1997 Seat Ibiza Reviews - Page 4 of 5

Loose covers on the side skirts.

Loose clips on the door panels.

No mechanical faults.

Love the car, but was looking for the F2 version.

Have customised the car a little, with an induction kit, a Superchip, a Remus back box and lowering springs.

This has improved the car's overall performance, but want a bit more really.

I would recommend this car to any hot hatch lover.

My Cup Racing has the rear spoiler off of the F2 version and also has the Cup Racing Sport stickers all over it. This looks much better than the standard Cup Racing I see around, but I have not seen the F2 version yet.

Occasional dashboard rattle (according to the interior temperature).

Rattle from the exhaust heat-shield (a common fault it appears from these reviews!).

Gear-box is not very slick and requires deliberate changes. Selection of 2nd gear was prone to balk during the first 5000 miles, but now OK unless you rush a down-change at speed.

This car is a seriously underrated, but that suits me very well because it has remained a relative rarity.

When I test drove before buying, I enjoyed it so much that I had to take it around the suggested test route a second time so I could cane it even harder. To put this in perspective you need to understand that I already owned a TVR V8s and a Ducati 916 so was no stranger to performance vehicles and might have found it too tame.

The salesman I bought the car from loved the Cupra Sport 8v so much that he had already parted with his own hard-earned cash to buy one!

For me the 8v Cupra Sport is better than the 16v. It offers excellent power from virtually any gear at any speed. It will happily pull high gears with no revs if you're taking it easy and delivers satisfying performance when you push hard. It does however run out of puff at 5000 RPM.

Particularly excellent feel from the steering and brakes.

Suspension is very firm and not so nice over pot-holes at low speed, but more than compensates when you are cornering hard.

I can truly say that I look forward to driving this car every time I climb into it, which is just as well really since due to practicalities it gets far more use than the TVR or Ducati.

The exhaust has all been replaced, steering rack and column also.

Passenger's airbag has been modified to stop noises.

Seat belts replaced due to non returning.

Dront engine mount replaced.

Clutch cable replaced every 10,000 mile service.

The car all in all, and is very competent, but under heavy breaking it squirms a lot.

Far too many small problems with squeaks and rattles.

Poor part standards.

Very poor dealer service, but getting a lot better.

Heatshield worked loose.

Passenger side door handle stopped working.

ECU became faulty - dry solder on one pin.

Water ingress caused by poor repair of the door handle.

A very underrated car with nippy performance in town and on windy roads.

Added a stainless steel Mongoose exhaust which improved the sound and increased performance slightly.

Price drop is alarming and I am finding it difficult to sell in the current market.