SEAT Ibiza (2025 - ) review

While electric cars can be much more affordable to fuel than those built around combustion engines EVs don’t suit everyone, and the Ibiza’s simple, petrol-only recipe will still appeal to those seeking an easy life. In general, the Ibiza is more affordable than a similarly sized hybrid, too, and almost as economical. So long as you don’t spend all day on the motorway, the small petrol engines powering the car are quite frugal and will require minimal servicing and maintenance. The final cherry on top is that the Seat Ibiza will be cheap to insure.

The good thing about the Seat Ibiza having been around for a bit is that its mechanicals are well-proven and any gremlins have long since been exorcised. It shares its underpinnings with other cars within the Volkswagen Group, too, so buyers can be confident in their dependability. And as the engines are all relatively simple there’s not as much to go wrong as there might be if some hybridisation was added into the mix. Still, Seat’s three-year warranty doesn’t steal the headlines, and it’s capped at 60,000 miles after the first two years when some rival brands guarantee their cars for much longer.

The Seat Ibiza was last assessed by the independent EuroNCAP organisation in 2022 and, while the testing standard has become more difficult since then, it’s still reassuring to know the car bagged the full five-star rating in its day. All cars come with a Safe & Driving Pack with loads of active safety as standard, though it’s worth taking a look at the two optional upgrade packs as they bring useful extra features to the Ibiza that raise its ability in an emergency situation. Worth noting there’s no ISOFIX child-seat mounting in the front passenger seat, unfortunately, just the two in the back.

Tactile new upholstery and a lovely leather-trimmed steering wheel help enhance the ambience of the Ibiza’s cabin where you interact with it most. The FR model features deeply bolstered “bucket” seats which are particularly supportive. In all cars, the driver’s seat and steering wheel can be repositioned over a wide range of adjustment to accommodate a variety of shapes and sizes, though you sit lower in the Ibiza than you do in its Arona sibling and some might find the low-set driving position difficult to get in and out of. There are three seatbelts in the rear, but it’s far more comfortable back there for just two people as it’s not a particularly wide car – and there’s a prominent raised section in the middle of the floor as well. Finally, if comfort is your top priority, make sure you test-drive the FR model on its larger wheels and low-profile tyres before you choose it over a lesser car on more comfortable smaller wheels.

The updated Ibiza gets a slimmed-down model range, effectively broken into SE and FR variants, plus two different versions of each. The entry-level Ibiza SE features plenty of technology for its price point, including an eight-inch digital screen for the instruments and an 8.25-inch touch-screen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The sound system has been upgraded, too, while rear parking sensors, cruise control, electric windows all-round and automatic wipers and lights are all standard fit. The SE Tech, meanwhile, features a larger (9.2-inch) touch-screen, navigation, a rear-view camera and online services. The Ibiza FR can be distinguished by its sportier appearance and also gets dual-zone climate control, front parking sensors, a wireless phone charging pad and heated seats with a sportier shape to them. Go for the FR Sport and there are larger alloy wheels and a 10-inch screen for the instruments as well. Despite the presence of lots of technology, the Ibiza still has physical buttons for many functions, which we approve of. It even has a manual handbrake!

Although the FR brand was once used on sporty Seats, it’s now just a sporty trim line and none of the Ibizas are what you’d call hot hatches. Nonetheless, they’re enjoyable to drive, and though all engines are compact 1.0-litre units, they have character and plenty of low-down turbocharged oomph. There’s not much choice in the range, admittedly; it’s either 95 horsepower or 115 horsepower and only the latter can be had with an automatic gearbox. They’re perky engines, though, and both the manual and automatic gearboxes are good ones, allowing you make the most of the engines’ modest outputs.