SEAT came up with a nice
patriotic touch by naming their cars after locations in Spain. So you will
always be reminded of warm, hazy summer days while on holiday in Spain when you
drive cars like the Ibiza, Cordoba or Leon. But how do those names translate to
Ireland in winter?
Last week I was in the estate or ST version of the
Ibiza and I found it a bit sluggish. By my reckoning the 1.2 diesel engine may
not have been powerful enough for a car of this size. It really is a compact
estate, but I thought it could have done with a few more horses under the
bonnet.
Maybe I’m a bit hard on the Ibiza which has only 75
brake horse power; as the Mercedes CLS I tested the previous week had 261 brake
horse power. I know that’s not comparing like with like, but you can see how it
can happen.
Seat has been on the go for over 50 years. The Spanish
company linked up with Volkswagen in Germany and they are now a wholly owned
subsidiary of VW. I don’t think Seat try and hide the fact that most of the
parts for their cars come from their parent company VW. The Ibiza is their
best-selling car in Ireland.
Externally the car looks neat, especially those
attractive headlamps at the front. And two roof rails do add to the estate or
station wagon effect. The boot is large and you can get even more luggage space
by leaving down the back row of seats if required. The model I drove had 15
inch Ingenia alloys, fog lights, cruise control and heated mirrors.
Two small gripes; the diesel was a bit noisy and why
do Seat insist on just one button for the radio controls? The radio works fine,
but surely a second button would not have spoiled the look of the dash. It is a
very tidy dash and you also get useful slave controls on the steering wheel for
the radio.
There is room for five adults, but with that small
engine I think you would have to really work your way through the gears if you
had five adults on board. Black is the
dominant interior colour but there are orange-coloured lines on the seats to
brighten the décor.
Prices start at a reasonable
?¬15,290, while the diesel
version I drove will cost you
?¬17,050. If you order an Ibiza during the month
of November and December, with registration in January, Seat say you can get
the car from
?¬4.24 per day over 36
months.