My review of Ibiza 5DR COPA 1.4

[lucifer666]

This was my courtesy car for 2 weeks. Handed it back yesterday and thought I'd write a little review if anyone one here planned on getting one.

I dont really understand what the COPA option is. Just looked like a 1.4 sport to me from the outside. The 5drs did make it a lot more practical for the little one in the back seat, maybe worth the less good looking exterior of the 5dr. Equipment wise It was identical to my FR bar ESP which you would have thought would come with every new car today.

The review goes down hill from here. The engine and gearbox are useless. Around town the engine seems nippy and smooth, but after 30mph its TOTALLY gutless and has to be rev'd hard to get any sort of power. My 15 year old fiat bravo 1.4 was much faster than this. Its hard to believe that in todays day and age an engine could be so underpowered. This could be excused if were economical. It is not! On a 230mile motorway journey with an average speed of 65-70mph(crusing at 70-80mph intervals with slower average speed camera intervals of 50mph) I got an average of 40mpg! I can do anywhere between 37.5 and 42.5 in my stage one fr! So why would you even get this car.

Oh and btw at 80mph, in 5th, revs are at 3500. Maybe if it had a 6th gear economy would be better. My fr is doing 2500rpm at that speed

 

[J400uk]

I had one for a couple of days last week also, although mine was an ST:

Looks nice enough, but I don't really get the point of it. The interior space is no better than a regular Ibiza except for the boot is larger. A Leon would make more sense for most people.

Copa SE spec brings lots of kit. The electric mirrors, auto dimming rear view and auto lights are nice touches. The seats are worse than the old SE/ Sport models though.

Compared to my SC I didn't like the engine. It seemed to consistently achieve 5mpg less than I'd get in mine and felt like is was lacking in power. It had 5.5k miles on the clock so should have been sufficiently run in. My car has the old EU4 engine whereas this was using the EU5 engine that on paper should return higher economy. It also had the throttle lag problem that a lot of people on here have complained about making pulling away on busy roundabouts a bit scary.

They have introduced other annoyances on the new models, such as the gear change indicator that thinks you should be in 5th gear at any speed above 30mph and the wipers that stop whenever you are stationary. It also had an armrest, nice on the motorway with the cruise control on but gets in the way of the handbrake and changing gear in other situations. I was considering getting one for my car but don't think I'll bother.

The steering, brakes and gearbox felt nicer than my car, but I suspect that was just because it was new.

On the whole its an OK car but not really for me!

 

[lukeyyyyy]

Oh and btw at 80mph, in 5th, revs are at 3500. Maybe if it had a 6th gear economy would be better. My fr is doing 2500rpm at that speed

My 1.2 Corsa D was just over 3000rpm at 60 which is hard to believe, My cupra returns far better mpg on a motorway run and similar round town

 

[jaybro187]

i have the 1.4 5dr sport which effectively is the same car. As for power and eco your spot on, on flats seems fine but any i mean any kind of incline and you have to drop the gears even sometimes in 2nd. I can only get 34mpg out of it around 250miles for full tank. Ive mentioned it on this site before which others agree so not just me it really bad for power and eco and wish id not bothered now but im stuck with the car now

 

[VRSLOZ]

I've got to say the power delivery from my old 1.4 16v BXW engine'd sport really was shocking. Serious flat spot in the range, it's a shame I bought it before the 1.2 TSI version came out because that would have been the perfect combo.

As said before, it's a shame that Seat make a beautiful looking sports coupe and then shove a 15 year old engine in it, tried and tested but nowhere near where it should be in this day and age.

 

[loonymoon]

The engine was the main reason I changed from my 1.4 75ps ibiza mk4. It was reliable but a real plodder, needed serious kicking to get going. Loving my 1.2 TSI - in comparison it's like a mini-rocket ship, it just pulls and pulls from around 2000rpm where the 1.4 wouldn't get going til at least 3000 rpm. The 1.2 TSI is also very happy chugging along at less than 1000rpm uphill in queues of traffic too whcih makes it much easier to drive... must be the extra torque on tap.

All in all very happy with my upgrade to 1.2TSI SC sportrider ;-)

 

[NetworkMan]

Yes I tried the 1.4 before buying the 1.2TSI. The 1.4 had less pulling power than my 2002 Honda Civic 1.4 which is bigger and heavier. Particular on A roads and motorways, when the car was slowed to 50 mph by traffic going uphill it was necessary to drop down from 5th to 4th. It just seemed to have so little pulling power at low engine speeds.

j400k,
Are the makers specs (0-60 and max speed) the same for EU4 and EU5 I wonder?

