Disappointing MK4 test drive

[teknow]

I took a 1.2 Reference Sport (07 plate) out for a test drive at a local dealer today.

First impressions were good, very smooth and especially loved the gearbox which was slick with nice light clutch (in stark contrast to my MK3!)

I took it down the motorway for one junction and then doubled back.

There was a really annoying wind noise coming from the driver's side wing mirror from 40mph upwards. After reading around it seems this might be a common fault - so no big deal right?

I was expecting the 1.2 to be quicker than my current 1.4 but again was disappointed. My 1.4 is bog standard, done 86k miles and would have left the 1.2 for dead. I'm no fast driver but I like a bit of 'nippiness' to get into those spaces on motorways and make sure I'm up to speed on sliproads. I just felt the 1.2 didn't deliver (for me).

As I do mostly motorway driving, I think the 1.4 FS would be the right car but ran out of time today and am hoping the dealer comes back with a good price tomorrow!

Earlier this week I spoke to Perry's in Aylesbury who are doing the FS for £7795 + metallic - so £8145. Anyone else know of dealers doing similar prices?

Have to say that Barlow Motors in Wolverhampton gave me excellent service today. Shame that the 1.2 didn't quite excite me enough.

 

[GavinM]

Alexandra Bridge Seat Sunderland 1.4FS £7715.63 various colours metallic extra. Perrys only had Zenith grey and red when I spoke to them last week quite a lot of people offering now at £7995 I think they have to sell them by the end of September

 

[Ad Lav]

Go for the 1.4 sport or 1.9tdi sport, 1.2 can be a bit gutless - sorry 1.2 owners!

 

[Poverty]

I took a 1.2 Reference Sport (07 plate) out for a test drive at a local dealer today.

First impressions were good, very smooth and especially loved the gearbox which was slick with nice light clutch (in stark contrast to my MK3!)

I took it down the motorway for one junction and then doubled back.

There was a really annoying wind noise coming from the driver's side wing mirror from 40mph upwards. After reading around it seems this might be a common fault - so no big deal right?

I was expecting the 1.2 to be quicker than my current 1.4 but again was disappointed. My 1.4 is bog standard, done 86k miles and would have left the 1.2 for dead. I'm no fast driver but I like a bit of 'nippiness' to get into those spaces on motorways and make sure I'm up to speed on sliproads. I just felt the 1.2 didn't deliver (for me).

As I do mostly motorway driving, I think the 1.4 FS would be the right car but ran out of time today and am hoping the dealer comes back with a good price tomorrow!

Earlier this week I spoke to Perry's in Aylesbury who are doing the FS for £7795 + metallic - so £8145. Anyone else know of dealers doing similar prices?

Have to say that Barlow Motors in Wolverhampton gave me excellent service today. Shame that the 1.2 didn't quite excite me enough.

Why did you think that the 1.2 would be quicker than a 1.4?

 

[teknow]

Why did you think that the 1.2 would be quicker than a 1.4?

Well, my 1.4 is 60BHP not the 75bhp I thought it was. The 1.2 chucks out 70 and has similar torque figures.

Okay - the dealer said that it might be because mine has loosened up over the years/mileage ... I dunno ... it defo wasn't as nippy as my 1.4 and sounded quite 'gruff' in a non-sporty type of way ??? A little unrefined.

So, you can see why I thought the performance would be the same as the my
MK3 1.4

I have to say that the 1.2 was very smoothe in the way it delivered the power, bit gutless at motorway speeds though and was doing 4250ish rpm at 80mph. The pull between 65 and 80 took 17 seconds and my 1.4 does it in 12.

My 1.4 does 0-60 in 12 seconds [easily] I didn't have the luxury of timing on the test drive but felt the 1.2 got nowhere near that.

Not saying it is a bad car though, just not for me/my requirements.

Cracking price though ... am now starting to wonder if I could live with it?!?!?

 

[ettlz]

You can't really drive the 1.2 like the 1.4. The 1.2 loves to rev and you have to push it to get the performance out. (Curiously, before I bought my 1.2, I test drove a 1.4 and found it "sluggish" off the mark compared to my parents' 1.2 55PS (yes, the 6 valve unit) Polo; however, this is largely to a different gearbox and throttle response. Even so, that Ibiza just "felt" so much better to drive than the other cars I'd test driven, and I was sold.)

 

[teknow]

You can't really drive the 1.2 like the 1.4. The 1.2 loves to rev and you have to push it to get the performance out. (Curiously, before I bought my 1.2, I test drove a 1.4 and found it "sluggish" off the mark compared to my parents' 1.2 55PS (yes, the 6 valve unit) Polo; however, this is largely to a different gearbox and throttle response. Even so, that Ibiza just "felt" so much better to drive than the other cars I'd test driven, and I was sold.)

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[teknow]

Alexandra Bridge Seat Sunderland 1.4FS £7715.63 various colours metallic extra. Perrys only had Zenith grey and red when I spoke to them last week quite a lot of people offering now at £7995 I think they have to sell them by the end of September

When I spoke to Perrys they were doing £7595 but the web site was wrong and it should have been £7795. This has now been updated. They had yellow, and greys when I spoke to them. I want red!

Will give Alexandra Bridge a call tomorrow, thanks for the tip-off.

 

[bizzaboy]

......

Not saying it is a bad car though, just not for me/my requirements.

Cracking price though ... am now starting to wonder if I could live with it?!?!?

From your feedback on the 1.2, during the test drive, even if the price does seem appealing, the car just didnt meet expectations.

If you did buy the car, you would only get frustrated over time (and bored) with the lack of performance.

