Ibiza - Harsh Review

[gaffer1986]

Auto Express have given the Ibiza 3 out of 5 stars (compared to 5 stars for the fiesta and Peugeot 208).

Am I the alone in thinking this is a little harsh. Especially when you compare the Ibiza 1.6 TDI sport vs Fiesta 1.6 TDCI Zetec S.

Auto Express Link: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/seat/ibiza

 

[ethtechno]

I think that is aload of sh*t tbh.

Bad points:
Poor quality interior trim, stiff suspension, fiddly stereo

In the ibiza FR the interior trim is probably one of the nicest interiors you can get for an affordable sports car. The stereo isn't fiddly at all, you just need a brain to be able to use it. I don't know what suspension they expect?

 

[Jay1990]

I had a 2010 Fiesta ZS 1.6 Petrol from new before my ibiza

I can say on many points the fiesta was a better car, and i have the Cupra variant of the Ibiza. If I was buying a "normal" car I'd probs buy a fiesta again instead of a normal Ibiza.

Interior of the fiesta was a nicer place to be, the stereo(while updated in the facelift) still isnt as nice a set up as the fiesta. The handling was excellent even without tinkering. It was(facelift fiesta not so much imo) a great looking car too in ZS trim and up against even my Cupra, overall its better looking. The trim is very rattley, this was never the case with the fiesta.

Why you might ask did i get a cupra? Because its fxking quick and great fun, cheap to insure,run and tax(£15 more than my fez) the Fiesta wasnt quick enough for me.

3 stars is unfair though, I think 4stars would be more appropiate

 

[ayacoub92]

i agree with the above!

don't think i would buy a "normal" ibiza either, as they're interiors are just a bit too plain. i even feel my bocanegra is quite boring on the inside when you compare it to say, a corsa vxr, cooper s or even a 5th gen fiesta st. it's only the exterior styling and the fun you can have with the dsg box that pulled me towards getting my boc. otherwise it would have been a cooper s.

as for the radio etc, i honestly think that the soundsystem in my mk4 ibiza was FAR superior, i do feel that the mk5's is a bit fiddly, radio reception is sh*t too.

the stiff suspension in ibizas has never bothered me, if anything i like it better. my car doesn't roll like my friends cooper s, and to be honest i think its fine to live with. i do notice the difference however as soon as i drive any other car, when i go over speedbumps etc i always brace myself, like im used to doing in my boc lol

 

[insanejim69]

Kinda agree with the above 2 posts. Although my FR interior is ok and has a sporty feel, its certainly no where near as good as some other cars in its class. Some of the plastics are also very cheap and nasty, not what I was expecting from a VAG car TBH. Suspention is hard yes, but I kinda expected that from a sporty model. Radio is very poor, sound is terrible both with radio and playing CD's or ext equipment ..... although it is a very easy stero to operate overall.

Good points are, its quick (ish) , fun to drive, cheap to run, cheap to insure. Very easy to park, and very easy to make swift progress over some back roads if the mood takes me. and most importantly loads of kit as standard on the pre facelift FR, cruise, climate, power folding mirrors, tyre pressure monitoring system etc etc.

James

 

[ayacoub92]

Good points are, its quick (ish) , fun to drive, cheap to run, cheap to insure. Very easy to park, and very easy to make swift progress over some back roads if the mood takes me.

James

[/QUOTE]

that's what sold me my boc! nothing can touch it for cheapness to insure and run, still can't quite believe tax is only £135 for the year for such a nippy motor

 

[gaffer1986]

I agree with the poor interior quality. That has always been SEATs major downfall. The biggest problem I find with the fiesta is the fact they are so common.. Though this is probably because they are quite good.

Biggest problem for me is the fiesta's fastest diesel is very slow and the Peugeot 208 has a stupid steering wheel that obscures the speedo, etc.

Also, the 208's interior is a bit Rolf Harris.... little bit here a little bit there.... looks all higgledy piggledy.

 

[gaffer1986]

This is Auto Express idea of a 5 star car - even though it negates to address a very important part of holding on to your licence.

How fast am I going - how much fuel have I got?

 

[insanejim69]

Yeah but Auto express and even Autocar now are full of s'#t and just follow the sheep as such. Over the years I have always found "EVO" mag reviews to be un biased and full of useful info. Plus Chris Harris is a great reviewer IMO

James

 

[Jay1990]

Radio, forgot to add that! Waaay better in fiesta unfortunately but its downfalls are more than made up for.

Fiestas way to common as said before because they were/are so popular.

Jay

 

[Beazy]

Radio, forgot to add that! Waaay better in fiesta unfortunately but its downfalls are more than made up for.

Fiestas way to common as said before because they were/are so popular.

Jay

Radio/speakers in my 6.5 was amazing for just being a Fiesta, blows the Cupra out of the water.


