2011 (61) SEAT Ibiza 1.2 TSI Sportrider long-term review
I have been the proud owner of a 2011 model (pre-facelift mk5 – or Mk4 depending where you read) SEAT Ibiza since it was received brand new in October 2011.
Now over 5 years and 76,000 miles later I thought I’d share my long-term thoughts about this car and hopefully it may help some people considering a second hand one.
To sum up – It’s been brilliant. Of course I need to qualify this with more information but my overall impression is that I made the right choice with this car and model and there’s very little I’d change about it overall.
What did it cost brand new and what did you get for it?
I got the car new for a total of about £13,000 all in, it’s an ice -silver metallic (a ~£400 option at the time) and it’s the sportrider 1.2 TSI 3DR SC model. At the time it was just as the new facelift Ibiza’s were coming out so the price of the older model was negotiable. The sportrider model was the one I wanted as it sported the then-new 1.2 TSI engine, and it was the 105hp version of the engine too for more poke. It happened to come with a spec list as long as my arm (and far better than the new “FR” models that came in just afterwards with the same engine – just sportier styling)
Spec list included: Climate control, cruise control, parking sensors, automatic headlights and front wipers, electric folding mirrors, auto-dimming rear view mirror, front fog lights, cornering spots, darker tinted rear windows (though not THAT dark!), Bluetooth stereo (though only for phone connectivity for calls, NOT for streaming music annoyingly and it has NO speakers in the rear of the car), 17” alloy wheels, sports seats, sports suspension, start-stop, emergency braking assist, ABS, electronic stability control, regenerative braking and probably things I’ve forgotten, suffice to say it’s a high spec car for the time. Also it’s a low tax band (C I think) which means it’s only £30 a year to tax… woo hoo! In the ice-silver colour it looks fantastic IMO, the crease lines on the side look great and show up well in the silver colour, it looks quietly sporty without the go-faster bits of the FR and I prefer it like that.
What’s it like to drive?
Well I came from a 2004 Ibiza 1.4 75ps so the performance is night and day in comparison. The 1.2 TSI 105 engine is a hoot to drive, it’s no hot-hatch of course but it’s warm and has enough power to take a few bigger cars by surprise. The 0-60 time is sub 10 seconds but it’s the torque that the turbo petrol engine has that is the best thing about it. No need to rev the engine so hard to get it going, it goes well from just under 2000 rpm where my old NA Ibiza would need at least 4000 to even start to think about going. It’s MUCH easier to drive in traffic also, I can sit in first and crawl along with barely any input on the throttle or clutch, it doesn’t take as much input to stop it stalling and if you do stall the start-stop will often restart the engine for you before you realise what’s happened (and a few times I’ve turned the engine back off again when I have gone to manually restart and turned the ignition key).
Handling is better than my old 5Dr Ibiza, it feels solid, a bit better on cornering than my old one, which always felt a bit vague and had more body roll. The sports suspension probably helps but with the 17” wheels it also increases the harshness of the ride, it’s pretty firm, and on the bumps you feel them. Not a problem for me but long journeys on bad roads can take it out of you a little but I prefer it like that than being softer. I’m no sports driver but I do like to push it sometimes and the handling is fine, I’d say it could be better and feel more grippy but I’m no expert. The 17” alloys are also a bit of a liability for kerbing damage, I have had some sidewall tyre damage and obviously kerb damage to the wheels as it’s easier to scrape the wheels on the lower profile tyres but they do look pretty.
What’s gone wrong?
Well a year into my ownership I had a breakdown where the car went into crawl mode on Christmas eve. The AA cleared the error and I drove home no problems. The engine management light and EPC light came back on a bit later and I took it to the dealer. It turned out to be a turbo fault and they had to replace the turbo. Over Christmas period it was difficult so I was loaned a Mii for 2 weeks until my car was sorted.
Since then I’ve had one more major issue (still under warranty) which was again the EPC light and the engine juddering everywhere, I called the AA who couldn’t diagnose a fault and trailered the car back to the dealer. Thankfully that time it was just a dodgy HT lead (not sure why the AA didn’t sport that) rather than another more major fault and it was replaced and I was back on my way.
Other than that I have had the timing chain and tensioner replaced at about 60,000 miles as it was starting to make noises. The independent SEAT/AUDI experts I took it to said that the tensioners are made of chocolate and don’t last as long as they should. I also had the brake pads replaced for the first time at 60,000 but I’m still on the original discs all round and only ever had one rear tail light bulb replaced.
At my 70,000 mile service the garage could find no issues with the car except some corrosion to the exhaust but it “Might last a year or three who knows” and the MOT a bit later also found no faults and no advisories. In all I’d give the car an excellent rating for reliability. Sure I had an issue at the beginning but since the HT lead was replaced it’s been excellent and still drives as well as it ever did. I’ve had no problems with suspension or anything like that like I did on old Fiesta’s etc.
Conclusion
When I bought this car I wanted something a bit special, something with a bit of “go” and that looked quietly sporty without being too “boy racer” and I think the 2011 sportrider really has matched my expectations and surpassed them. It looks good, drives well is VERY well equipped and has been easy to live with. I am considering selling in the summer and going to something a bit different but I hope I’m not going to regret that decision as there’s every reason to believe that this car would go on for a few more years being just as dependable as I’ve found it in the last few years (initial niggles aside!). I love it.
