My Life My Rules: January 2012

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Seat Ibiza Ecomotive review

Had an opportunity to drive the Seat Ibiza Ecomotive while i was in the U.K. This particular version is the 3 cylinder, 1.2 litre turbodiesel, 5 door model.

Spec wise may not look that impressive, but that doesnt reflect on how it feels in the hands of the driver. The engine may only produce 74bhp and 180Nm of torque. Official acceleration figures shows that 0-100kmh is reached at 13.9 seconds.

At engine speeds below 2000rpm, the car feels lethargic and underpowered, but once it goes past that, the engine suddenly delivers punches way above what other 1.5 litre cars could do!!!. I'm now in love with small turbodiesel engines.

Official fuel figures suggest that it can hit 80Mpg's, and after driving from sheffield to london with half a tank of fuel left, i can confirm that they weren't lying.

Ride wise was comfortable, with much of the bumps being soaked by the suspension, while the torsion beam setup in the rear copes with mid corner bumps well.

The skinny tyres dont provide much grip, and the car rolls a little in the corners, but people don't buy this car to drive swiftly around corners aren't they?. The brakes are JUST adequate, and brake feel is OK, no complaints.

As for the interior, the front passengers gets loads of room, while the rear passenger suffers due to insufficient legroom and headroom. This car is better with 4 passengers.

I also had a pleasant experience driving this car, as the the steering is great to hold, thew controls are well laid out, steering has great feel and very direct, manual gearchanges feels great and the doors close solidly.

As a conclusion, this car would be a fine family car as it provides all the basic need of a small family. Great value, good looks,comfortable, huge boot. Whats bad about it is the poor legroom for rear passengers.