Say ‘Hola’ to SEAT’s refreshed Ibiza supermini
Ibiza has been an icon for the Spanish carmaker since 1984 with over six million units sold.
Spanish carmaker SEAT has updated its Ibiza model with a refreshed exterior and interior, a choice of TSI petrol engines ranging from 80hp-115hp, enhanced standard equipment, and many advanced safety features. This facelift to its current fifth generation of the model features redesigned lights and bumpers as well as a new grille design. It follows a mild refresh of the model in 2021.
The model is the brand’s third best-seller here behind the small crossover/SUV Arona and larger mid-size SUV Ateca.
Ibiza has been an icon for the Spanish carmaker since 1984 with over six million units sold. The model, regarded as embodying the brand’s youthful and creative spirit and offering decent interior space, was the first car to be developed completely by SEAT as an independent company after splitting from Fiat. Some may call it a less expensive VW Polo as it shares the same platform and many parts as both brands are part of the huge Volkswagen Group. Ibiza, though, features sharper, more aggressive lines and provides a sportier ride than the Polo.
Four versions are offered: SE, SE Plus, FR (my car) and FR Black Edition.
My car looked swell in Oniric Grey premium metallic exterior colour. The spec included front LED headlights with long triangular-shaped Daytime Running Lights and rear LED lights. The new hexagonal grille design combined with the diamond-shaped mesh in a matt/polished finish emphasises the car’s sporty character and wider proportions. The laser-etched FR logo on the B-pillar adds another sporty edge to the styling, as do a new range of alloy wheels with different designs for each model – my car sat on 18-inch ‘Performance’ alloys in Sport Black/Silver, which added hugely to the car’s sporty look and stance.
The nicely designed FR interior styling has some chrome detailing and black headliner, new embossed textiles, refined materials, and neutral accents on the air vents.
Comfy and supportive front bucket seats, with high bolstering and integrated see-through head restraints, have manual adjustments and can be heated as part of a Winter Pack.
The FR’s half-perforated leather, multi-function steering wheel has audio controls; only a DSG version has shift paddles on the steering wheel.
The 9.2-inch free-standing touchscreen navigation system was almost directly in my line of vision, was easy to manoeuvre around, and compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The SEAT Connect system uses this touchscreen display to run online services. There were physical controls below for the two-zone climate control and for air conditioning, as well as a cooled wireless mobile phone charger and two small USB-C ports.
The clear and colourful 8-inch instrument cluster consists of a central dial for the rpm readout with your average fuel consumption in the centre. But this screen is customisable with different layouts.
The selector for the DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox) automatic transmission is located on the flat of the central console, and there is a traditional-type pull-up handbrake.
I was surprised that the rear was rather sparse. Two adults can sit in comfort as the middle seat is small and footpace competes with the high floor tunnel. Outer seats each have ISOFIX child seat anchors. Rear seats can split 60:40. There are no cupholders or USB ports, but decent door bins.
The tailgate opens by pressing on the SEAT badge and luggage space of 355 litres with rear seats up is decent for a car of this size. The boot floor can be adjusted to two levels, and there is a tyre repair kit below the floor.
My FR specced car had privacy glass, a very good rear view camera, front and rear parking sensors, pedestrian and cyclist protection, and remote central locking.
Options included a Safe & Drive ‘XL’ pack which included Adaptive Cruise Control, side and traffic assist, traffic jam assist and high beam control. An Interior Pack included the wireless phone charger and front centre armrest.
One-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engines range from 80hp to 115hp. There’s no hybrid version. My 115hp review car was paired to a nice 7-speed automatic DSG gearbox.
SEAT claim fuel consumption of 5.5 L/100kms for the Ibiza. I achieved between 4.5 and 6.4 L/100kms on my many trips taking in all types of routes. When I had collected the car, there was 560kms available on a full tank of petrol. Torque is 200 Nm.
I found the Ibiza to be agile when needed, offering sporty driving and handling. The engine offered very good low-end torque and could accelerate from 0-100km/h in 9.9 seconds, so is no slouch. However, the sporty suspension felt firm – although not uncomfortable – when driving on country roads near where I live. I found the engine to be quite noisy.
The fifth-generation Ibiza earned a full five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP and carries a three-year (90,000km) manufacturers’ warranty as standard.
PRICE: the range entry is from €23,925; My car as tested €33,836. €190 annual road tax.
