SEAT Ibiza 1.6TDI CR Sport

SEAT’S Ibiza just got more frugal! The Spanish firm has brought its supermini bang up-to-date with the addition of the Volkswagen Group’s 1.6-litre common rail diesel engine.

Although it’s not quite as eco-friendly as the super economical Ibiza Ecomotive, the latest model packs more punch than the Ecomotive version and offers a better blend of performance and economy, without compromising rock bottom running costs.

With 104bhp and 250Nm of torque on tap, the TDI CR certainly has more punch than the 79bhp Ecomotive model, but it still doesn’t feel particularly fast. While it’s comfortable at town speeds and happy to cruise on the motorway, you’ll find yourself hanging onto the gears much longer than usual in order to make progress.

What’s more, the cabin becomes noisy at speed. The baby SEAT’s soundproofing is a little lacklustre, as there’s an abnormal amount of roar from the wind and tyres at anything above urban speeds.
The sports suspension keeps the Ibiza in check through the bends. There’s a little more body roll than usual, but for the most part, the car feels safe and planted.

But the Ibiza begins to make up for its shortcomings with excellent build quality. As is typical with VW group models, the SEAT’s interior is superbly built, with tough, soft-touch plastics, so it puts pricier hatchbacks to shame. The silver-look dash panels on our test car might not appeal to everyone, though – they seem a little garish from the drivers’ seat, but more conventional dark plastics are available. Outside, the supermini looks just as sharp as ever, with its angular headlamps and distinct, knife-edged bodywork.

At £12,985, it won’t break the bank and the spec list is generous, too. However, the Ibiza’s real trump card is its miniscule running costs – it sits in insurance group four and averages a penny-pinching 67.3mpg. Road tax is also cheap – low emissions of 109g/km mean that your annual disc will cost only £35 per year. SEAT claims to have one of the youngest target audiences in the UK, and with figures like those, it’s not hard to see why.