 

[lucifer666]

Its a real shame. Do they do it in a1.6tdi? My father has one in his new golf and its very economical and in the right rev range has good acceleration. Comes with a 6 speed gearbox which is good. As long as this thread has stopped at least one poor bugger getting this car then im satisfied.

 

[J400uk]

j400k,
Are the makers specs (0-60 and max speed) the same for EU4 and EU5 I wonder?

On paper the performance levels are the same, but the economy on the EU5 is supposed to be better. However having done 100 miles in the one I had last week, I am convinced its worse than the EU4 for performance and economy. Its a bit more refined and smoother, but otherwise felt like a step back.

I can quite easily get 50mpg out of mine, and I rarely find the performance an issue.

Its a real shame. Do they do it in a1.6tdi? My father has one in his new golf and its very economical and in the right rev range has good acceleration. Comes with a 6 speed gearbox which is good. As long as this thread has stopped at least one poor bugger getting this car then im satisfied.

They do the 1.6 TDI in the Ibiza, but a lot of people have moaned about the economy been poor and DPF issues. Also I thought it was a 5-speed gearbox, my colleague at work has one.

 

[VRSLOZ]

Problem is Seat & the Stealers are all trying to punt these out, to anyone unsuspecting it looks like a great deal. Once you have lived with it for a while you notice how it does nothing well.

 

[VRSLOZ]

On paper the performance levels are the same, but the economy on the EU5 is supposed to be better. However having done 100 miles in the one I had last week, I am convinced its worse than the EU4 for performance and economy. Its a bit more refined and smoother, but otherwise felt like a step back.

I can quite easily get 50mpg out of mine, and I rarely find the performance an issue.

How many miles were on the car ?

 

[J400uk]

How many miles were on the car ?

5.5k, and mine has 30k.

 

[VRSLOZ]

Ahhh ok, well it's still kind of new but should of loosen up enough and I would have thought the newer version would do things a little better!

 

[rf860]

If they were going to stick to a tried and tested small engine, they would have been better sticking in the 100hp 1.4 from the mk4. I had one, and while it wasn't fast, it quite nippy most of the time. I had a 1.4 mk5 as a courtesy car and mine felt alot quicker when i got back in mine.

 

[G.P]

Problem is Seat & the Stealers are all trying to punt these out, to anyone unsuspecting it looks like a great deal. Once you have lived with it for a while you notice how it does nothing well.

My wife has the 1.4, which is quicker & more efficient than her 1.4 Fiesta was, she does 10miles/day, it does 40mpg & 45 on a run, she has no need for a quicker car, its our town car. I doubt the 1.2 would cost less overall in this instance. . .

Amazing what you can keep up with in this slow car around the corners. . .

 

[rf860]

My wife has the 1.4, which is quicker & more efficient than her 1.4 Fiesta was, she does 10miles/day, it does 40mpg & 45 on a run, she has no need for a quicker car, its our town car. I doubt the 1.2 would cost less overall in this instance. . .

Amazing what you can keep up with in this slow car around the corners. . .

100hp version?

 

[J400uk]

100hp version?

I think the question is more EU4 or EU5, as that is what seems to make the difference.

 

[rf860]

I think the question is more EU4 or EU5, as that is what seems to make the difference.

Suppose, however I can't help but notice that all these cars with claimed super duper mpg and low emissions, never actually meet the mpg figure in reality whereas the old pd tdis can easily but have higher emissions. Got to wonder what is actually better for the planet lol

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

 

[VRSLOZ]

My wife has the 1.4, which is quicker & more efficient than her 1.4 Fiesta was, she does 10miles/day, it does 40mpg & 45 on a run, she has no need for a quicker car, its our town car. I doubt the 1.2 would cost less overall in this instance. . .

Amazing what you can keep up with in this slow car around the corners. . .

I'd beg to differ, you should get a test drive in the 1.2 TSi, it might surprise you, driving the same way you'd more than likely see better mpg....

Each to their own though, my 2001 plate Corsa SRi 1.4 had more power, no flat spot and better MPG than my old Ibiza Sport...

 

[G.P]

I'd beg to differ, you should get a test drive in the 1.2 TSi, it might surprise you, driving the same way you'd more than likely see better mpg....

Each to their own though, my 2001 plate Corsa SRi 1.4 had more power, no flat spot and better MPG than my old Ibiza Sport...

I have driven one, they are great engines when fitted with a turbo, when we got the 1.4 the 1.2 was just to much money at that time for the extra power that she would not use. . .

I would not live with a 1.4 however, it suits my wife ideally, I posted as the OP was unhappy with this car, but it does suit some of us. . .