2022 SEAT Ibiza 1.0 TSI FR Sport 110PS review
- Thread starter Jimbobcook
- Start date
@Jimbobcook - good, comprehensive review. I’m always keen to read reviews on the current shape Ibiza as I own a current shape Polo - a GTI+, so although performance comparisons wouldn’t be relevant, I can compare other aspects of my car with the Ibiza.
I agree 100% on looks - the Ibiza is a better looking car than the Polo - much more stylish than the Polo, with some interesting design cues. If Seat had produced a Cupra version of the Ibiza, then there’s a really good chance I’d be driving a Cupra now rather than a GTI
. The FR’s alloys have great showroom appeal for most prospective buyers. However, I dislike diamond cut alloys with a passion (poor durability of finish, easily damaged by tyre fitters, more expensive to refurbish than powder coated alloys). My favourite alloys were the 17” version on the pre facelift FR; I liked the design and they were painted / powder coated, so they were good for all round use on a car that’s used as a daily driver as they’d stand well up to all weather / road conditions. My car came with 18” diamond cut alloys and Bridgestone tyres but it doesn’t have either now! 
I would have much preferred the Conti Sport Contact 5’s that were fitted to your test car. I have Michelin PS4 tyres on my replacement wheels and IMHO they are certainly better than the Bridgestones.
The facelift Ibiza FR’s interior looks good but I agree with you on the air vent surrounds and I think they cheapen the interior of the car. If the vent surrounds had been black or dark grey without those little bumps they would’ve been better IMHO. I prefer the climate control panel in the facelift Ibiza to the the latest touch panel version in the VW Polo; the Ibiza’s will be much easier to use while driving than the Polo’s version. Interesting that Seat don’t have a RHD version of the gear leaver surround with the in-use buttons on the driver’s side; the Polo have RHD and LHD versions for specific markets. Agree that an armrest is a strange omission on the top sport model - I have one in my GTI+ and although I don’t use it as an armrest, it finishes off the space between the front seats nicely, and is a useful additional storage pace.
Interesting to hear your comments on seat comfort. The seats in my Polo GTI+ look very comfortable and supportive, but after 16.5 months of ownership, I still find it takes me a while to get comfortable. I’ve not had this in any of the four previous VW’s I’ve owned.
I think VAG’s 1.0 110ps engine with manual transmission is a good combination. My preference would’ve been to have a manual transmission, but it wasn’t available in my GTI+ (car is DSG only). It’s the first non-manual car I’ve owned in over 40 years of driving and it’s fine most of the time, but I still prefer a manual over a DSG / auto so I can decide what gear to use rather than the car decide this for me.
I can’t compare fuel consumption of my car to the Ibiza FR you were driving as it’d be a bit like comparing apples and pears but for the record, my long term mpg is around 41, which I think is very good for a 2.0 197bhp car.
Overall, I think Seat have done a good job with the facelift of the Ibiza. If I was in the market for a 1.0 110ps engined car, I’d choose the Ibiza FR over a Polo R-Line as I think the Ibiza is a more stylish, better value car. And I’d just learn to live with the red air vent surrounds. I’d probably change the wheels though………..
I agree 100% on looks - the Ibiza is a better looking car than the Polo - much more stylish than the Polo, with some interesting design cues. If Seat had produced a Cupra version of the Ibiza, then there’s a really good chance I’d be driving a Cupra now rather than a GTI
. The FR’s alloys have great showroom appeal for most prospective buyers. However, I dislike diamond cut alloys with a passion (poor durability of finish, easily damaged by tyre fitters, more expensive to refurbish than powder coated alloys). My favourite alloys were the 17” version on the pre facelift FR; I liked the design and they were painted / powder coated, so they were good for all round use on a car that’s used as a daily driver as they’d stand well up to all weather / road conditions. My car came with 18” diamond cut alloys and Bridgestone tyres but it doesn’t have either now! I would have much preferred the Conti Sport Contact 5’s that were fitted to your test car. I have Michelin PS4 tyres on my replacement wheels and IMHO they are certainly better than the Bridgestones.The facelift Ibiza FR’s interior looks good but I agree with you on the air vent surrounds and I think they cheapen the interior of the car. If the vent surrounds had been black or dark grey without those little bumps they would’ve been better IMHO. I prefer the climate control panel in the facelift Ibiza to the the latest touch panel version in the VW Polo; the Ibiza’s will be much easier to use while driving than the Polo’s version. Interesting that Seat don’t have a RHD version of the gear leaver surround with the in-use buttons on the driver’s side; the Polo have RHD and LHD versions for specific markets. Agree that an armrest is a strange omission on the top sport model - I have one in my GTI+ and although I don’t use it as an armrest, it finishes off the space between the front seats nicely, and is a useful additional storage pace.
Interesting to hear your comments on seat comfort. The seats in my Polo GTI+ look very comfortable and supportive, but after 16.5 months of ownership, I still find it takes me a while to get comfortable. I’ve not had this in any of the four previous VW’s I’ve owned.
