Ecomotive
Bless VW Group, it's obsession with Eco-motoring has now reached such a level it means that regardless of the actual main brands of its group that your buying from, be it SEAT, VW or Audi there's now a guilt-free-motoring-you're-not-killing-the-planet-but-all-our-exiciting-and-fun-SUV's-still-are 'Eco / BluMotion / TDIe / slower than retarded cats / coma inducing-ly dull / zero fun / blander than Gordon Brown's next speech , low emissions derivative of every car.
The latest to receive the VW Group emissions make-under is the gorgeous new 5dr SEAT Ibiza ECOMOTIVE. The little 80bhp 1.4TDI chucks out a tree-hugging 98g/km of CO2 emissions. If that wasn't enough they've also reduced the weight and strapped a DPF filter on the engine to further reduce harmful particle emissions. It's got reduced-friction road tyres and improved aerodynamics to make it leaner than a supermodel on a Parisian catwalk. Now there are obvious absolute-no-brainer benefits to choosing the Ibiza ECOMOTIVE. For a start, due to those almost non-existent emissions its free of road tax. So it's a big two fingers up to the current charge-motorists-into-poverty-by-taxing-every-aspect-of-anything-concerned-with-motoring labour government. Secondly SEAT claim in its press pack that it will do 94.2mpg on motorway journeys. So it won't cost a fortune to run, to say the least.
The other huge benefit with the little ECOMOTIVE Ibiza is that its standard equipment list is more than generous. With it coming as standard with Air-Con, ABS, central locking, electric front windows, pollen filter, PAS and an iPod compatible stereo with AUX port its great value for money.
Now the 'aerodynamic' changes are where the problems start, for a start to make the car lighter and more fuel efficient, say goodbye to Alloy wheels and hello to 14" wheels with closed gap plastic trims and big fat reduced friction tyres. Which are about as sexy as your nan in lacy knickers. Then remove the sexy new Ibiza grille and replace it with a shiny black plastic closed grille, then stick a black plastic-looking rear roof spoiler on the back to improve air flow over and under the front of the car and increase the aerodynamics of air off the back of the car, thus reducing drag, again as sexy as your nan in lacy knickers - without her dentures in.
Inside the ECOMOTIVE Ibiza, it's much the same story, lightening the car means that the spilt-rear seat is replaced by a bench folding seat, where trim isn't essential, its been removed and I was left feeling like one of my favourite small cars was now (in ECO version) somewhat lacking.
Now I realise it sounds like I'm giving the SEAT a really hard time, I am! Compared to the standard of a non-ECO SEAT the overall trim and look of the Ibiza has been removed, and with it the fun and personality of the Spanish sexpot hatchback. It's bland inside and out, simple as.
However, 94.2mpg is a claim I felt the need to test… damn if SEAT aren't true to every letter of that statement. On the motorway I achieved a massive 87mpg without any hassle. If I'd really pushed it I think I would have been easily able to get 94.2mpg. The one thing that SEAT haven't removed is the sporty feel to the actual drive of the Ibiza. The little 80bhp engine isn't quick with 0-62mph taking 12.9secs, but it feels much fastest. It still handles well, and its great fun to duck and dive through town traffic and cruise down country lanes. It feels as sturdy and safe as a regular Ibiza and its still cute. But to be fair with such amazing economy I'm hard pushed not to love the ECO just for the miniscule running costs. It's also a group 3 insurance, which is pretty much the equiverlant of the insurance company paying you to drive it. So its great for younger drivers and those that have just passed their test and want a brand new car.
The other huge thing is cost to buy, for once I actually got a press car through that wasn't loaded up with optional extras, in fact my press car was TOTALLY standard. It also cost £12,205OTR, which is cheap for a 1.4 TDI that will theoretically do 750 miles on £47's of fuel, especially coupled with the no-road-tax and cheaper-than-cheap-insurance.
So do I love it? No. Would I drive it? Yes. Would I buy it? Yes, it's a great little car, its just a shame that SEAT stripped some of the fun and appeal out of the Ibiza ECO along with the weight. Overall it's a great buy for the money.
FR
Seat's
Leon FR, does what it promises to do and then some, great handling,
quick, sporty, solid and stable with a quality feel about it.
Great handling and performance coupled with Seat's unique look mean
that the all-new Leon FR delivers a lively and driver focused ride that
just makes you smile from ear to ear. It's not the best in the hot
hatch market, it's not as quick as the Astra VXR, it's not as thrilling
as the Renaultsport 225 and it's not as butch as the Audi S3 VW Golf
R32 or GTI, it is however cheaper than all of them. It's a great little
hot hatch and it's got a fun and funky factor that means it's a great
option to any of them.
