Seat Ibiza MK5 Buying - To buy or not to buy?

[everson38]

Hey Guys,

been awhile since ive posted on here as the mk5 i usually talk about is my moms mk5 09 1.4 sport coupe and nothing to report of late.

My little cousin is buying their first car and i am thinking about suggesting an ibiza mk5 1.4 sports coupe. As from my experience, they arent the worse to work on and still look very nice ,the only thing that has always tickled my worry with these cars is just that you dont see them about much, is that a good thing or a bad thing, i remember when my mom got her's back in 09, but i cant say if they were popular back then or not. So is everyone scrapping these cars in or was they never popular to begin with. Would love thought and ideas on whether people think this is a good car for a live away university student (female 20). Are there any major things to look out for regarding this car? etc etc. Eyes wide open here lol.

thanks

 

[SilverPilgrim]

I think the Mk5 Ibiza with the 1.4 n/a engine is a solid choice for a first or second car.

I have the impression that the mk5 Ibiza flew under the radar a bit in its lifecycle although I see quite a few on the roads where I am based (Southeast) in various trim levels. Possibly the rakish looks were a turn-off for some, who preferred the more conservative style of say the Polo or Skoda Fabia.

Underneath the exterior, the technology and parts are all VW-sourced. Reliability is good. It's not luxurious but the cabin trim and build quality is fine for a car of its class and generation. Many mk5 Ibiza variants come with a decent 6 speaker stereo too.

It's nippy around town and can hold its own on the motorway. Should do decent mpg and be cheap to insure. The 3 door sport coupe is obviously less practical than the 5 door but the boot is still a good size and you can fold the back seats down. If you don't regularly carry more than one passenger then practicality isn't an issue.

The naturally aspirated engines are not complicated and should just require routine maintenance & services. The 1.4 n/a engine has been around a long time and been used all over the VW group's range.

I would be careful with the FR versions using the 1.4 twincharger engine, as this one has a supercharger and turbo, and can come with a range of issues such as high oil consumption.

Overall a good choice for a 20 year old student and a bit different to the usual small cars that you see.

 

[everson38]

I think the Mk5 Ibiza with the 1.4 n/a engine is a solid choice for a first or second car.

I have the impression that the mk5 Ibiza flew under the radar a bit in its lifecycle although I see quite a few on the roads where I am based (Southeast) in various trim levels.Possibly the rakish looks were a turn-off for some, who preferred the more conservative style of say the Polo or Skoda Fabia.

Underneath the exterior, the technology parts are all VW-sourced. Reliability is good. It's not luxurious but the cabin trim and build quality is fine for a car of its class and generation. Many mk5 Ibiza variants come with a decent 6 speaker stereo too.

It's nippy around town and can hold its own on the motorway. Should do decent mpg and be cheap to insure. The 3 door sport coupe is obviously less practical than the 5 door but the boot is still a good size and you can fold the back seats down. If you don't regularly carry more than one passenger then practicality isn't an issue.

The naturally aspirated engines are not complicated and should just require routine maintenance & services. The 1.4 n/a engine has been around a long time and been used all over the VW group's range.

I would be careful with the FR versions using the 1.4 twincharger engine, as this one has a supercharger and turbo, and can come with a range of issues such as high oil consumption.

Overall a good choice for a 20 year old student and a bit different to the usual small cars that you see.

Thanks I appreciate the effort put in. You always worry of a first car being a lemon lol

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[SilverPilgrim]

No problem mate, let us know if you do end up choosing the Ibiza!

 

[camelspyyder]

The 1.4 16v is certainly slow enough for a first car .

How many left certainly doesn't show that many Ibiza Mk5 are being taken off the road, so they seem to last well.

 

[RUM4MO]

I think that the Ibiza 1.4 16V SC is still a good enough car for a first car, my daughter still has her one - bought new to replace at MK3 1.4 8V Ibiza Chill back in end of Oct 2009, these cars were aimed at younger owners in the first place. I thought that the FR 1.4 was a lower powered 1.4TSI without twin charger and that it was only Cupra that got the exciting but mainly wallet and heart breaking 1.4TSI Twincharger which should really be avoided unless you have much extra money held in reserve to keep your passion moving on the road.

 

[SilverPilgrim]

I thought that the FR 1.4 was a lower powered 1.4TSI without twin charger and that it was only Cupra that got the exciting but mainly wallet and heart breaking 1.4TSI Twincharger which should really be avoided unless you have much extra money held in reserve to keep your passion moving on the road.

The pre-facelift Mk5 FR uses the same twincharger engine as the Cupra, just reduced power with 150 vs 180PS for the Cupra.
I think it was about 2013 that they started phasing it out and FRs then shipped with the new (at the time) 1.4 TSI which is turbo only - this is a much less troublesome engine!

 

[Crossthreaded]

I think that the Ibiza 1.4 16V SC is still a good enough car for a first car, my daughter still has her one - bought new to replace at MK3 1.4 8V Ibiza Chill back in end of Oct 2009, these cars were aimed at younger owners in the first place. I thought that the FR 1.4 was a lower powered 1.4TSI without twin charger and that it was only Cupra that got the exciting but mainly wallet and heart breaking 1.4TSI Twincharger which should really be avoided unless you have much extra money held in reserve to keep your passion moving on the road.

By 2012/13/14 my '99 plate Cordoba Vario was getting pretty long in the tooth and I was looking around for a replacement. I had a few possibilities including an Ibiza and especially when I found an estate version was available I started looking at the various engines and other options. The old 16 valve with belt driven cam was one of the options and it certainly seems to be a reliable and fairly simple engine. In that respect I would buy one, but I found it a bit under powered with our twice yearly jaunts down to the south and west country (450 miles approx each way) in mind. The TSI's at that time had quite a bit more power but also had a chain driven cam (easily identified by the turbo and exhaust being on the front of the engine) and were getting very bad press for the chains failing and people facing crippling bills to repair. The twincharger, which I immediately dismissed as too complicated, quickly proved me right with many tales of it's own unique costly disasters. So I nearly bought a Jazz, which I think I would have regretted due to its little normally aspirated engine (might be different now it has a 1.5 litre option?) Anyway then they brought out the EA211 family of engines (Turbo and exhaust on the rear of the engine) with belt driven cam and a few other of the earlier engine's problems addressed. I bought one in early 2016 and it's been fine so far - now 3 years old. - Oh, there was the turbo problem, replaced under warranty, at around 2 years old. The replacement is a modified unit so the fault on the old one (waste gate related) should not recur. My neighbour in the flats over the road from us has one of these 16 valve 1.4's - 2014 plate - and it's been fine and does all she needs of it doing local journeys.