Let's be honest though, the Ibiza (Cupra in particular) is car from the 'best' in it's class. However it is a great car to live with day to day and nothing out there comes close to running costs. Handling is subjective, not a massive fan of the electric steering as there is very little feedback from it but it works.



Anyone that has owned their car for 6months+ can pick apart the majority of the reviewers grumbles, they get the car for a few hours or even a few days and have to give their views on it in that time frame. We live with it day in, day out and know what it's like.

 

[Jay1990]

I agree, its the best blend of affordable fast fun. Not brilliant at any one thing(unless its mapped then, standing starts are hard to beat in its class lol) but its good at most things.

Very political response Steven lol

 

[naxtek]

To be honest, I mostly agree with the review.

I love my Bocanegra for various reasons, but it's not perfect. The 1.4 SE I had recently as a courtesy car deserved 2 stars at most! It was terrible. In "standard" form, the Ibiza really isn't a car I'd pick - as others have said, I'd probably pick a Fiesta if money was no object.

The only thing I disagree with is the fiddly stereo. I don't understand what they mean. Maybe it's because I'm a programmer and I don't find it hard to get to grips with tech, but I actually think it's very easy to use. Sound quality... now that's another matter, my Bocanegra has really poor for audio quality and the courtesy car was no different...

 

[insanejim69]

To be honest, I mostly agree with the review.

I love my Bocanegra for various reasons, but it's not perfect. The 1.4 SE I had recently as a courtesy car deserved 2 stars at most! It was terrible. In "standard" form, the Ibiza really isn't a car I'd pick - as others have said, I'd probably pick a Fiesta if money was no object.

The only thing I disagree with is the fiddly stereo. I don't understand what they mean. Maybe it's because I'm a programmer and I don't find it hard to get to grips with tech, but I actually think it's very easy to use. Sound quality... now that's another matter, my Bocanegra has really poor for audio quality and the courtesy car was no different...

Fully agree, the stereo is very easy to operate IMO. No clutter of 100's of buttons like I had on my Insignia stereo, lol. I am just wandering if the poo sound quality is similar to my MK4 Astra SRi I had. At first I always thought about upgrading the speakers first, but decided to get a very nice pioneer head unit, and OMG it just literally transformed the whole sound experience. So I wander if the standard headunit is just .... well .... pants !!

James

 

[toathus]

I really like my Bocanegra, and to be honest I also agree a lot with what I keep reading in the reviews.

When I was looking to buy the Bocanerga I looked at the clio 200, the Fabia VRS and of course the Polo GTI.

Clio the best performance by FAR. Steering is sensational as is the handling but interior is bad and economy, tax and insurance also a negative. This was to be a daily driver not a track car so even though it's the best car in many ways it's also going to cost the most especially at the pumps.

Polo GTI. Again, very good car but too expensive for essentially the same car as the SEAT and I felt it lacked the drama in the styling department. Interior very, very nice though.

Fabia VRS was the cheapest but also felt it. I can't really fault it as it's suppose to be cheaper hence feeling cheaper. It does what it's suppose to do and I'd own one and probably really like it.

There is also the VXR and DS3, again both good 'warm' hatchbacks but TBH never really interested me.
Porbably because I see about 3 1.0 or 1.2 litre Corsa's which look almost identical to the VXR, you know the sort? always in white.
The DS3 a collegue at work got one and though he loved it, it just wasn't my thing.

All good cars, all better at different things.

Now there's the Fiesta ST, If it was out when I was looking for a warm hatch as a daily I reckon I woulda got one. They just seem to be the best all rounder. 1.6T ecoboost, 6spd manual and the usual Ford dynamics. Can't really argue with that.

All perfectly good cars, all have their faults but I settled on the Seat.

 

[toathus]

I really like my Bocanegra, and to be honest I also agree a lot with what I keep reading in the reviews.

When I was looking to buy the Bocanerga I looked at the clio 200, the Fabia VRS and of course the Polo GTI.

Clio the best performance by FAR. Steering is sensational as is the handling but interior is bad and economy, tax and insurance also a negative. This was to be a daily driver not a track car so even though it's the best car in many ways it's also going to cost the most especially at the pumps.

Polo GTI. Again, very good car but too expensive for essentially the same car as the SEAT and I felt it lacked the drama in the styling department. Interior very, very nice though.

Fabia VRS was the cheapest but also felt it. I can't really fault it as it's suppose to be cheaper hence feeling cheaper. It does what it's suppose to do and I'd own one and probably really like it.

There is also the VXR and DS3, again both good 'warm' hatchbacks but TBH never really interested me.
Porbably because I see about 3 1.0 or 1.2 litre Corsa's which look almost identical to the VXR, you know the sort? always in white.
The DS3 a collegue at work got one and though he loved it, it just wasn't my thing.

All good cars, all better at different things.

