1996 Seat Ibiza Sport review from Netherlands
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Failure in power brakes. Easily repaired by replacing a small valve under the bonnet.
Rattle in the exhaust pipe. Remounted the tail end and the problem was sloved.
Timerbelt was not replaced at 80.000. Small roller to tighten the timerbelt was also damaged. (bad maintenance by the dealer)
Disk brakes were badly worn out at 80.000. (also bad maintenance by dealer)
A slight vibration can be felt in the exhaust system at 2500 revs. Cause unknown, probably harmonics.
General comments?
My car is lowered 4 cm front and back, which, together with it's reasonably wide wheelbase, leads to excellent handling, especially in curves.
The 1.6i 75 horsepower engine is enough to accelerate the car from 0-100 in just over 12 seconds, which is about 2 seconds faster than most other 1.6i cars (like Vauxhall Astra, VW polo e.g.)
The interior is spartan and of reasonable quality.
The new alloys, DTM frontspoiler, Sebring double pipe exhaust and BMW M3 mirrors that were added after I bought the car have given it a sleek and fast look and have brought me many appraising looks.
The most appealing thing about the Ibiza is that it is a VW, but for a much more affordable price.
Moreover it looks much better and more sportive than the Polo.
Recommended reviews
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| First year of ownership | 1999 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.6i Manual |
| Performance marks | 8/10 |
| Reliability marks | 7/10 |
| Comfort marks | 3/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 7/10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 7/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 78000 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 110000 kilometres |
| Previous car | Nissan Sunny |
| Date of Entry | 15th January, 2003 |