Category: Superminis 
Price Range: No data available
Fine handling; five-star Euro NCAP score; good ride; DSG option; Ecomotive version on the way
Noisy and unrefined engines; iffy quality; sense of cost-cutting
Nice chassis, good safety, shame about the engines. Disappointing.
Fine chassis, shame about the engines: the all-new suspension layout, with wider track, lowered centre of gravity and more rigid structure (stiffened further in Sport models) makes for tight, precise handling and a sense that this car could be a pretty decent little hot hatch. Though the steering is light, there's more feedback than with, say, the otherwise excellent Alfa Mito, and the Ibiza is an easy car to place correctly on a fast-driven corner.
But there's the sense that the VW Group is palming poor Seat off with the doggy old engines that it no longer wants for the posher Volkswagen- Audi line-ups. Entry-level choice in the Ibiza is the old three-cylinder 1.2 12v (69bhp, 0-60mph in 15 seconds), which is more willing than it sounds but hardly a road-burner, then there's a mid-ranking 1.4 16v (84bhp, 0-60 in 11.8 seconds) and 1.6 16v (103bhp, 10.4 seconds).
The 1.4's far and away the best option among this first batch of engines. Though noisy, it's not as harsh as the 1.6, with a slightly sweeter sound as it revs, and it feels more willing mid-range.
The 1.6 is gutless and flat given its capacity, is no more refined at motorway speeds (both models could do with an overdrive-style sixth gear) and needs to be revved hard with constant gear-changing for any kind of performance. The pick-up in higher gears is particularly poor, and the engine lacks overall flexibility.
It's little better with the seven-speed DSG sequential-shift/auto gearbox. Developed from the system as used in cars including the Golf GTI and Audi TT, this latest DSG gearbox is not well-matched to this engine. In fully auto mode, it 'hunts' around for a gear continually, acceleration is jerky, and when self-shifting, it needs constant attention to stop the revs from drifting off.
Think things will improve with the diesels? Next year brings a 1.4 TDI (79bhp) and 1.9 TDI (103bhp). While offering a bit more torque, both sound - and feel - positively tractor-like in the Ibiza.
The FR and Cupra models sound more promising, however: both feature VW's much-improved new direct-injection 1.4 petrol engine, plus turbocharger, and will have power outputs to take on their warm- and hot-hatch rivals. More mainstream versions of this engine will eventually replace the old 1.4 and 1.6 mentioned above, so if you're after an everyday Ibiza, we'd suggest hanging on until then.
