SEAT Ibiza FR (1.5 litre) First Drive 

IBIZA, non IBITA!

Yes, I see what you mean, but have a look at its competitors and you'll find the pricing is about right. Superminis aren't as cheap as they used to be. Take a look at the new Swift Sport, that's pushing £18,000!

Don't worry Mike, I did put the AC on in between breaks in filming. I can't leave it on as I'm filming as it's heard on the audio. Fear not though, I had enough visibility to keep safe, plus the camera makes it look worse than what it was. Thanks for watching.

You should experiment with a high cut filter. I normally can get rid of the AC hissing noise with this. Just a tip! :)

Mike Can you use a high pass filter with a clip on mic though?

@@CarObsession You can easily filter the sound afterwards.

How would you do it? I've never tried. Thanks for watching by the way.

Tottenham Hotspur the mighty pretenders All about that inflation my friend. Thanks for watching!

And 15 years ago 17k got me my SEAT Leon CupraR 210hp which I still have with 270k km on the clock. Its 1.8l turbo 20V is indestructible.

Nexus Achiles LOL its funny you should mention the Mk1 LCR because I own a Audi S3 1.8t 225 with the brembo calipers off it . And Yes the Engine's are Super, But complex , slightly problematic.

Very good question, and a tricky one. The Ibiza is the better looking car and feels more grown up, but the Fiesta is more fun to drive. I'd be happy with either to be honest. Thanks for watching.

slightly more my ass almost 10k

Also a fiesta st 1.5 200hp

I'd rather have this as it's better to drive, offers higher quality, and is more spacious. It is, however, more expensive, so you'll need to bear that in mind. Thanks for watching.

Hi there, thanks for watching, and thanks for the comment.

that doesn't sound normal, have you went back to the dealer to get it checked/fixed?

Cheers buddy! Thanks for watching

Thanks for the great feedback K C, and of course, thanks for watching.

Hi Tom, thanks for watching. It's funny you say that, as the steering did feel a tad heavier than the 1.0 litre model, but I wasn't sure whether that was my imagination or not. Personally, I think the 1.5 is worth the extra money. Both cars are great though.

Car Obsession thank you for the quick response. I’ll be getting a test drive arranged soon. I’ve currently got a polo mk6, which is so refined and a lovely car to drive, but lacks the fun factor. It appears the FR has improved it’s refinement, yet keeping the fun element so hopefully will be the perfect balance for me. Keep up the good work and thanks again 👍!

@@muddimert Did you get this car? I'm looking at buying a second hand one on the 18 plate.

Hmm, I think the power is fine as it is to be honest, the faster FRs normally have this kind of power. Yeah, you have the Polo GTI, but I still think an Ibiza Cupra would be worthwhile. Thanks for watching.

Car Obsession well it’s just a shame the fr of your generation was considered a hot hatch with same output as the polo gti. In today’s terms even the diesels have same or more bhp and huge amount of torque over the petrols. It’s enough for normal driving and over taking just wished it was abit more

Yeah, I see what you mean buddy, that's why I think a Cupra model would be worthwhile.

I'm guessing that they will wait until the manual becomes available for that engine, a DSG only Gti is a travesty. You can get the 1.5 mapped to 170-180 pretty easily though.

Jack Mc I’ve seen them mapped in golfs they make decent power

Hey António, thank you very much for the great feedback, it means a lot! Thank you so much for watching, be sure to subscribe to see more 👍

Car Obsession Sure sir! I do have the notifications on already!

António José Top man!

We don't encounter many moose in the UK, so I think we'll be fine ;) All joking aside, that's a fair enough point, but you can't deny that apart from that shortcoming, it's a safe car. Thanks for watching Umur,

Car Obsession Thanks for the review and quick answer. For me a car must handle great first then other things comes for me.. So I bought a new Fiesta 1.1 85 ps and waiting for 1.0 140ps to come to sale for my country (Turkey). Also I m not a fan of DSG :)

No worries, Umur, thanks for commenting.

Car Obsession Do you mind to review Ecosport model? If yes can you use 1.0 125 ps automatic version please. Thank you

Hello Umur, I will be testing the Ecosport later this year, but I believe it's a manual. I would imagine the auto will be the same as used in the Fiesta though, so if you want an idea of what I think of it, check out this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MFP8fUgiSzg.html

To be clear. 1.4/1.5 tsi Ibiza are a junior hot hatch. See you on the roads Ford ecoboost/Vauxhall eco tec drivers!

