good value plus a bit extra - which is always nice. Seat say, for example, that the car will take up to five people. This is true, but the three in the back would be a bit cramped and would need to be on friendly, cheeky terms - there isn't heaps of leg room for back seaters. This doesn't mean that the car is titchy. It isn't. It's 3.95m by 1.7m which is a respectable size for this class of motor.

To be truthful, as I must, the only questionable thing I first had about the Ibiza was the fact that the roof is rounded down slightly at the front and so the windscreen seems lower at the top, visability wise, than I've been used to. But, after driving the car, I don't notice this at all now and there is plenty of headroom.

"Kay, what about ..."

Oh go away, I've had enough of you now. Look, this is a lovely looking car. BF says it's like me: a comfortable ride, shapely silhouette and integrated bumpers - sexist so and so. And it's got a nice sized boot as well - no remarks, please. It'll take 267 litres of luggage, which is a lot of bottles of red wine. It also has a split back folding seat in case you want to carry any awkward sized objects or odd shaped passengers. And there's a dinky cup holder on the dashboard, not sure what cup size it'll take, only an 'A' I should think.

It's a nice little motor. Let me quote to you from the Seat Ibiza bumph: 'You're the kind of person who values your individuality and doesn't want to be constrained by convention. You know that the best feeling is to get into a car where you can feel the passion in its
design and the power as soon as you start the engine - a taste of what's to come' Gosh, that's it, exactly. And a bit more ...

'The newly designed rear light clusters give anyone left behind a glimpse of what they've missed ...'

Mmmm, I like the sound of that as well.

I love my new Seat Ibiza to bits so, be warned, I'll bash anyone who disagrees!

- Kay

Update - Prior To Posting This Review:
In The Doghouse!

Yes, I'm in the doghouse and had a smacked bottom. It seems I shouldn't have tried to do 100 mph yet as, according to my Seat manual and 'He Who Knows Everything', the car should not be driven at more than 75% of the top speed for the first 1000km. I have to also drive gently for up to 1500km. So there you go. As you can imagine, I'm now driving round like a little old lady on a Sunday outing to make up for being so evil!

The car is fine, it's comfortable and at night the dials and radio have a sensual red glow. I do notice the smaller engine than I had in my Golf but I don't see this as being any great problem, I'll soon adjust. Think that's it! - Kay

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