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SEAT Ibiza ST: Third report

Deceptively roomy supermini packs a lot in when we head off to a car boot sale

SEAT Ibiza ST header

Text: Dawn Tennant / Photos: Pete Gibson

September 2011

If there’s a supermini better suited to car boot sales than our long-term SEAT Ibiza ST, I’ve yet to try it!

With a teenage daughter hell-bent on redecorating and de-cluttering her bedroom, and my father nagging me to clear her childhood toys from his house, it was time to put our Ibiza ST’s load-carrying abilities to the ultimate test.

The dreaded prospect of a car boot sale had been staring me in the face for months, but the cheeky SEAT helped to take the pain out of the early start, cold weather and endless haggling that characterises these events.

Fortunately, overnight rain cleared by daybreak, so we set about loading the supermini at first light. The folding rear seats in the ST are very easy to operate, so dropping them was the work of a moment. Best of all, they lay completely flat without having to remove the head restraints.

Once you’ve done this, there is an impressive 1,164 litres of space to play with. That was easily enough to cope with the unwanted contents of my daughter’s bedroom. It swallowed our various bags and boxes, fold-up table and clothes rail, with room to spare. And as we didn’t have to waste time carefully packing the boot, we managed to secure a prime spot and get rid of most of our wares.

When it hasn’t been playing the role of commercial vehicle, the SEAT has gone about the business of ferrying me to and from work, performing the usual rota of weekend chores and making the odd long-haul trip to visit friends and family. Wherever I take it, the supermini receives a warm welcome, and I think 
it’s all down to the way it looks.

Former SEAT design boss Luc Donckerwolke used to work for Lamborghini, and while I’m not suggesting the Ibiza ST looks like a piece of Latin exotica, it’s sleek styling and well proportioned dimensions provide genuine kerb appeal. And the feedback I get about its looks is overwhelmingly positive.

Our long-termer wears optional 17-inch rims, which gives the styling a helping hand. I think they provide the exterior with a real lift and are well worth the firm edge they give the ride comfort. If I had my time again, I’d order a few more optional extras, but there’s good news here for prospective buyers.

SEAT has revised its ST model line-up since we took delivery of our Sport variant, which takes care of this lack of kit. The price of its replacement, the Sportrider, hasn’t increased, but it comes with climate control rather than simple air-conditioning, Bluetooth connection and our test car’s smart alloy wheels as standard.

Mind you, I bet it doesn’t come with a load of old board games and a pasting table in the boot...

For an alternative review of the latest SEAT Ibiza visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk

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4 Comments

MPG and interior

Has your mpg improved as the engine has covered more miles and is the interior ok in real life as the pictures of it sometimes look good and other times look awful?

By ShouldHaveBetterThingsToDo on 26 September, 2011, 7:28am

Re: MPG and interior

Thanks for the questions. We've only had the ST a few months but the MPG has improved from 31 to almost 35mpg. Dawn does almost all of her driving in the city – we'd expect this figure to improve again on the open road.

We're impressed with the interior quality - it's very functional and hard wearing, and it doesn't scratch easily. We'd like more kit but it's good for the money. Hope that helps!

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By Rhian on 27 September, 2011, 11:07am

Re: MPG and interior

It does, thanks. COPA SE looks very well kitted out for the money.

By ShouldHaveBetterThingsToDo on 27 September, 2011, 8:11pm

Silly Seat have forgotten to put stop start technology on their DSG models. Surely that is easier than putting it on their manual models.

By ShouldHaveBetterThingsToDo on 5 October, 2011, 12:28pm

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Pictures

SEAT Ibiza ST header
SEAT Ibiza ST front cornering
SEAT Ibiza ST dash
SEAT Ibiza ST detail
SEAT Ibiza ST boot
SEAT Ibiza ST lights

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Extra Info

“SEAT has a sporty image, but the Ibiza ST feels incredibly grown-up. The engine is smooth, the ride is comfortable and there really is enough room for a growing family.”
Luke Madden, Motoring Writer

Other Reports

REPORT

[+]
Praising an estate car for its practicality is an obvious thing to do, but the SEAT has a really useful boot. Its boxy shape explains only part of its appeal, as the rear seats fold completely flat, which is really helpful. It involves flipping the bases upwards and laying the backrest in their place. Many larger load luggers could learn from the little Ibiza...
[-]
There's not enough kit in our Sport model, but SEAT has addressed this. Its replacement, the Sportrider, has Bluetooth, climate control and 17-inch alloys as standard. Even if I had this kit, I’d still need a portable sat-nav to solve my route-finding problems. An optional dock (£35) allows you to fix compatible TomTom units to the dash to avoid wires trailing across cabin.
On fleet since:May 2011
Price when new:£14,700
Running costs:34.9mpg
Mileage:3,182 miles
Engine / Power:1.2-litre 4cyl/104bhp
Options Fitted:17-inch wheels (£145), metallic paint (£400)
Trade-in Value Now:£10,920
Insurance Group / Quote:12
Costs:None so far
Any Problems?:None so far
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