Filed under: Latest News
The season is ripe for an Ibiza overhaul, so that's what SEAT has done. It's not that different, really, but as with all these things, the face looks a little more attractive now and the car is a slightly more alluring buying prospect.
All three body styles get the overhaul (because it would be weird if one of them didn't), which includes more rakish headlamps and an interior with improved quality. So far, so predictable. One day a car company will make a model update lower quality and uglier, and blame the bankers for doing so. How we long for that day...
The Ibiza gets the Portable Media System (PMS - yes, that's right) that Volkswagen debuted with the Up, but which SEAT naturally pilfered for its version, the Mii. The Ibiza was launched with an innovative docking system that allowed a portable sat nav (cheaper than an integrated one) to be neatly docked on the dash top. The PMS compliments that setup. Driving with PMS is easier and more enjoyable, you might say.
The new lamps can be had with optional bi-xenon bulbs and, obviously, daytime running LEDs.
Inside, new colours and materials (probably all still shades of grey, mind) freshen up a cabin that SEAT says is also better quality than before. The climate control is re-designed for easier use, and, in a fit of practicality that will probably go unappreciated by SEAT's yoof-ful buyers, the glove box is bigger. It can now stow a hat, too.
The most eco-friendly version emits just 89g/km thanks to a 1.2-litre TDI diesel engine, which equates to a mammoth 83.1mpg, while at the other end of the spectrum, the 148bhp 1.4-litre TSI (that's the super- and turbocharged engine) goes into the ST estate now. All versions get the aforementioned 1.2 TDI, too, badged E Ecomotive, which has 74bhp.
Volkswagen Group's common-as-someone-from-Geordie-Shore 141bhp 2.0 TDI diesel goes into all versions of the Ibiza too - the most powerful diesel in the supermini segment, innit.
Five- and six-speed manual transmissions are available, as is a twin-clutch DSG automatic, as an option on some versions and standard on more powerful stuff.
The new car goes on sale in Spring, and an updated Ibiza Cupra is due a couple of months later.
