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New Ibiza is attractive in any language

Tuesday, 14 July 2009

Have you ever heard of motor car designer Luc Donckerwolke? Well, neither had I until I did some research on the new Seat Ibiza Sport Coupe. And by an amazing coincidence I began writing my review of this car on the designer’s 44th birthday. He is from Peru, now living in Belgium, has worked for Peugeot, Audi, Skoda and Lamborghini, and since September 2005 has been head of design at Seat. But enough about Luc, what’s the car like, I hear you say. Well it’s a neat, stylish, three-door petrol model which would appeal to young people and people who are young at heart. There is room for three children in the back or maybe two adults, but they wouldn’t want to be very tall as head room is tight. However, my family is not keen on two-door cars as they don’t like having to push the seats forward to allow back seat passengers get in and out. Just the way they are! With 70 brake horsepower, it’s a nippy little motor considering the engine is only 1.2. The front grille is very attractive, while the rear end is neat. You get a decent size boot and a full size spare wheel, a rarity in new cars nowadays. The sport coupe version is 17mm lower than the five-door Ibiza, which is not a lot, but it probably helps to achieve the sporty look. The five-door Ibiza made it to the shortlist last November for the Semperit Irish small car of the year, which was won the Ford Fiesta. I drove a red model of the sport coupe and it was very popular with colleagues who saw it. As with most other new cars the interior is predominantly black, but there is a fair sprinkling of red/grey on all the seats which does brighten up the décor considerably. It’s not a very long car, but you get reversing sensors. This model is fitted with a new chassis, designed by Seat’s parent company Volkswagen. It will form the basis for the new VW Polo and Skoda Fabia also. I cannot finish a car review without mentioning the radio controls. And the radio controls in the Ibiza are different, to say the least. You get just one button and the stations are stored, but not in the normal way we select number one, two, three etc. You press the scan button which give you five seconds of every station, then press memory if you like what you hear. It’s different and sometimes I found myself using the slave controls just the left of the steering wheel instead of the single button. There’s also an MP3 player if required. Seat name their cars after Spanish districts. Ibiza conjures up memories of fun-filled days in the sun. And no doubt the car is aimed at younger customers. Prices start at e14,910, emissions are low at 139, which means annual road tax of only e156. I found out that designer Luc Donckerwolke speaks seven different languages. Well the Ibiza Sport Coupe is attractive in any language.