SEAT Ibiza (02-09) - Review

Review by Dan Harrison on
Last Updated: 07 July 2008
The sporty Ibiza is SEAT's sister car to the Volkswagen Polo (2002-2009) and Skoda Fabia (2000-2008) - all three share the same platform and use the same components. In addition to the sharp styling, it's impressively equipped, easy to drive around town and comes with a good choice of engines. It ticks a lot of boxes for a wide range of small car buyers and as a result is a very popular used buy. Changes from Spring 2006 include subtly revised looks (new front and rear bumpers and re-designed double headlamps), a better quality trim and improved equipment. This is most noticeable on sporty FR versions that now look more like the range-topping Cupra. SEAT added a tax-dodging, low-emission model to the Ibiza range in 2008, with the 1.4-litre Ecomotive emitting under 100g/km CO2 and costing nothing to tax as a result.
3.5 out of 5

Other SEAT reviews

4 out of 5

Running costs

The Ibiza is an affordable buy used, especially the smaller engines models. It also offers low insurance ratings and good fuel economy, particularly with the Ecomotive diesel. It's a sought-after used car, so second hand values are actually quite firm. That's good news if you're selling when you consider that you'll have paid comparatively less for it in the first place.

* based on most recent data

Estimated fuel cost for 10,000 miles per year

Unleaded

£1,306 - £1,753 *

Diesel

£866 - £1,257 *

The estimated fuel cost figure is a guide to how much this model will cost to fuel each year, so you can compare between cars. It's calculated by using the model's average mpg (calculated from both town centre and motorway driving) and the average fuel price. It's based on the following cost-per-litre: petrol 135p and diesel 141p. Prices are updated daily.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

Every 10,000 miles.

Warranty

Three year/60,000 miles.

Road tax (12 months)

£0.00 - £250.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

4.5 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
    99
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
    192
  • K
  • L
  • M

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

The SEAT Ibiza Ecomotive is one of the greenest cars on sale – and it’s free to tax as a result. It borrows the 1.4-litre diesel engine and technology used in the equally eco-friendly Volkswagen Polo Bluemotion and both models produce 99g/km CO2. Fuel economy is also astoundingly good - the Ecomotive returns 74mpg. The rest of the Ibiza range can’t quite measure up, though the standard 1.4-litre TDI does emit relatively low levels of CO2 (124g/km) and manages 61mpg. Green conscious buyers should give the sporty 1.8-litre Ibiza FR a miss, as it has almost double the emissions and less than half the fuel economy of the Ecomotive.

Find the exact engine and CO2