First drive: Seat Ibiza SportCoupe car review

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The Seat Bocanegra was one of the stars of the 2008 Geneva motor show - but even so, few expected the Spanish manufacturer to put the car in production, relatively unchanged

The new five-door Seat Ibiza hatchback, we tested in May, marked an all-new look for Seat; the curves for which its cars are known have been replaced by a more aggressive and angular design and this is also reflected in the Seat Ibiza SportCoupe.

Sleeker and shorter

The five-door and SportCoupe share the same front and differ from the windscreen pillars backwards.

The SportCoupe is shorter and its roofline lower and has a new set of rear lights and a discreet boot spoiler.

This sporty look is continued inside, where the dash is angled towards the driver for a more focussed feel, and the driving position has been lowered by 22mm compared to the standard car.

The seats are wonderfully supportive with quality side bolsters and it's easy for most drivers to get comfortable quickly.

Seat has a style all of its own when it comes to interiors, and it’s clear it has injected more Spanish flair into a Germanic-feeling cabin. Different kinds of tactile plastics make for a more interesting place to sit.

Despite the lower profile, the SportCoupe still offers adequate headroom up front – although taller drivers might struggle – and a reasonable boot. At 284 litres it's far from the biggest, but swallowed two small suitcases and a laptop bag easily on our test drive.

Space in the back is limited. A 5ft 10in passenger found headroom to be very tight, although legroom was reasonable.

Agile Chassis

On the road, the Seat Ibiza SportCoupe rides very well, soaking up bumps with ease. The 1.6-litre petrol engine we tested became a bit thrashy at fast motorway speeds, but was peaceful at more sedate paces.

The car's handling is a bit more of a mixed bag. The chassis – known as the Agile Chassis platform – is superb, and will be used across the Volkswagen Group in the coming years. But the steering lacks enough feedback to fully exploit the car's competence.

The Seat Ibiza SportCoupe is an excellent vehicle to cover ground at pace. Overstep the mark at speed, and the chassis brings the car back in line without having to bother the Electronic Stability Programme (ESP).

The SportCoupe can be specified with two suspension configurations; Comfort and Sport. The differences between the two are subtle: the sport reduces bodyroll slightly, but both setups ride well and keep the car stable at speed.

Seat will offer three petrol engines at launch: a 70bhp 1.2, a 1.4 producing 85bhp and an all-new 1.6 which develops 105bhp. Seat says a choice of diesel engines will be introduced in 2009, although final details are yet to be announced as it is waiting for the next generation of VW Group's common rail diesels to be released. Should it take too long, it will opt for an ancient 1.9 TDi.

We tested the 1.6, and found while its initial acceleration feels brisk (0-62mph is 10.4 seconds); it required frequent downchanges to provide enough overtaking punch.

A seven-speed version of the VW Group's excellent DSG semi-automatic gearbox is available with the 1.6-litre engine, and slightly improves initial acceleration, but increases fuel consumption and emissions slightly.

SportCoupe Cupra and FR

Seat also revealed a pair of hot hatches will go on sale next year: FR and Cupra, which will both feature the VW Group's 1.4-litre TSI engine. This boasts a turbocharger and supercharger, and Seat told Auto Trader the cars' power will be in excess of 150 and 180bhp for the FR and Cupra respectively.

A low-emission Ecomotive version will also join the line up; and although exact specifications are yet to be confirmed, it will produce less than 100g/km of CO2.

The Seat Ibiza SportCoupe scored a full five star rating in the EuroNCAP crash test programme for adult occupant protection, four for child safety and three for protecting pedestrians. It counts ESP, head thorax side airbags (a first in the supermini class) and side curtain airbags among the safety kit.

Seat offer the Ibiza SportCoupe in three trim levels: Reference, Stylance and Sport. All models feature anti-trap electric front windows, remote central locking and a six speaker MP3-compatible CD player as standard.

Rather than offering an in-dash sat-nav, buyers can specify a factory-fit docking station for a portable unit which sits on top of the dash. This avoids carrying bulky mounting brackets and the security risk of having sucker marks on the windscreen – a tell-tail sign a unit could be left in the car. Seat will offer the docking station for certain TomTom models and are developing systems to work with Garmin and Navtec units.

Funky colours

New so-called 'fashion colours' will be offered periodically, depending on the latest fads. The colours available from launch include bright orange, lime green and electric blue.

And to continue this young and funky theme, Seat is preparing to launch a customisation programme, which will allow new car buyers to specify roof graphics and different colour interior trim.

No prices have been announced, but are likely to be around £500 less than the equivalently-equipped five-door.

So is the Seat Ibiza SportCoupe more than just a three-door Ibiza? It certainly has the sporty look, and can walk the racy walk – it just needs a little more feedback through the steering and some pokier engines.

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