What is it?
The Seat Ibiza Ecomotive is, as its name implies, Seat’s realisation of a low-emission supermini.
Reducing the emissions of a luxury car by, say, 20 per cent, is hard but can be done without affecting its driver’s quality of life.
Doing the same to a supermini is more difficult. Superminis are, by definition, small and light already, and priced so that a lot of technology is prohibitive.
The route Seat has taken with the Ibiza Ecomotive is one we’ll see more of. My bet is that that by 2015 stand-alone ‘eco’ variants won’t exist. All superminis will do, at least in part, what the Ecomotive does.
What’s it like?
To attain its 98g/km level of carbon dioxide emissions, the Ibiza Ecomotive has a three-cylinder, 1.4 turbodiesel, very leggy gearing, narrow, low-resistance tyres and more aerodynamic efficiency than the standard Ibiza.
The upshot is impressive; at its launch the only supermini to match the Ibiza for 76.3mpg economy is the Ford Fiesta Econetic, which plays by largely the same rules.
The Ibiza is a reasonably competitive supermini, if less pleasing to drive than its most dynamic rivals.
Its three-pot diesel thrums away loudly, particularly so if it’s being asked to pull at the low revs where it returns its best economy. The ride is no better than reasonable, either, occasionally crashing around town, and it’s no great fun to steer.
Maybe these are sacrifices Seat accepted to win the numbers game. The Ibiza Ecomotive does that easily, undercutting most of its rivals. It’s carefully equipped, too: air conditioning is standard on the Ibiza (optional or not available on some rivals) but in return you have to manually adjust the Ibiza’s door mirrors. That’s a trade-off I could live with.
And the real-world economy? Holding 60mpg-plus is simple enough and, admittedly over the quiet roads on which I tried the car, I maintained over 70mpg without getting in anyone’s way.
Should I buy one?
For those who want a supermini that’s as refined as possible and which drives with dynamic qualities from the upper end of the class, the Ecomotive probably isn’t the right car.
But for drivers who value economy and cost above driving qualities - which presumably many buyers of eco models do - the Ibiza Ecomotive stacks up extremely well.
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Re: Seat Ibiza 1.4 TDI Ecomotive
Actually believe it or not your dealer has a point
most diesels, and especially the vag group engines start to really loosen up between about 7-12k miles. Give it a bit more time and you should notice a difference.
I have to say though i'm not sure exactly why you're complaining with 62mpg? - the ibiza is a bigger (assuming the clio dci is the older shape model) car and will never get you quite the same mpg.
Also, 62mpg is an amazing figure to be getting in the first place. My 2.0 tdci does about 45mpg average - although i dare say i have more fun along the way!
Re: Seat Ibiza 1.4 TDI Ecomotive
VW group diesels are well known for taking a long time to 'run in'. I'd wait until at least 10k miles and see if there is an improvement in mpg.
Re: Seat Ibiza 1.4 TDI Ecomotive
I recently purchased a Seat Ibiza Ecomotive because of its impressive fuel consumption figures to repace my Renault Clio 1.5 TDI. However I have to express my extreme disappointment that the Ibiza is not able to match the fuel consumption of my Clio, even though its official fuel consumption figures are significantly better across the range.
My Clio used to average 70 mpg on my 25 mile rural journey into work, I'm hard pressed to match this on the Ibiza's fuel consumption display without reducing my speed to below 50 mph and working very hard to drive as economically as possible. To make matters worse the onboard display over estimates mpg by at least 10%, so my actual average fuel consumption is working out to be 62 mpg.
I returned the car to the dealer but they could find no fault, and have suggested that it takes at least 7000 miles to run these engines in and achieve maximum fuel economy! I've now done 5000 miles and there has been no improvement to date.
I would be interested in hearing other users' experiences of the Seat Ibiza Ecomotive's fuel consumption.
For anyone considering purchasing this car because of its impressive fuel consumption figures, think again. If you already own an economical small diesel you may find that the Ibiza Ecomotive is no better, or even worse. You will be paying a high premium to purchase a version of the Ibiza with an old fashioned non common rail engine, poorer road holding and no spare wheel.