SEAT has put a touch of Spanish flair into its popular Ibiza, introducing this sporty Ibiza FR model. Its eye-catching looks, distinguish this Ibiza over its regular siblings. The FR’s styling is enhanced with racy 16” Cartago alloys, newly shaped front headlights and fog lights, tinted rear windows, sports suspension, twin exhausts and colour-coded door mirrors and handles. This athletic appearance is also evident once inside the Ibiza FR, both driver and passenger are treated to a pair of sports seats, whilst the driver benefits from a flat-bottomed steering wheel and gearstick.
The beauty of the Ibiza FR is that its muscular looks are matched with a truly entertaining drive. Whilst there’s not a 2.0-litre turbocharged Volkswagen engine under the bonnet, its 1.2-litre TSI turbocharged petrol unit delivers bags of charm throughout the rev-range. 105hp isn’t going to impress some, however thanks to a competent chassis and responsive handling you can exploit all 105 horses and doing so puts a grin on your face. The five-speed manual transmission has a light gear change and is therefore easy to live with around town.
The standard level of equipment on offer is liberal, with Bluetooth and USB connectivity, air conditioning, ABS, ESC, ASR, EBA and XDS all included. It’s also a practical car with five-doors, a split-folding rear seat and almost 300 litres of boot space available.
The Ibiza FR has been a surprise hit for us, it’s a car that offers fun inexpensive motoring that will genuinely make you smile, as will the fuel gauge which doesn’t descend in any rush, with a combined fuel consumption of 5.1l/100km ( 55.4mpg) achievable. With 119g/km of CO2 emitted the Ibiza FR just nips into tax band A, benefiting from €160 annual road tax. Miles for smiles the Ibiza FR doesn’t disappoint.
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