SEAT Ibiza review - Reliability and Safety

SEAT has had a mixed time of things in our Driver Power customer satisfaction survey. Over the years, the maker has never raised itself out of the bottom half of the manufacturer ranking, and it's a similar story for SEAT dealers. Past results have seen franchises finish rock-bottom in the survey, and the maker has consistently been the poor relation of the VW Group, especially when compared to high-flying Skoda. Things have improved somewhat recently, however, with SEAT itself finishing 14th out of 30 manufacturers in the 2019 Driver Power brands survey.

On the safety front, the SEAT Ibiza is a safe place to be. Every model gets airbags for the driver and front passenger, plus side and curtain bags, too. There are active front head restraints, autonomous emergency braking and electronic stability systems. An impressive roster of big-car safety options include tiredness recognition, adaptive cruise control, pedestrian detection with auto brake, a reversing camera and parking sensors front and rear.

All of this was enough for Euro NCAP to award the Ibiza a five-star safety rating when it tested the Ibiza in 2017. This included a 95 per cent score for adult occupant protection.

Warranty

As with rivals and other members of the VW group, a new SEAT will be covered by a three-year manufacturer warranty with a 60,000-mile limit. This is very average for the class, and well behind the five and seven-year warranties offered by the likes of Hyundai, Toyota and Kia. SEAT does offer an extended warranty that you must take out when you buy the car, with an extra 12 months for around £175, and an extra two years for around £300.

Servicing

Service intervals are every year or 10,000 miles, whichever is sooner. SEAT offers a two-year service package for the Ibiza that costs around £325 up front, or you can pay monthly to spread the cost over a longer period. Beyond that, SEAT offers fixed service costs for cars up to 15 years old.