I think VAG’s 1.0 110ps engine with manual transmission is a good combination. My preference would’ve been to have a manual transmission, but it wasn’t available in my GTI+ (car is DSG only). It’s the first non-manual car I’ve owned in over 40 years of driving and it’s fine most of the time, but I still prefer a manual over a DSG / auto so I can decide what gear to use rather than the car decide this for me.
I can’t compare fuel consumption of my car to the Ibiza FR you were driving as it’d be a bit like comparing apples and pears but for the record, my long term mpg is around 41, which I think is very good for a 2.0 197bhp car.
Overall, I think Seat have done a good job with the facelift of the Ibiza. If I was in the market for a 1.0 110ps engined car, I’d choose the Ibiza FR over a Polo R-Line as I think the Ibiza is a more stylish, better value car. And I’d just learn to live with the red air vent surrounds
. I’d probably change the wheels though………..
Thanks very much for such a detailed reply, good to know something I put down is worth reading haha@Jimbobcook - good, comprehensive review. I’m always keen to read reviews on the current shape Ibiza as I own a current shape Polo - a GTI+, so although performance comparisons wouldn’t be relevant, I can compare other aspects of my car with the Ibiza.
I agree 100% on looks - the Ibiza is a better looking car than the Polo - much more stylish than the Polo, with some interesting design cues. If Seat had produced a Cupra version of the Ibiza, then there’s a really good chance I’d be driving a Cupra now rather than a GTI
The facelift Ibiza FR’s interior looks good but I agree with you on the air vent surrounds and I think they cheapen the interior of the car. If the vent surrounds had been black or dark grey without those little bumps they would’ve been better IMHO. I prefer the climate control panel in the facelift Ibiza to the the latest touch panel version in the VW Polo; the Ibiza’s will be much easier to use while driving than the Polo’s version. Interesting that Seat don’t have a RHD version of the gear leaver surround with the in-use buttons on the driver’s side; the Polo have RHD and LHD versions for specific markets. Agree that an armrest is a strange omission on the top sport model - I have one in my GTI+ and although I don’t use it as an armrest, it finishes off the space between the front seats nicely, and is a useful additional storage pace.
Interesting to hear your comments on seat comfort. The seats in my Polo GTI+ look very comfortable and supportive, but after 16.5 months of ownership, I still find it takes me a while to get comfortable. I’ve not had this in any of the four previous VW’s I’ve owned.
I think VAG’s 1.0 110ps engine with manual transmission is a good combination. My preference would’ve been to have a manual transmission, but it wasn’t available in my GTI+ (car is DSG only). It’s the first non-manual car I’ve owned in over 40 years of driving and it’s fine most of the time, but I still prefer a manual over a DSG / auto so I can decide what gear to use rather than the car decide this for me.
I can’t compare fuel consumption of my car to the Ibiza FR you were driving as it’d be a bit like comparing apples and pears but for the record, my long term mpg is around 41, which I think is very good for a 2.0 197bhp car.
Overall, I think Seat have done a good job with the facelift of the Ibiza. If I was in the market for a 1.0 110ps engined car, I’d choose the Ibiza FR over a Polo R-Line as I think the Ibiza is a more stylish, better value car. And I’d just learn to live with the red air vent surrounds
I'm with you on the diamond cut alloys, the black gloss act like the b pillar plastic you got on MK2 Leon Cupra R's.
100% if CUPRA got hold of the Ibiza again it would be pretty amazing I'm sure but alas we're without and all we have is the 1.0L. The Arona sales blurb mentions a 1.5L version which would be nice but the config builder doesn't show it anywhere so I wonder if it's brexit hitting again or it's just not been released.
Yes regarding having smooth plastic with LED lights behind as that may of looked better but it's just a bit much for me lol
So, the seats, I wanted them to be comfy and they sort of were but like you mentioned it's just the longer journeys that just don't make it the best location for your butt.
41mpg from the 2.0L is pretty good going indeed considering the performance increase over the 1.0L, I did find it strange that the polo only came with dsg only, I guess the less options like that the easier it is to make I guess.
If I had one I'd swap the vents out for something 3d printed or even the white version from the Arona lux looked better. I think with the wheels I'd just get them coated on day of purchase to help protect them.
I'm puzzled as to why the 115 bhp version had a quoted 0-62 time of 9.3 seconds and the 110bhp is quoted at 10.3 seconds.
Torque output is the same and at the same revs, so where did it lose a full second in the 0-62 sprint?
Torque output is the same and at the same revs, so where did it lose a full second in the 0-62 sprint?
Was the 115ps variant pre-WLTP? If so, then the addition of a GPF on the 110ps variant post-WLTP may be a factor, or there may have been some other emissions-related changes that have blunted the performance. Also does the transmission used in conjunction with the 115 and 110 variants have different gear ratios that could have affected performance figures?
Agree with SRGTD usually when a gpf is fitted acceleration is a little down on pre gpf.And also manufactures tend to change the gear ratios . My old 68 plate Astra 1.6t did 0-60 in 7.2 seconds , the 2016/17 same model did it in 6.6 seconds.
This was down to a gpf fitted and my car would hit 59mph in 2nd gear so needed another gear change where as the earlier version got to 60 in 2nd.
This was down to a gpf fitted and my car would hit 59mph in 2nd gear so needed another gear change where as the earlier version got to 60 in 2nd.
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