Believe it or not a 'Supercar' designer has penned the new Seat Ibiza!
Ex-Lamborghini designer Luc Donckerwolke created the latest shape, which is an evolution of the Walter De Silva created 'Seat corporate look'.
The Ibiza manages to look big while weighing in at under a tonne. Head-on the car looks very smart while the side profile features side creases that we first saw on the Seat Altea, Toledo and Leon. The rear tailgate proudly displays the Ibiza name in large letters. The exterior does fall short of being exciting but nonetheless it is a reasonably good-looking car.
The interior is large and very VW like. The dash is made up of a variety of plastics with different surfaces and shades; despite this design effort the plastics are too hard and lack class. The only interesting part of the dash design is the 'Speedo' area that has an Alfa Romeo look to it. Passengers get a good deal thanks to the large cabin and the boot is relatively big for its class with 292 litres of space so it ticks all the boxes for functionality.
To be king of the hill the Ibiza needs to be more exciting inside to be truly aspirational; sadly, it's just a little dull. Seat the brand is meant to be VW's style orientated arm. Seat should be VW's Alfa Romeo. Seat has a few tricks up its sleeve with a good looking three-door 'Sportcoupe' on the way that will liven up the range. Plus it goes without saying that the 'Cupra' version will be high on anyone's list of hot superminis. The very green 'Ecomotive' version could prove very popular also.
Built in Spain using the next generation VW Polo platform, the Ibiza is roomy and surefooted on the road. The three cylinder engine may sound like a demented hairdryer when revved hard (and you will rev it hard at times) but about town it is a match for anything away from the lights and a good deal of fun. The 1.2 litre pushes out 70bhp and shifts the lightweight car with enthusiasm. It is nippy and economical and apart from its slightly irritating drone at motorway speeds. It could be argued that small cars intended for city use don't need four cylinder engines! A 1.4 diesel is coming next year and that could be very interesting and an ideal choice for higher mileage motorists who want to do their bit for the planet as it produces only a whiff of CO2 without compromising performance.
Prices start at €14,850 for the entry-level Ibiza 'R' and you'll be glad to know that a mini-jack socket for your iPod is standard. Spend another €1,440 and you can get the posher Ibiza 'S' model that features cruise control and a few other bits.
The new Seat Ibiza is a good effort and it needed to be as the competition is hotter than ever. I like the Ibiza's handling especially in the wet more than the Mazda2 but the Japanese car would still edge it for me.
That said everything is about to change with the imminent arrival of the most eagerly awaited car this year - Ford's new Fiesta. The Fiesta will be the new benchmark that all cars in the supermini class will be measured against.
Michael Sheridan
