Seat has revealed the 2017 Seat Ibiza, the fifth generation of the B-segment hatchback that goes against the Volkswagen Polo, new Ford Fiesta, Renault Clio, Peugeot 208 and Opel/Vauxhall Corsa. This time, the Ibiza will be available solely in five-door hatch form, as the three-door and wagon have been dropped.
With 5.4 million units sold since 1984, the Ibiza an important product for VW’s Spanish brand. It is described as one of the three main pillars in the range, along the bigger and just-facelifted Leon and Ateca SUV. The fact that the new Ibiza is the first VW Group car to use the new MQB A0 modular platform, ahead of the next-gen Polo, is also a sign of confidence in the brand.
The Modular Quer Baukasten platform supports different body types within the same segment and different wheelbase configurations to be achieved from the same base. Seat’s investments and R&D expenditure in recent years were partially allocated to adapt its Martorell factory to the new MQB A0 platform. The number of parts using hot-forming tech has been increased, and that contributes to reduced weight and increased rigidity. Seat claims 30% greater torsional stiffness and NVH levels of “much larger and luxurious cars”.
It may look familiar thanks to Seat’s now trademark super sharp lines, but the Ibiza is all-new. The new model is 87 mm wider, 2 mm shorter and 1 mm lower than the five-door it replaces. The wheelbase is 95 mm longer (2,564 mm) and boot volume is up by 63 litres for a total of 355 litres (with lower load height), which means more space for humans and their stuff.
For example, rear legroom has increased by 35 mm, while headroom is up by 24 mm in the front and 17mm in the rear. The seats are 42 mm wider too, making the new Ibiza one of the best in its class in this area.
In the engine room, there are three Euro 6 aluminium block and cylinder petrol engines to choose from. A three-cylinder 1.0 TSI with 95 PS or 115 PS will be joined by a new four-cylinder EVO 1.5 TSI unit in late 2017 with 150 PS. In the diesel camp, the 1.6 TDI comes in 80 PS and 95 PS guises. 95 PS and lower engines come with a five-speed manual, while the others get a 6MT. A seven-speed dual-clutch DSG auto will also be available.
The new Ibiza will be offered in four trim levels: S, SE, FR and a new XCELLENCE version. FR is the sporty red car seen here rocking a rear diffuser and twin pipes, exclusive front bumper and exterior black pack. The FR trim includes stiffer suspension and offers four mode settings of Comfort, Eco, Sport and Individual. The XCELLENCE trim will also offer this later on, with a softer setting.
The interior ambient LED lighting for the FR and XCELLENCE versions comes in two colours, red and white. Full LED lights on the new Ibiza (headlights, dashboard, indicators and rear fog lights) are new in its class.
Driving assistance systems such as Front Assist and Adaptive Cruise Control are available alongside keyless entry with “heartbeat” push start button, new-gen front and rear parking sensors and a rear view camera with feed shown on an eight-inch touchscreen. There’s also a unique wireless charger with GSM amplifier. Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Mirror Link connectivity are included. There’s also a Beats sound system with DSP, seven speakers and an eight-channel 300W amplifier.
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This car deserves to be in the Malaysian market.
It looks better than the Polo in most angles. How I wish our P1 or P2 can built one just like this.
DSG is sucky, the design oso too sharp
Bro erf, this one uses the latest 7 speed DSG la. All the previous gremlins have been solved la.
…said by VW SA
I guess someone dun learn their lesson and still bring unrelated brands to this article. As expected from mentality of a 12 year old.
Actually, this car dashboard is almost the same as preve and suprima from P1.
Macam all the new goodies packed in one car. Mouthwatering leh. Excited to see how the new TSI engine perform, hope the engine n dsg will meet the quality standard la~
But in bolehland VW owners still complain in FB about their problematic cars