However the 1.2's do appear popular here though, with quite a few members owning them.

 

[Med]

hav you thougth about the 1.4 100ps formula sport edition ibiza's, great kit given with it, i think its around the 8k mark. just my 2p worth. i have the 1.4 DAB 100ps edition, and its not that slow.

 

[T. Spark]

Im afriad to say that the 1.2 12V unit in the Ibiza MK4 when driven correctly should be overall quicker than the 1.4 unit in the MK3.

Just think, you drive your 1.4 day in day out, whilst you dont know whats best for what in the 1.2.

Your 1.4 does 0-60 in 12 seconds? Tom and jerry timer?

Due to the 1.2 unit in the Ibiza being a 12v I personally feel when giving it some beans it sounds alot more 'sporty' than a 'bog standard 1.4 mk3'

IMO

 

[dozza.13]

Why dont you get a nearly new tdi or 1.4, you loose loads of cash when a new car depreciates anyway so save the cash and get something with a better engine and spec thats 6-18months old! It would already be run in and still have manufacturers warranty on it! And as for performance, surely the mk4 is a bit heavier than the mk3, which would blunt the performance slightly, and even if the car you drove did need to loosen up a bit more, its only a 3cylinder 12valve engine so its never gonna feel that quick in a medium size car! (sorry 1.2 owners!)

 

[dozza.13]

Im afriad to say that the 1.2 12V unit in the Ibiza MK4 when driven correctly should be overall quicker than the 1.4 unit in the MK3.

Just think, you drive your 1.4 day in day out, whilst you dont know whats best for what in the 1.2.

Your 1.4 does 0-60 in 12 seconds? Tom and jerry timer?

Due to the 1.2 unit in the Ibiza being a 12v I personally feel when giving it some beans it sounds alot more 'sporty' than a 'bog standard 1.4 mk3'

IMO

I rekon the 1.2 sounds a little bit like an old aircooled 911 when they are booted!

 

[Poverty]

Well, my 1.4 is 60BHP not the 75bhp I thought it was. The 1.2 chucks out 70 and has similar torque figures.

Okay - the dealer said that it might be because mine has loosened up over the years/mileage ... I dunno ... it defo wasn't as nippy as my 1.4 and sounded quite 'gruff' in a non-sporty type of way ??? A little unrefined.

So, you can see why I thought the performance would be the same as the my
MK3 1.4

I have to say that the 1.2 was very smoothe in the way it delivered the power, bit gutless at motorway speeds though and was doing 4250ish rpm at 80mph. The pull between 65 and 80 took 17 seconds and my 1.4 does it in 12.

My 1.4 does 0-60 in 12 seconds [easily] I didn't have the luxury of timing on the test drive but felt the 1.2 got nowhere near that.

Not saying it is a bad car though, just not for me/my requirements.

Cracking price though ... am now starting to wonder if I could live with it?!?!?

The 1.2 is a 3 cylinder hence sounding a bit tractor like in my opinion.

Get a 1.4 100hp. Its kinda odd you are looking to get a smaller size engine car. Bucking the trend there

 

[muddyboots]

Why dont you get a nearly new tdi or 1.4, you loose loads of cash when a new car depreciates anyway so save the cash and get something with a better engine and spec thats 6-18months old! It would already be run in and still have manufacturers warranty on it! And as for performance, surely the mk4 is a bit heavier than the mk3, which would blunt the performance slightly, and even if the car you drove did need to loosen up a bit more, its only a 3cylinder 12valve engine so its never gonna feel that quick in a medium size car! (sorry 1.2 owners!)

Agree with everything in Dozza's post really - go for something a few months old, get more for your money that's still as good as new and still with loads of warranty. My Ibiza was the only car I've bought new and I'll never do it again, you lose too much money in depreciation. Let someone else take the initial hit!
And yes I suspect the Mk4 is heavier than the Mk3, which will impact it's performance.

The 3cyl 1.2 does sound odd - had a few as courtesy cars - a mixture of aircooled 911 sound, but without the motion !

 

[a11y]

Without knowing the exact figures, would I be right in saying the mk4 will be heavier than the mk3? (as is the trend with the updating of models nowadays across the car market...).

Could account for the 1.2 mk4 feeling a bit slow?

 

[T. Spark]

Im pretty sure across the board a MK4 will be heavier, but the 1.2 engine thats in the MK4 is pretty light next to the 1.4 in a MK3. Depends on the spec etc

 

[muddyboots]

Just think how heavy the Mk4 would have been, if Seat decided to put any soundproofing in

 

[T. Spark]

Just think how heavy the Mk4 would have been, if Seat decided to put any soundproofing in

haha, true true

 

[cardaft]

Ive driven the 1.2 Ibiza too, I really liked it, i had one for 3 months while my arosa was getting waranty work carried out.

I liked the tone of the engine too, the nice little sound of the 3 pot engine.

I thought it had plenty of power for what it was, and it really loosened up after the 4,500 miles i had it for.

THis was the 1.2 SX, so had climate control, very nice well speced car, i even considered buying that very car since i had had the use of it from new. But i decided to stick with my arosa.

hav you thougth about the 1.4 100ps formula sport edition ibiza's, great kit given with it, i think its around the 8k mark. just my 2p worth. i have the 1.4 DAB 100ps edition, and its not that slow.[/

Alexandra Bridge Seat is about 25 miles from me, so i use that for my parts and recently a brake fluid change, their service is excellent.

They are currently doing the 1.4 100ps formula sport for £8995, which i think is very good value for what is a very well spec'd car.

Although i would now be tempted by a TDi