Today
I return to the dreadful world of the rent-a-car Economy class. For those who don’t
know what’s that, let me put it this way: it’s the class you’ll find yourself
in if you book your flights using cheapflightcomparison.com.ru, in order to
save 15€ (after 101 taxes). My case, basically.
The
current Ibiza was launched a couple of years now, so in 2012 Seat presented a
refreshed version. For the small, young (not very rich) families, the ST small
Estate was unveiled in 2010, also undergoing the 2012 facelift. Being a little
longer, it was possible to increase boot space to a very reasonable 430 litres,
adding a lot of practicality in the meantime. There’s an upper (fully covered)
shelf, accessible both from the boot or from the back seats, two small storage
spaces at each side (fantastic if you go shopping and refuse to pay for bags),
four lashing points on the boot floor and a 12V socket.
The
interior is similar to the regular Ibiza Hatchback, so space is adequate for
anyone under 1,9m tall, there are plenty of storage places, material quality is
mediocre in most places but built quality is beyond reproach. This is one of
the best equipped Ibizas I have driven, and I thought better equipped units
would have greater areas of soft plastics and rubber, but no. It seems
Volkswagen is still saving the best materials for Audi and VW itself…
What
really lets this car down though, is ride comfort. Seat’s branding as a “young,
sports carmaker” makes sense on, say, an Ibiza Cupra, but to apply a hard
suspension on a family car is as daft as to go on vacation to Miami and then
book the cheapest motel to save money. Some young fathers, and mothers also,
may say “yes, but I’m still young and I want to enjoy the drive”, but there are
(even) more bad news. Despite the hard suspension setup – and this unit even
had small alloys with tall tyres – handling is decent of course, but as
entertaining as cooking… if you don’t like to cook. Even so, the rear is always
settled and the steering is accurate enough, even if it doesn’t provide any
feedback. The remaining controls are typical VW: precise gear shift and
long-travel but easy to modulate pedals.
A
reference for the fact that high-speed stability on the Autobahn is nothing to smile about, as the car is
heavily unsettled by side wind.
This
unit had the widely used, not at all acclaimed 1.2-litre 3-cylinder petrol
engine. I’ve been extremely critical of this engine before, on the old
(pre-2010) Polo and Ibiza it really was an example of what an engine shouldn’t
be. Pathetic performance, absurd fuel consumption and an electric-motor-like
engine note made it as recommendable as a headache, leave alone a very low
reliability index.
After
2010, things have changed, sort of. It now produces 5 hp more than before (70
in total), but the obvious gain in performance leave me in doubt that the difference
is so small. It’s now way more eager, it lost the horrid electro-motor noise
and remains as quiet as before when not working very hard. Gear ratios are way longer
too, so fuel economy rose noticeably at speed. Mind you, it’s still very
thirsty both on the city and on the Autobahn, easily averaging 8 l/100km (35
mpg) in both situations. On some fast trips on the Autobahn, I even managed to
burn just shy of 10 l/100km (28 mpg), but that said, I saw 200 km/h on the speedo
for a couple of times, while going downhill, with rpm to spare. That’s how long
the gear ratios are. So, while still not being an economical engine, it isn’t shocking
anymore either. Let’s say it’s enough for driving around town and on the open
road, if the car travels unloaded. The thing is, estate cars tend to be full of
people and their respective belongings, and I’m afraid that on these situations,
this engine is not enough. But as VW’s TSI engines go mad drinking petrol
without the lightest of throttles, I would recommend a 1.6 TDI instead, it’s
effortless mid-range diesel punch more at home in such a car.
Verdict:
an adequate estate car for the city commutes. Practical, good looking and cheap
to buy and run. Flawed for everything else.
Vital data:
Engine
and transmission:
1198
cc, inline-3 cylinder, 4 valves per cylinder (petrol)
70
PS (51.5 kW)/ 5400 rpm
112
Nm/ 3000 rpm
Red
line: 6000 rpm
5-speed
manual transmission
Dimensions
and weights:
Length/
width/ height: 4,236/ 1,693/ 1,445 metres
Turning
circle: - metres
Empty
weight: 1110 kg
Boot:
430 litres (5 seats)
Fuel
tank: 45 litres
Tires:
185/60 R15
Official
performance:
Top
speed: 163 km/h (101 mph)
0-100
km/h (0-62 mph): 14.6 seconds
Fuel
consumption (urban/extra-urban/average): 7.3/ 4.5/ 5.5 l/100km (39/ 63/ 51 UK mpg)
CO2
emissions: 132 g/km
3000
rpm, 5th gear: 104 km/h (65 mph) – GPS reading (shown: 112 km/h – 70
mph)
Main
equipment: climate control, twin front and side airbags, radio with MP3 player
and aux-in socket, bluetooth connectivity, trip computer, 15” alloy wheels, ABS+ASR+ESP,
heated front seats, cruise control, electric wing mirrors adjustment, chrome
roof bars.
German
price in 2012: 15 500€.
Driven:
March-April 2013, 3200 km (2000 miles); car left with 18 650 km (11 656 miles).
Rating: 13 out of 20
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