Now there's the Fiesta ST, If it was out when I was looking for a warm hatch as a daily I reckon I woulda got one. They just seem to be the best all rounder. 1.6T ecoboost, 6spd manual and the usual Ford dynamics. Can't really argue with that.

All perfectly good cars, all have their faults but I settled on the Seat.

 

[ayacoub92]

great response ^^

i too test drove 3 clio 200s before buying my bocanegra. loved the way they drove, so planted on the road and you can really feel the road through the wheel. good spec as well with the recaros, brembos, keyless entry and push button start. but the interior....meh, its so plasticy and really isn't a nice place to sit in. i agree that they deserve all the praise they get for being a true drivers car, but i feel it would cost too much to run in day to day life. i've also heard absolute horror stories about there gearboxes failing after 10,000 miles or so!

the polo gti was far too plain for my liking, you get little 1.2s that look exactly the same as them. i'm also not a fan of the tartan interior, the ibiza is much better style wise.

i fancied a corsa VXR for ages, but you see FAR too many of them floating about. and i agree that those arctic edition ones are everywhere lol! falkirks flooded with them, they are good value at only £12000 with 0% interest mind you. i've had a shot of one and liked it, but its a bit unrefined and too chavvy for me.

if i had waited on the new st then it possibly could have been a contender. i really like the grill on the new fiesta.

i'm quite excited to see what the new RS clio is like, meant to be a 1.6 turbo with a dsg box! only available in 5 door though apparently which puts me off.

to me the mk5 ibiza is one of the most attractive cars you can buy today, and now that i have my bocanegra i wouldn't change it for anything else! best looking hatchback you can buy in my opinion, and i love the way it drives. im not a fan of the electric steering i must say, but as a daily driver i find it to be the perfect mixture of fun and economy. don't feel anything else can match the cupra's or bocanegras in speed off the line for the same price.

 

[insanejim69]

i fancied a corsa VXR for ages, but you see FAR too many of them floating about. and i agree that those arctic edition ones are everywhere lol! falkirks flooded with them, they are good value at only £12000 with 0% interest mind you. i've had a shot of one and liked it, but its a bit unrefined and too chavvy for me.

I think the Corsa he is on about is the white LE ones, white, 1.2 or 1.3cdti engine, black wheels, grille and mirrors with the XP Body kit. Easilly mistaken for the VXR's.

Actually funny thing is, I went to my local VX dealer to look at Corsa VXR's when trading in my Insignia Turbo VX Line, but insurance costs were high, road tax was high, and MPG was alot worse than my stage 2 Astra VXR !! ....... needless to say I spied my little FR sitting in the corner for sale, had a test drive and bought it.

On hind sight, if I knw about potential Engine issues, oil comsumption issues and all the other common problems with the 1.4TSi verion, I would have walked away instantly.

I think I shall do my reasearch a little better come the next few months for my new car

James

 

[ayacoub92]

aye that was the ones i meant, sorry, should have made it clearer!

haha i bought my bocanegra without knowing anything about the oil consumption. 3 weeks after buying it i had to put over 3 litres in it lol!

to be fair even if i had known about the problems i think i still would have bought it aha

 

[naxtek]

I really like my Bocanegra, and to be honest I also agree a lot with what I keep reading in the reviews.

When I was looking to buy the Bocanerga I looked at the clio 200, the Fabia VRS and of course the Polo GTI.

Clio the best performance by FAR. Steering is sensational as is the handling but interior is bad and economy, tax and insurance also a negative. This was to be a daily driver not a track car so even though it's the best car in many ways it's also going to cost the most especially at the pumps.

Polo GTI. Again, very good car but too expensive for essentially the same car as the SEAT and I felt it lacked the drama in the styling department. Interior very, very nice though.

Fabia VRS was the cheapest but also felt it. I can't really fault it as it's suppose to be cheaper hence feeling cheaper. It does what it's suppose to do and I'd own one and probably really like it.

There is also the VXR and DS3, again both good 'warm' hatchbacks but TBH never really interested me.
Porbably because I see about 3 1.0 or 1.2 litre Corsa's which look almost identical to the VXR, you know the sort? always in white.
The DS3 a collegue at work got one and though he loved it, it just wasn't my thing.

All good cars, all better at different things.

Now there's the Fiesta ST, If it was out when I was looking for a warm hatch as a daily I reckon I woulda got one. They just seem to be the best all rounder. 1.6T ecoboost, 6spd manual and the usual Ford dynamics. Can't really argue with that.

All perfectly good cars, all have their faults but I settled on the Seat.

^^^^ What he said. 100% agree. Except I must add another the reason I didn't like the Corsa is because it looks really chav IMHO! I'd have had a Fabia vRS but when you add on the kit you get as standard on the Bocanegra, the SEAT works out cheaper (or it did when I got mine!). I reckon I might be looking at the Fiesta ST when it comes to replacing the Bocanegra in a couple of years... will have to see