Inside the build quality and level of standard equipment leaves you in no doubt that it's from the same stable as the Audi and Golf, the seats are so comfortable and supportive especially under "adventurous" driving that you have to forgive SEAT for the amount of plastic coating the interior although that said it has a very young and dynamic interior presence whilst still feeling upmarket and solid.
I remember a time when collaborations between group manufacturers and joint ventures were often kept quiet, drivers everywhere were unaware that their engine may have had something to do with another brand, and still today some people are clueless about who actually built their car.
This wasn't a bad thing, as each manufacturer got praise for some truly fantastic cars, and then Volkswagen decided to buy other brands (Audi, SEAT, Skoda, but to name a few). This was fantastic for the brands of course, especially Skoda who compared to the age-old belief, now make some really nice cars. Audi now have a car in almost every segment, practically making them a citrus fruit and Volkswagen are able to use (group owned) Bentley's expertise to bring some great features to their cars. However when it came to SEAT, it seems that everyone was just a little bit too excited from the rest of the groups accolades to bother.
Enter stage left SEAT's new Exeo, as you may have guessed from looking at it, it's a saloon based on the 2007 Audi A4. In fact 'based on' would probably be the understatement of the month, that's like saying Amy Winehouse has been a tad partial to a line of coke or two in the past. The Exeo is in fact just an A4, with a shiny new badge and some new lights. Which gets me, finding out that BMW worked on Peugeot's new petrol engines is something that you can't immediately see. When you drive Peugeot petrol you get a nice surprise. So when SEAT announced the Exeo, I almost felt disappointed, it's so obviously an old A4, that it doesn't hold any mystery about what to expect from a car that will inevitably be a fantastic seller for the Spanish company.
However, I never said that the Exeo was a failure, and in actual fact it's a rather clever move for the group. The A4 of that year was a best seller for Audi and for SEAT to acquire such a brilliant car for themselves, will definitely see a lot more little 'S' badges on the road. Let's talk aesthetics; yes it's an A4 body, however with the new lights, grille and bumpers help bring this car into the here and now. The bonnet becomes scooped rather than raised in the middle, SEAT's signature door mounted wing mirrors have been introduced and the overall appearance of the car becomes sleeker, and much more aerodynamic.
The interior is far from a similar story, simply covering the SEAT insignia would fool even the world's biggest car snob, to thinking they were sat in an A4. Again, this isn't a bad thing. SEAT has made subtle changes inside, that don't ruin the successful layout of the A4. Simply upgrading the stereo to the current standard fit option brings life to the centre console, which helps separate the Exeo from the A4.
So it looks fantastic and promises so much for the Spanish manufacturer, but how does it drive? Well having owned a 2007 A4, I can confirm that SEAT seem to have been busy messing about underneath the car, and what they have messed with, has only improved on an already fantastic car. Tinkering under the bonnet has brought tighter steering; a ride more exciting than Sean William-Scott and handling as precise as his perfectly sculpted body.
Overall it's a fantastic car that will respond when you want that sporting feel, but on the other hand it's happy to sit and cruise around for a more family orientated journey. This is mainly due the fantastic engines available in the Exeo, I tested the 2.0 TDI CR DPF 140bhp mid-range engine, and it certainly had a lot of poke when you needed it. Not only great performance comes from the new Exeo however, fitted with a DPF (diesel particulate filter) means that the Exeo will perform fairly frugal if you want it to, returning nearly 50mpg and CO2 emissions of 153g/km, great for a sports saloon, which will be further improved upon, when SEAT announce the Exeo ECOMOTION (which is bound to be introduced!).
Lastly price, in 2007 the Audi A4 2.0L 140bhp TDI SE would have cost you £23,425 and here's where the SEAT out shines it's competition, ultimately the Audi A4 given the SEAT treatment will cost you under £20,000. Compare that to its competitors like the Insignia, Accord, 407 and Avensis, I know which I'd rather. In this instance it does highlight why you pay a premium for certain badges, but if you can put the snobbery aside and appreciate what you get for your money, you may have a different perspective about looking deeper than just a brand image.
Introducing the latest technologies from the group really shows in the Exeo, so much so, that it is in effect a brand new car, regardless of how it may have come to production. All I can say is in conclusion, I have found that without collaborations and cross pollination between the industry, we wouldn't have some of the fantastic cars on the market today, Skoda would have forever been a memory of bad reliability and iconic greats like the MINI could never have happened.
The SEAT Exeo is a superb motor and well worth considering for those who want a fantastic sports saloon on a tighter budget.