Faults:

Failed MOT at 4 years due to suspension bush wear (unacceptable on 4yr/34K gently driven car), uneven rear brakes (drum brake cleaning should be part of service schedule) and perished tyres (these were the originally fitted Dunlop SP Sport tyres and were about half worn. They had been correctly maintained, but developed open splits at the base of the tread).

Car has broken down 4 times due to coil pack failure - the same position (no 1) keeps failing.

Radio/CD and blower fan resistor pack both failed in warranty.

Dashboard has had to be removed and refitted several times to cure rattles.

3dr car suffers terribly from excess wind noise - door seals changed but no better.

General Comments:

I helped my daughter buy this car and chose it as it seemed a good package (A/C, remote locking ABS etc etc) for the price. It's a reasonable size (not too small) and I felt it seemed like quite a safe car - I was impressed by touches such as having twin tail lights on each side so if a bulb fails the other would still show.

The car drives well on the open road, it's comfortable (for a small car) and handles nicely. I find the seats very good for such a class of car but the low slung driving position might not suit everyone. The car (3dr) does suffer badly from wind noise right next to your ear which is tiring after a while.

Around town the 3cyl engine is juddery and the car isn't so nice. Overall fuel consumption isn't very good for a 1.2 engine - it does about 35MPG on a gentle main road commute.

Too many things have gone wrong - the breakdowns (4 in 4 years) have always been attended promptly by SEAT Assist (operated by the AA) but they won't change parts under warranty, which means getting the car to a dealer and in some areas SEAT dealers are very thin on the ground.

I was also dismayed that the car failed MOT at 4yrs - SEAT should be embarrassed about that and should work with the dealer, but instead the dealer seemed to see it as an opportunity to take money off us. Even though the car has a service package with the dealership, they still made us pay extra for work that should have been included.

If the car had been more reliable, or the dealer had made more effort to look after us, then I would probably be happy to buy another - the car itself is good, but spoiled by lack of support from SEAT UK and the dealership. As it is, we'll be changing to something else shortly.

Faults:

Front bushes destroyed themselves pretty much after I bought the car.

Loads of other faults that I couldn't be bothered to spend the time putting right, only to fear them re-ocurring.

General Comments:

The Ibiza mk4 set a personal record of ownership for me. I had the car 2 months before I sold it on. I had planned to keep it for several years. I like SEAT and the whole VAG group. I have a Leon Cupra TDI and it is superb. I had a mk2 Ibiza GTI 16v a few years ago, again a great car. The Ibiza Mk4, quite possibly the biggest pile of rubbish I've ever bought.

I can't get my head around the positive reviews. Read between the lines and check out the forums. Every other line of text will be 'this went wrong', 'I have a problem', 'but I still love it'. The car has some serious quirks. The one I had loved 'quirks'.

As a cheap hatch they seem to make sense. Good performance, VAG quality and cheap on paper to run. The reason I went for one.

Performance is OK. Let's not get carried away here like so many others. Being a diesel it has a short rev range and there is turbo lag. Every squirt of the throttle when the 130bhp is dumped through the 2000-4000 rev range is going to feel like fun. At a push the engine is the best thing about the package. I don't feel that is enough recommendation on its own. It's quite noisy and needs servicing every 10000 miles.

The interior is very dull and plasticky. The seats suffer from staining even with water - like a rain drop. It creaks and feels very cheap. Generally not a great place to be. I also found I developed a pain in the lower back from driving it. The petrol gauge goes the wrong way (quirk no #201).

The ride is worst thing by far. Shock absorbers are not included. I could understand if it was for the benefit of the handling, but handling is not on the Ibiza's agenda. It will crash, bang, jump, skip, rattle over every contour or bump in the road. You could run over a Rizla paper and feel your fillings drop out. Oh and don't forget the road noise from the wheels (another quirk die hard owners will tell you). Drone, crash, drone crash, creak, creak, my what fun.

Best of all, it will pull to the left... a lot. 'They all do it'. I did the 4 wheel alignment so recommended and still had the problem. From what I've read you can make it go away for a while, but it will come back. This and the ride quality whilst sat in a interior that doesn't stop creaking was the straw on the camel's back.

Go ahead and buy one, but be sure you can cope with.

Creaky interior

Pulling to the left

Front lights misting up

Rear lights misting up

Front bushes failure

Timing chain failure

Management light coming on

Random knocks from the suspension when going over Bumps

Harsh ride

Electric window failure

Seat handles snapping

Wheel drone, especially a low speed

If you have just these problems, consider it a good one.