Mazda 3 vs Kia Ceed vs Ford Focus vs SEAT Ibiza/Arona

[Ashley Weightman]

Hello all,

I'm looking to lease a new car on the motability scheme and I'm looking to see what your thoughts are or if you have any advice. I'm also 22 so I'm limited in what I can have.

I test drove an Ibiza today with the 1.0TSI 95bhp. I originally wanted a mk3 Leon 1.6TDI 115 as I loved the mk3 and I would ge eligible for one however the dealership didn't have any and they will be harder to find as the mk4 has just been released. I'm not a fan of the mk4 hence why I looked at the Ibiza and Arona instead. I could have the Ibiza/Arona with any engine/trim I want but I couldn't help but notice the turbo lag of the 1.0TSI.

I also have test drives booked with the Mazda 3 122bhp, Kia Ceed 1.0 118bhp and Ford Focus 1.0EcoBoost 100bhp. I know the Ibiza is smaller than the others but it's still good to have a feel of certain engines. My heart says the Mazda as it has a naturally aspirated 2.0 and turbo lag wouldn't be an issue.

Which would you guys go for? Have a highly specced Ibiza/Arona or go for the lower specced variants of the other three.

All answers appreciated, Ashley

[Condi]

Focus, personally. The ecoboost engines are supposed to be very good.

[heisthegaffer]

Not driven any of them but I really like the Mazda 3 and the ethos of the design.

[Ashley Weightman]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

It won't need wheelchair access, physically the person is ok getting in and out of the car

[Nickp82]

Definitely the Mazda for me, I think it’s a very good looking car and the 2.0 is a decent engine.

Focus would normally be up there but the 100ps version feels sloooooow.

Ibizas are pretty cool and the TSi engine is a good one but unless it has a much better spec that is actually of use I would still go for the Mazda 3.