Ibiza 1.9 tdi sport opinions

[steve_l]

Hi everyone i'm new to the site, looking for some opinions on the following:

Having got a new job late last year I am having to do around 500 miles a week commuting back and forth.
At the moment I have a Rover 220 gti which is a great car despite what many people say about Rovers! The only problem with it is the fuel consumption is high with me getting around 30 mpg on a good run!
With this in mind I am looking to buy a diesel and am quite taken by the Ibiza 1.9 sport. I have had a look the fiesta 1.6 tdci but when comparing it to the ibiza, the ibiza seems more "solid" and better suited for motorway work.

As the jorney is mostly all motorway I need a car which is comfortable a cruising at motorway speeds returns good mpg, and being totally dependent on my car for commuting it needs to be reliable.

Is any one using a diesel ibiza for this sort of commute and if so how do you find it?What sort of mpg do you get? Is it fairly reliable doing this sort of milage? etc

I have a test drive booked for later this week but it would be nice to hear some comments from people who actually own the car!

Cheers

Steve

 

[Ibiza 130 tdi]

You should see 50mpg easily on the motorway.

Mine was a 130.



Oh...and PLEASE don't call them tdci's. They aren't Ford's. These are better.

These are PD's. It's a comfortable enough ride but can be choppy. Depends what you're used to. I personally like the ride. Stiff but not too ott.

 

[wolfie]

I have a 1.4 FS and I get 47 to the gallon on the motorway

 

[CHR15B]

I do 400 miles a week in my Ibiza. It's a Sport TDI with the 130 BHP engine and 6-Speed gearbox. (This engine was discontinued in the Sport range in 2004, and was then found in the FR... newer Sports have a 100 BHP engine with a 5-Speed gearbox)

Since owning the car I have never seen under 50MPG and average around 53 at the moment but get more on a long run - I do about two hours travelling each day and find the Seats in the car very comfortable and the power of the engine is more than adequate for taking off, overtaking etc.

On the motorway I tend to cruise at 80-85 MPH and at this the cars doing around the 2,000 RPM mark and gives off very little noise - the car does not sound like its sitting at high revs like a small-engined petrol car would do.

The big down side to the Ibiza Mk4 is the quality of the interior - it's really poor and lets the car down, but to be honest it'll feel good to yourself if your coming from a Rover!

I bought the car with 46K on it and it now has 68K and I've not had a single problem with it. Same with my previous car, it was a Toledo TDI and I done 40K in that, no problems at all. My friend who has a Focus 1.8 TDCI has had endless problems with his car, two turbo's and a lot of smoke issues - it only has 23K on the clock and is a year newer than mines!

Hope this helps!

 

[steve_l]

Cheers guys, they were the sort of figures i was hoping to see!

(oh and changed title now Ibiza 130 tdi - thanks for enlightening me!)

 

[Rosco906]

if u cant get a tdi 130 the 100bhp is still good

right it dont have the 6 speed box and 30bhp more pony's but simple remap can cure that

 

[Ibiza 130 tdi]

Depends how you drive bud at the end of the day. If you were born with the same thing that I was (playful right foot) then you'll see lower mpg. But I find mine seems to be economic nearer the 80 - 90 mph mark than the 70 mph.

 

[muddyboots]

The big down side to the Ibiza Mk4 is the quality of the interior - it's really poor and lets the car down, but to be honest it'll feel good to yourself if your coming from a Rover!

Have to agree - the Ibiza might not have the best interior in the world, but it was still leagues ahead of the Rover 200 I had before it!


I cover about 500 miles per week in my remapped 03 TDI Sport, although none of it is motorway.
Over the last 1000 miles or so my trip computer is showing an average of 51mpg.

It will depend on how you drive it, but I think you'd struggle to see below 45mpg. If it spends most of it's life on the motorway, with a smooth driving style and no silly speeds you should get 50+ no problem.

By the way, the Passat TDI 130 (same engine as the Ibiza) I just got rid of was on 144,000 miles. My Ibiza is now on 99,000 miles. Service them properly and they'll cover mega miles.
Just make sure you use the right oil (plenty of threads on this, just search for "505.01").

 

[muddyboots]

But I find mine seems to be economic nearer the 80 - 90 mph mark than the 70 mph.

I find this too, whenever I'm on motorways in 6th it seems more efficient around 80mph than 70. Guess the engine must be at it's most efficient RPM, I think if you looked at a dyno plot you'd probably see this is where the engine generates most torque.

 

[keefy]

Up until last October I was doing 520 miles/week commuting (52miles each way) in my 130Sport. I was averaging anywhere between 54 and 58mpg typically with the odd week here and there being higher/lower.
I also test drove the 1.6TDCi Fiesta ZetecS. It handled much better and would have given better mpg, but it does feel more like a 'small' car and does't have as much ooomph. Plus they tend to be more pricey.
The only thing about mine that I don't like is the lack of sound insulation - it can be a little intrusive on certain roads and there is the odd cabin rattle here and there.
The ride is also pretty harsh so best to take one out and see what you think on the sort of roads you'll be driving on. There's certain country roads near me where I can go ~10mph faster in my partner's Ford Ka as the ride is so much better - in mine the suspension hits the bump stops!

As for reliability - I did 30k miles in my 1st yr without a hiccup.

 

[The Ginge]

I have a 2003 03 plate Black Ibiza 130BHP Tdi Sport and I would say it is a very good car except that in my personal experience I don't trust its relability once over 50,000 miles! It has now done 61,000 miles. I bought it at 6000 miles in 2004 and most of these miles are motorway, dual carrigeway miles.

Be wary though!

Since July 2007 I have spent just over £2200 on repairs!! In July last year it needed a new back windscreen motor, front wishbone bushes had gone, also standard timing belt change in that amongst other little things, added up to £900 approx (Not a dealer)

Then a couple of weeks ago 1st & 2nd went, a selector fork in the gearbox went and then went on a tour of the Gearbox so it needed to be reconditioned, that cost £1300 with a new clutch! And that was less than half the price that a dealer quoted!

While it was in warrenty it needed a new air con compressor, at 2 years old, and also just under 3 years old it needed a new radiator.

So including the warrenty repairs it has needed approx £3000 in repairs since I bought it.

Sadly at the moment I can't afford to replace the heap so have to stick with it but hopefully in a 2 years time I will be back to the run of changing every 2 to 3 years!

I will NOT be buying another again unless I buy one that is a year old and the dealer throws in an extended year warrenty over and above what is left with it, otherwise I will be looking elsewhere.

The above is just personal experience and might not have happend to others!!!

To the topic in hand, day to day reliability is fine, has never failed to start and never broken down as such, apart from the gearbox but I wasn't stranded as still had other gears. Also it is good for motorway cruising as that is what most of my miles have been. It often returns 50-55 MPG in the warmer months, often drops just below that in the winter when you are using heating and things like that lots. Although since my timing belt change it hasn't managed over 52MPG between fill ups!!

 

[steve_l]

Thanks for all you input guys, had a test drive today and liked the car so took the plunge and ordered a 1.9 tdi Sport DAB in Zenith Grey. Can't wait to pick it up!