Hello John, thanks for watching. I wouldn't class this nor the new Swift Sport as a hot hatch. Both cars have a 0-60 that is too slow to meet this criteria.

Hi John, I'd class this a warm hatch if you ask me. A junior hot hatch would be something like the Fiesta ST, 208 GTI, Clio RS, etc. If Cupra decide to make a hot version of the current Ibiza then it'd be a junior hot hatch. I really hope they do as this is a cracking little car, so to not make it even sportier would be a bit of a crime.

Thanks for the positive feedback, and thanks for watching.

For me, I'd definitely go for the 1.5 litre. The 1.0 litre is a decent engine, and it's more fun that I expected, but you'd probably miss the grunt of the 1.5. If you can though, test drive both and then you can know for certain which you'd prefer, thanks for watching Mick.

Thats the plan. The 1.5 wont be available in Ireland until the end of the year so will have to wait until then to test drive. Thanks for the reply

Ah I see, I know it may seem a long way off, but I think you should wait.

Car Obsession not available in UK either until end of year. Production of the 1.5 version has been suspended.

benjyyy Where did you hear/read that?

Hello Asim, thanks for watching. It's difficult to comment as I've only driven the FR and the SE models.

@@CarObsession i understand

Hello Vhira, the FR has wind down rear windows as standard, thanks for watching.

But is there an option of adding electric windows in the fr version?

Going by the online configurator, now you can't. Well, you can't in the UK, it may vary in other markets.

i own a ibiza fr line and it has electric rear windows lol, english is not my first language but im pretty sure i understood that correct

Hello Michi, as I said markets may vary, but in the UK it does not appear to be an option.

Nodge X Yup, it's a cracking car! Thanks for watching.

Thanks for the feedback Jamie, thanks for watching.

How so?

How long is the waiting list? Some people have had to wait a few months for theirs to arrive. Thanks for watching.

@@CarObsession Well it was a complete factory new model and not showroom. She'll arrive in May. Not too bad in my opinion but sadly you don't see this awesome car often here in the Netherlands :(

What's the go-to supermini in the Netherlands? Volkswagen Polo? Ford Fiesta?

@@CarObsession There's a lot of em. I do see a lot of older superminis though, for example the 4th gen Ibiza and 5th gen Polo are quite common. I believe I haven't seen a new Fiesta more than once!

Ha, the Fiesta is REALLY popular in the UK - it's funny what's popular in different markets.

The Ford Fiesta is a very popular car in the UK - thanks for watching.

Hi John, thanks for watching. I've not heard of any issues and I would have thought the ECU is configured the same.

Same happens in every 1.5 evo engine. Havent heard of a cire fot it yet.

It seems to be a systemic problem. I don't think the 1.5 evo works well with the current manual transmission. DSG may be better suited. Personally I am very disappointed with this engine as it sounds rough and is hestitant at low constant speeds.

Strange my Mazda 3 2.2 150 BHP has a similar issue, it's quite hard to get a smooth change from 1st to 2nd from a cold start, it's like a hesitation not smooth. Sometimes try and change how I drive to remedy it.🤔

@@johnmitchinson9577was it ever fixed? Looking to buy one

Hi J, as mentioned at 1:12 it does 62mph in 7.9 seconds, thanks for watching.

TOM LIT8 Hi Tom, thanks for watching. That's a difficult to answer as there are a lot of variables to be had there. It's insurance group 19 if that is any help though.

Thank u

TOM LIT8 No worries. I reckon this would be too costly to insure for a new driver - the 1.0 litre would probably be a better choice.

grosniaco You're not the only one! Thanks for watching.

Hello Steve, thanks for watching. As mentioned in the other comments below, the windows don't look as bad as what they did on camera and it's tricky to have the fans on when you're filming as the noise causes problems with the audio. I was demisting in between takes and I always made sure I had enough visibility to remain safe. If you watch any of my other videos, you'll see that I do not make a habit of this. Therefore, I'd urge you to watch more of my content before making a final judgement. Having said that, my FR vs. FR video was shot on the same day as this video, so you'll probably draw the same criticisim. By all means Steve, I'm not saying you're wrong, but the ISO setting on the camera made it look as if I couldn't see out the car, which is not the case. I had to bump the ISO WAY up as it was quite dark in the car (even with my LED light) due to poor weather.

Hi Peter, thanks for the feedback. I've just watched the video again and it seems fine to me? At present 495 have watched this video and you're the only person that has mentioned this - could it be a buffering problem your end?

Seems perfectly in sync to me

Thanks God for that! I was starting to get worried. Thanks for letting me know.