SEAT has introduced a turbo-charged 1.2-litre petrol engine in the Ibiza supermini giving the car greater performance and better economy.
The Ibiza 1.2 TSI pumps out 105PS resulting in a 0 to 60 time of 9.8 seconds and a top speed of 118mph making it significantly quicker than all but the sporty Bocanegra and Cupra versions.
Priced from £13,170 the TSI is some £3,000 more than the entry level Ibiza which uses a normally aspirated 1.2 engine but has lower emissions and offers average fuel consumption of 55.4mpg.
The TSI engine is already fitted to SEAT’s larger Leon hatchback where it has gained a reputation for being a lively performer.
The same is true in the smaller Ibiza where it delivers a lively drive – akin to that of a 1.6-litre.
We tried it out in a top range Ibiza SC Sport model priced from £13,490 in three door form yet with enough kit as standard to make it competitive against the likes of the top selling Ford Fiesta.
An onboard computer, air conditioning, 16-inch alloys are included in the price and so are a number techno features under the skin.
These include electronic stability controls, a tyre pressure monitoring system and an electronic differential which helps the car deliver sporty handling.
To help economy the Ibiza is fitted with brake energy regeneration and stop/start – the latter being refined in operation.
On a mixed route we saw 52 to the gallon on the onboard readout. When we went for economy we managed to return 61.7 which shows the systems are effective.
With CO2 emissions of 119g/km the TSI is not the cleanest of the Ibiza family – that honour goes to the Ecomotive versions which have emissions as low as 92g/km – but it escapes road tax in its first year and is banded at £20 a year afterwards.
For business users the benefit in kind charge is 10 per cent.
The sharp lines of the latest Ibiza have made the car popular with a younger audience and the sharp performance from the turbo engine will add to that appeal.
Even as a three door it’s roomy inside and while the dash is simply laid out and functional the rake of the windscreen causes some reflection mainly from the gloss finished cowl above the instruments.
Boot space varies from 292 to 847 litres which makes the car practical and with a fuel tank of almost ten gallons it has a very usable range in excess of 500 miles.
SEAT clocked up more than 7,000 sales in March giving it almost two per cent of the UK market – a record for the Spanish brand.