Seat Ebiza - Review

Now, I’ll be the first to say that I have absolutely nothing against the Spanish. I think they’re a very polite, intelligent, fun, proud people. It’s a great country; it’s big, sunny and very pretty in places, and the food’s lovely. So I have no idea where my disliking to Seats came from. It wasn’t even based on previous experience as I had had no interaction with Seats until now. Maybe disliking is too strong. Distrust might be more accurate. I just had no need to go near them. I imagine that if you grow up with none of your friends or family purchasing or even mentioning a certain product then you’ll naturally develop a lack of interest in it. Though having said that no-one I know owns a Phillips Laser-Disc player and I quite like them, so who knows?

                                                                                  

After careful thought, I’ve come to the conclusion that it must have come from a rather old-fashioned stigma that used to follow Seats about; a sort of unsaid acknowledgement that Seat meant Spanish Skoda. It did. Now though, all has changed. Both Seat and Skoda are under the parental protection of the Volkswagen Group. An automotive powerhouse so large and influential that I recently heard they’re planning on moving the moon three inches further from the Earth. I like VW. And my mother has a new Skoda which is probably the best car she’s ever owned and that’s saying something.

Open-minded then. I would approach this review professionally, calmly and with reasonably high expectations. And the first thing that comes to mind: It’s nice. Some small hatchbacks can be a little generic, they sort of blend into the background. The Ibiza however manages to blend modern compact, functional design with a teeny bit of flair (I should point out this is the new one we’re discussing, on a 2009 plate. Let’s be honest the older reincarnations were a tad dull). I like the smoothness of the body. Some small cars have so many bumps and bulges on them you think they’ve got a disease and the headlight fittings are sharp and follow the curve of the nose towards the front grille giving a sort of purposeful demeanour. The grille itself has that odd U shape to it that Seat tend to use. I’m not really a fan to be honest; it makes the car look as though it’s got an unfashionable moustache. Though it’s not as bad as some of their efforts.

Inside is a similar story; smart, modern, functional and other positive adjectives. It’s airy and spacious. There’s good use of that chrome coloured plastic on the steering wheel and the instrument panel, which being completely symmetrical makes you think you’re in a race car, or a plane. The speedometer and rev counter are side by side, both surrounded by protruding cylindrical trim, with an LED screen separating them. So it makes it look as though all the readouts are guarded against anyone else’s view. I like that. It’s a tad blokey, but it does look very attractive as dashboards go. Also I wouldn’t usually mention it but the stereo is pretty good. It’s one of those ultra modern, gloss black affairs with one knob and no words written on it, just a mass of hieroglyphics. The whole cabin really is like the outside; somewhat plain, yet has some very good looking qualities. The only very negative things I’d say are 1- some of the materials are a bit, erm, not premium and 2- although the driving position was alright for me there wasn’t much in the way of variation; the seat didn’t slide about much and the steering wheels height adjustment comprised of about half an inch either way.

I said the cabin is airy and spacious, and sitting in the drivers seat it is, that is until you look round and see the back. There is leg room back there, but if you’re over six foot you probably wouldn’t want to do long distances. Though this is a small compact hatch-back, so what do you expect?

Driving wise I must admit it’s quite fun. It feels reasonably smooth on winding B roads but you can feel the road. It also leans into corners a little, not much but a little, enough to let you know that any faster round this bend and you’ll make a prat out of yourself. Now that’s a good thing. It makes you aware that you are nearing the limit of the cars road holding ability which to be honest probably isn’t very much. Being such a small car though it’s all you need. And talking of all you need we get to the engine. Now the one I was in had the 1.2 Litre petrol; A reasonably potent little thing if not a bit noisy. It had a rather mechanical thud thud thud sound to it which was fun but over a long distance I can see that wearing. It reminded me of a hamster. It sits there pottering about not doing particularly much and then when you’re all relaxed, settling down for the evening it jumps on it’s wheel and all Hell breaks loose. There is a good range of engines available here so do shop around. I do fear though that with a diesel this car might be a bit dull. Though having said that I was once in a Vauxhall Corsa three door with a 1.5 litre diesel and that felt like a tank: exciting if not a tad unnerving.

On the whole it’s a good little car. Enough excitement and variety to keep you entertained but at the same time it knows perfectly well that it’s not a Ferrari. My only concern is that it’s looks, interior, feel, engine etc might not age particularly well, so maybe not one to keep going through the ages. For the moment though, have fun.