Saturday 28th November 2015

SEAT Ibiza Cupra: Driven

A bigger engine and a manual gearbox for the fast Ibiza, so is this finally car to beat the Fiesta ST?

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The fast SEAT formula is a familiar one now, but a successful one that continues to deliver impressive hot hatches: use proven VW mechanicals, cover them in a more stylish body with a cheaper price and job's a good'n. Paint it yellow - well, hopefully - and you're onto another great value hot hatch that owners love.

This new Ibiza Cupra adopts the mechanical changes introduced on the Polo GTI last year, and very encouraging they are too. A 1.8-litre turbo replaces the old 1.4, bringing with it another 12hp (for a total of 192) and 52lb ft (now a Mountune Fiesta-equalling 236lb ft). It's a lighter engine too, taking 7kg from the old unit at 133kg. Furthermore, the only gearbox option now is a six-speed manual, a total volte-face from the group and the DSG-only trio offered before. An exciting combo, right?

The Ibiza remains a sharp looking hatch too, silly exhaust fakery notwithstanding. It sits more assertively than the Fiesta ST but less aggressively than the Corsa VXR, the Cupra wheels and badges doing just enough to mark it out as more interesting than standard. But no, you still can't have yellow. Shame.

This is what we mean about exhaust fakery

Inside it is again quite mature as small hot hatches go. There isn't a wildly bolstered seat or racy steering wheel, just a well constructed and simple to operate interior that is certainly good enough, albeit fairly tame for a car with a 'Cup Racing' badge. Certainly though anyone jumping from a Fiesta will be taken aback at the improvement in quality. That may well count for quite a lot. It's a pleasant enough place to sit without really ever feeling especially sporty. The integrated Apple Carplay works superbly through; again you may scoff, but as connectivity becomes ever more important it could be a key advantage for the SEAT.

To more pressing PH concerns. As is the way with VW turbocharged engines at the moment, this new 1.8-litre is willing and responsive while never being particularly exciting. That enhanced torque peak is available from 1,450 to 4,300rpm, meaning it will haul out of hairpins really nicely; it's here where the cubic capacity the Ibiza holds over its rivals becomes most noticeable. Peak power is there from 4,300 until 6,200rpm, with the limiter at 7,000. So while the numbers show it isn't really worth chasing every rev, the engine is at least eager enough to let you hold a gear should the situation dictate it. Like flat out on a closed mountain road...

Yes, just over six kilometres of Spanish tarmac, closed to the public and free to drive as you wish once the disclaimer is signed. It's a real show of confidence from SEAT, both in the car's abilities and also those of the journalists... An Ibiza on twisty Spanish tarmac is enough to bring out the tarmac rally driver in anyone, so perhaps it's a good job they weren't yellow.

How is the car? Pretty decent actually, and better than you would probably think. The brakes seems less snatchy than other fast VW products, traction is good despite the lack of a diff or the VAQ system and it feels easily quick enough to match the rest in this class. It even gets fancy pants adaptive dampers, linked to a Sport mode with a bit more noise and some added heft to the steering. They work well in fact, providing comfort a Fiesta could only dream of while also keeping things well controlled enough, if not brilliantly, when things take a turn for the hooligan.

Problem is the Ibiza just feels a little too grown up when you really push. The driver aids can't be fully disabled, so when you do breach the limits of the front axle it becomes a scrappy combination of the traction control and XDS+ diff-aping system to contain the understeer. There's little that can be done about it either, the Ibiza less responsive to a lift than the Fiesta or the 208 and the handling balance rather prescriptive, lacking the excitement the best cars in this class have.

Furthermore, while it may seem hypocritical to now criticise a manual, the shift is rather lifeless and not all that rewarding. It's fine, but will never engage you like the best manual gearboxes. That you have to reach down a little too low for the gearstick is rather annoying as well. Ho hum.

It's best to think of the Ibiza then as a more mature hot hatch package concentrated into a smaller size. For those people who find the Fiesta a little too rowdy and the 208 too focused on outright speed, the Ibiza will be perfect. It's fast and fun enough up to a point, looks funky inside and out and comes very well equipped. For full real-world kudos, it's very comfortable and refined on the motorway too. For people who don't want to drive everywhere like their pants are on fire the Ibiza has a great deal to offer.

But isn't that the whole point of a junior hot hatch? They're meant to be rambunctious, feisty and boisterous little tykes of cars, begging to be thrashed at every opportunity. That the Ibiza doesn't ever feel like that seems like something of a missed opportunity, particularly given the very high standard set by the Leon and SEAT's positioning as the sporty VW brand. With UK prices yet to be announced, it will have to be a decent chunk cheaper than the Polo GTI for buyers not to opt for the full mature 'mini hot hatch. Apparently they are aiming for as close to £18K as possible, which it really needs to be with the Polo at £18,900.

This isn't a transformation of the smallest SEAT Cupra then, instead a worthwhile enhancement of what it did well before while also improving certain areas. One more manual and three-door only hot hatch is good news in our books! But while existing fans will find plenty to enjoy, there's not sufficient change to upset the hierarchy in this very talented class. It's becoming almost a cliche to state it, but you really can't have more fun in a hot hatch than a Fiesta ST. From a PH perspective that has to remain first choice.

However, there is one glimmer of hope to end on. A very speculative one, but here we go: next year marks 20 years of the Cupra badge, launched back in 1996 with the Ibiza. So how about another Ibiza Cupra R to mark the occasion? Take the 2.0-litre turbo, add the VAQ 'diff', maybe take some weight out and really give the Fiesta something to think about. Make sure it's yellow too.

Watch the onboard here.

 

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SEAT IBIZA CUPRA
Engine: 1,798cc four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 192@4,300-6,200rpm
Torque (lb ft): 236@1,450-4,200rpm
0-62mph: 6.7 seconds
Top speed: 146mph
MPG: 47.1 (NEDC combined)
CO2: 139g/km
Weight: 1,260kg ("in running order with driver")
Price: TBA

[W124]

I sometimes wonder if the 1.8 petrol unit is the ultimate smoking gun for the VW group. Unless they knew the diesels and over complex petrol units were dodgy, why go back to basics as they have with this?

I like Seats - I drive quite a few VW group cars (making a bit of extra money at the moment delivering cars) and the Seats are just a bit better resolved inside than the chintzy VW's and utterly bewildering Audis. Skoda have lost their internal simplicity as well. Plus, most Seats still have proper handbrakes.

I do a lot of miles and getting into a basic Seat is always a bit of a relief. Unhectic. I suppose I ought to write some reviews of the cars. I do about 2000 miles a week in a pretty divergent set of motors. I'm not a journalist and have no axe to grind.