I have been the proud owner of a 2011 model (pre-facelift mk5 – or Mk4 depending where you read) SEAT Ibiza since it was received brand new in October 2011.
Now over 5 years and 76,000 miles later I thought I’d share my long-term thoughts about this car and hopefully it may help some people considering a second hand one.
To sum up – It’s been brilliant. Of course I need to qualify this with more information but my overall impression is that I made the right choice with this car and model and there’s very little I’d change about it overall.
What did it cost brand new and what did you get for it?
I got the car new for a total of about £13,000 all in, it’s an ice -silver metallic (a ~£400 option at the time) and it’s the sportrider 1.2 TSI 3DR SC model. At the time it was just as the new facelift Ibiza’s were coming out so the price of the older model was negotiable. The sportrider model was the one I wanted as it sported the then-new 1.2 TSI engine, and it was the 105hp version of the engine too for more poke. It happened to come with a spec list as long as my arm (and far better than the new “FR” models that came in just afterwards with the same engine – just sportier styling)
Spec list included: Climate control, cruise control, parking sensors, automatic headlights and front wipers, electric folding mirrors, auto-dimming rear view mirror, front fog lights, cornering spots, darker tinted rear windows (though not THAT dark!), Bluetooth stereo (though only for phone connectivity for calls, NOT for streaming music annoyingly and it has NO speakers in the rear of the car), 17” alloy wheels, sports seats, sports suspension, start-stop, emergency braking assist, ABS, electronic stability control, regenerative braking and probably things I’ve forgotten, suffice to say it’s a high spec car for the time. Also it’s a low tax band (C I think) which means it’s only £30 a year to tax… woo hoo! In the ice-silver colour it looks fantastic IMO, the crease lines on the side look great and show up well in the silver colour, it looks quietly sporty without the go-faster bits of the FR and I prefer it like that.
What’s it like to drive?
Well I came from a 2004 Ibiza 1.4 75ps so the performance is night and day in comparison. The 1.2 TSI 105 engine is a hoot to drive, it’s no hot-hatch of course but it’s warm and has enough power to take a few bigger cars by surprise. The 0-60 time is sub 10 seconds but it’s the torque that the turbo petrol engine has that is the best thing about it. No need to rev the engine so hard to get it going, it goes well from just under 2000 rpm where my old NA Ibiza would need at least 4000 to even start to think about going. It’s MUCH easier to drive in traffic also, I can sit in first and crawl along with barely any input on the throttle or clutch, it doesn’t take as much input to stop it stalling and if you do stall the start-stop will often restart the engine for you before you realise what’s happened (and a few times I’ve turned the engine back off again when I have gone to manually restart and turned the ignition key).
Handling is better than my old 5Dr Ibiza, it feels solid, a bit better on cornering than my old one, which always felt a bit vague and had more body roll. The sports suspension probably helps but with the 17” wheels it also increases the harshness of the ride, it’s pretty firm, and on the bumps you feel them. Not a problem for me but long journeys on bad roads can take it out of you a little but I prefer it like that than being softer. I’m no sports driver but I do like to push it sometimes and the handling is fine, I’d say it could be better and feel more grippy but I’m no expert. The 17” alloys are also a bit of a liability for kerbing damage, I have had some sidewall tyre damage and obviously kerb damage to the wheels as it’s easier to scrape the wheels on the lower profile tyres but they do look pretty.
What’s gone wrong?
Well a year into my ownership I had a breakdown where the car went into crawl mode on Christmas eve. The AA cleared the error and I drove home no problems. The engine management light and EPC light came back on a bit later and I took it to the dealer. It turned out to be a turbo fault and they had to replace the turbo. Over Christmas period it was difficult so I was loaned a Mii for 2 weeks until my car was sorted.
Since then I’ve had one more major issue (still under warranty) which was again the EPC light and the engine juddering everywhere, I called the AA who couldn’t diagnose a fault and trailered the car back to the dealer. Thankfully that time it was just a dodgy HT lead (not sure why the AA didn’t sport that) rather than another more major fault and it was replaced and I was back on my way.
Other than that I have had the timing chain and tensioner replaced at about 60,000 miles as it was starting to make noises. The independent SEAT/AUDI experts I took it to said that the tensioners are made of chocolate and don’t last as long as they should. I also had the brake pads replaced for the first time at 60,000 but I’m still on the original discs all round and only ever had one rear tail light bulb replaced.
At my 70,000 mile service the garage could find no issues with the car except some corrosion to the exhaust but it “Might last a year or three who knows” and the MOT a bit later also found no faults and no advisories. In all I’d give the car an excellent rating for reliability. Sure I had an issue at the beginning but since the HT lead was replaced it’s been excellent and still drives as well as it ever did. I’ve had no problems with suspension or anything like that like I did on old Fiesta’s etc.
Conclusion
When I bought this car I wanted something a bit special, something with a bit of “go” and that looked quietly sporty without being too “boy racer” and I think the 2011 sportrider really has matched my expectations and surpassed them. It looks good, drives well is VERY well equipped and has been easy to live with. I am considering selling in the summer and going to something a bit different but I hope I’m not going to regret that decision as there’s every reason to believe that this car would go on for a few more years being just as dependable as I’ve found it in the last few years (initial niggles aside!). I love it.