Faults:

"ECU" needed replacing, which the dealer did under warranty.

...apart from that cannot fault it!

General Comments:

I bought this car for its very cheap insurance group being a 1.4, & the fact it was basically a Volks Wagon Polo with a more attractive shell ;)

After driving a 1.1 Saxo for 2 years, the Ibiza was a vast improvement. Like my Saxo, the Ibiza comes with electric windows & sunroof, great for summer. Although both the saxo & the Ibiza are rated at 60bhp, the Ibiza has a LOT more torque and will cruise at 90mph quite well. Will top out at 105mph with the introduction of a K&N 57i induction kit.

As a student, needed a reliable, cheap car which has Volks Wagon respect. There aren't many about so you stand out in the crowd, & this car doesn't come with the kind of reputation a fiesta or 106/saxo has (bad). It's a more mature car, but still with that sporty image.

Handling is underestimated for the amount of roll. That's why I'm dropping it 40mm & getting sum 17"s very soon. Brilliant car!! Love it!

Faults:

Not a single thing!

General Comments:

Wow!

Regarding by pretty much all as better looking than the VW Polo, the Seat Ibiza is superb value for money. The 1.4 SXe has the exact same engine as the Mk4 Polo (AEX) and Mk3 Golf.

It's very nippy around town and will hit 110 before running out of beans (On a private road obviously).

Engine is very quiet and being VW, will happily see out 120k miles.

Trim: Again, it shares the same interior as it's VW brethren and the trim & extra level is quite impressive. Sun roof, electric windows, power steering & rev counter.

I bought the car after killing my MX5, so was on the hunt for a car with a cheap insurance rating. It stands out amongst the crowd of boring little 1.1 Saxo's and 106's. You simply get much more car for your money.

I would quite happily buy another Seat, as VW seem to spending all of their R&D money on diesel cars these days.

Faults:

Loose covers on the side skirts.

Loose clips on the door panels.

No mechanical faults.

General Comments:

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.

Faults:

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.

General Comments:

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.