Sunny side up for Seat supermini

While Seat is part of the giant Volkswagen Group, its cars never seem to achieve the same status as their much-vaunted German cousins. Scratch under the skin of the new Seat Ibiza, though, and you"ll find lots of Volkswagen technology including the carmaker"s new design platform, which will be used in many of the German branded models in the future. We tend to look at Seat as being a Spanish car because that"s where its heritage lies and that"s where the cars are built. For those who venture the Costa de Sol"s sunshine for their annual break, the Seat range is well recognisable. But it is a Volkswagen brand and one in which the German manufacturer is having a growing input. The new Ibiza enters a packed supermini sector with popular models from Fiat, Ford, Opel, Toyota and Volkswagen all slugging it out. That"s why this new Ibiza needs something special to ensure its appeal. I"ve had the new entry model Ibiza with its three-cylinder 1.2 litre petrol engine on the road. This is just one of three petrol engine options for the Ibiza and it"s the most economical. If you"re attracted by styling, then the Ibiza will surely appeal. The car has a modern design style that propels it forward in leaps and bounds from the image of the model it replaces. The new Seat style, now a feature of many of the other models in the range, ensures its aerodynamics help the new Ibiza add thrift to its aesthetic appeal. This entry model car comes with a three-cylinder 1.2 litre petrol engine that"s also fitted to the entry level Volkswagen Polo. The engine uses four valves per cylinder and multipoint fuel injection to achieve what is a respectable power output of 70bhp. It is characteristically more noisy than a four-cylinder engine, but it accelerates well. The new Ibiza delivers average results in terms of performance and acceleration, giving a 0 to 100km/h rating of 14.2 seconds. Relative to the competition, this is at the slower end of the spectrum due to slightly lower power and torque from the engine compared with some of the competition. Seat has shaved some weight from the new car, dropping its kerb weight to 999kg, despite the fact that the new car is bigger and wider. That has been just about enough to deliver a slightly better acceleration figure than the older model. So while it has fast car looks and an impressive WeightWatchers performance, the new Ibiza is not the fastest supermini in the 1.2 litre sector. Smaller cars are today being rated primarily on their fuel economy and low CO2 figures. The new Ibiza shows no great economy improvement over the older model and that"s a little disappointing. Granted, Seat has a new economical version on the way, but this economy feature should be incorporated into all new models as standard and it should be affordable. In the CO2 rankings, the car shows no improvement over the older model. The changes in the VRT and motor tax should work in its favour compared with the past, however, Seat has done little to improve the car"s emissions performance compared with the older model. With a CO2 rating of 139g/km, it just creeps into the Band B for road tax, giving an annual charge of just €150. That"s at a time when bigger cars are shaving double digits from their CO2 output figures. To be really effective, this new Seat Ibiza needs to get the benefit of Volkswagen"s Blue Motion technology. And then that Seat style will convert into real substance on the road. I"m disappointed that the new Ibiza doesn"t deliver enough improvements in terms of economy and CO2 numbers, because this is a car that looks so well. In terms of features, the Ibiza has softer-to-touch plastics, a refreshed instrument panel and good seat adjustment. The boot is bigger and it"s deep. On the inside, there was ample headroom for me but rear legroom seems tight. The newly designed radio includes an integrated Bluetooth telephone system that can be activated via controls on the steering column. But setting the radio stations and changing stations is far from easy. On the safety front, the new Ibiza is well regarded. It came through the EuroNCAP test with a maximum five stars in the passenger protection test, with a four-star rating for child protection and three stars for pedestrian protection. The entry 'R" model Ibiza also comes with height- and reach-adjustable steering wheel, height-adjustable driver"s seat, speed-sensitive electro-hydraulic power steering, driver, front passenger and head-thorax front side airbags, ABS, electric front windows, six-speaker audio with MP3-compatible CD player, remote central locking and rolling code immobiliser. That"s a car with a €14,850 price tag. Moving up to the S grade adds about €1,400 to the price for body-coloured door mirrors and handles, silver instrument binnacle, height-adjustable front passenger seat, electrically-adjustable and heated door mirrors, electric rear windows, cruise control, front fog lights with cornering function, trip computer, double headlamps, headlights with 'coming home" function and an alarm. Ibiza drivers will wait anxiously for the new diesel-powered Ecomotive model, which almost doubles that economy level. Let"s hope that the price is right.