Hello everyone,
I am a first time owner of a 2003 1.2 Ibiza three door. I have owned at least forty cars in my driving life and my last three have been Audis but 99% of the time I drive alone so I thought I would downsize, save on insurance and tax as well. I bought the SEAT because it was for sale within five miles of where I live and no other reason but when I saw it for the first time I thought what a nice looking car it was.
I have not been disappointed. Yes, it is a little slow accelarating compared to a 1.9 turbo but once you have arirved at your chosen speed it is a nice little performer. Having owned the car for less than a month I have yet to properly determine y fuel mileage not least because it is very difficult to fill it to the same level each time. The handbook says 45 litres but the first time I filled it I got way over that in the tank which surprised me. The next time I only got 40 litres in, the next time 50 litres. I have found the little vent device and now I hope to be able to fill it to the same level each so I can properly assess the mpg. So far I have an average of 47mpg out of it but I reckon it is actually much better than that.
Some of the things I like about the car. The washer jets do a fan-shaped spray that hits all the screen rather than a single jet that never goes where you want. The front seats are amazingly supportive. I used to get terrible backache after half an hour in nearly every car I have ever owned (except my Ford Maverick) but not in this little beauty. I love the indicators that flash three times if you just prod the lever. I love the soft-close boot release catch! The gear shift is one of the most precise H patterns I have ever felt. It is so light and accurate - I love it! I love the way the rear seat squabs lift up and fold - genius! These are just a few things I like.
What I don't like about the car. Being a three door I suppose, the seat belt tends to cut into my neck a bit but in the lowest setting this seems to be not too bad. The passenger wiper arc stops right in my eye line, not so bad if the drivers wiper can cope with the ridge of water - which it couldn't. One really wet journey was enough to convince me I needed to do something about it, so I did. I figured the passenger blade arc was so long it could probably wipe most of the screen on its own so I did an experiment. I took both wiper arms off and fitted the drivers side arm to the passenger spindle with the driver blade fitted and positioned it so it wipes as much driver screen as possible and put a cap over the redundant drivers side spindle. Admittedly it parks a bit high on the passenger side but, hey, I'm on my own most of the time. Result, a perfect wipe and no annoying things in my eyeline. That's about it so far, I haven't had it long but I expect the 'like' list to be much bigger thn the 'dislike' list. Anybody else got like and dislikes with their SEAT?
Bye to everyone who read this far!
Cheers, John the man of yaks
I am a first time owner of a 2003 1.2 Ibiza three door. I have owned at least forty cars in my driving life and my last three have been Audis but 99% of the time I drive alone so I thought I would downsize, save on insurance and tax as well. I bought the SEAT because it was for sale within five miles of where I live and no other reason but when I saw it for the first time I thought what a nice looking car it was.
I have not been disappointed. Yes, it is a little slow accelarating compared to a 1.9 turbo but once you have arirved at your chosen speed it is a nice little performer. Having owned the car for less than a month I have yet to properly determine y fuel mileage not least because it is very difficult to fill it to the same level each time. The handbook says 45 litres but the first time I filled it I got way over that in the tank which surprised me. The next time I only got 40 litres in, the next time 50 litres. I have found the little vent device and now I hope to be able to fill it to the same level each so I can properly assess the mpg. So far I have an average of 47mpg out of it but I reckon it is actually much better than that.
Some of the things I like about the car. The washer jets do a fan-shaped spray that hits all the screen rather than a single jet that never goes where you want. The front seats are amazingly supportive. I used to get terrible backache after half an hour in nearly every car I have ever owned (except my Ford Maverick) but not in this little beauty. I love the indicators that flash three times if you just prod the lever. I love the soft-close boot release catch! The gear shift is one of the most precise H patterns I have ever felt. It is so light and accurate - I love it! I love the way the rear seat squabs lift up and fold - genius! These are just a few things I like.
What I don't like about the car. Being a three door I suppose, the seat belt tends to cut into my neck a bit but in the lowest setting this seems to be not too bad. The passenger wiper arc stops right in my eye line, not so bad if the drivers wiper can cope with the ridge of water - which it couldn't. One really wet journey was enough to convince me I needed to do something about it, so I did. I figured the passenger blade arc was so long it could probably wipe most of the screen on its own so I did an experiment. I took both wiper arms off and fitted the drivers side arm to the passenger spindle with the driver blade fitted and positioned it so it wipes as much driver screen as possible and put a cap over the redundant drivers side spindle. Admittedly it parks a bit high on the passenger side but, hey, I'm on my own most of the time. Result, a perfect wipe and no annoying things in my eyeline. That's about it so far, I haven't had it long but I expect the 'like' list to be much bigger thn the 'dislike' list. Anybody else got like and dislikes with their SEAT?
Bye to everyone who read this far!
Cheers, John the man of yaks
