IN THIS FEATURE Not-so-super Cupra High-performance oil-burner Good on price Hang on for the petrol

Cupra means "cup" or "trophy" in Spanish, and designates Seat models tuned by the company's Sport wing in Barcelona. It's the badge Seat applies to its hottest, sportiest variants in a range (with the additional letter 'R', for Racing, on the top-spec models) and a label that rings all the right bells with hot hatch enthusiasts. With no convincing souped-up superminis from the likes of Ford and Vauxhall these days, the Ibiza has established itself as a firm favourite amongst young enthusiasts - and deservedly so. Even in base 1.2 S form, it looks great, lends itself well to being accessorised with sparkly aftermarket alloy wheels and booming stereo systems, and it's competitively priced as well.

Lairy yellow paintwork means you won’t lose the Cupra in a car park

A Cupra, though, is meant to be something special: indeed, Seat has introduced its 'FR' (Formula Racing) badge to designate merely warm, as opposed to hot, models, much as Citroen distinguishes between VTR and VTS, Audi its S and RS models (well, both are pretty quick, but you know what I mean) and Volkswagen its Golfs GT/GTi and R(32). So putting the Cupra badge on a diesel-engined Ibiza, albeit one with 160bhp, was a brave move