10th Jan 2007, 06:20

I bought an 06 FR TDi in September, and agree pretty much with the comments made.

The ride can be very harsh, and you have to be careful with the road surface (pot holes and so on)

The points I will add: -

I've kerbed every alloy on my car (so easy to do)

Economy isn't as good as the figures make out. My driving is mainly motorway, and I get high 40's, low 50's at best.

7th Mar 2007, 06:07

Bought one of these last year as a pre-reg for £10500 and am impressed. Build quality is reasonably good and performance is good for the type of car. I cover 30k miles pa and the shove of the PD diesel suits me, on motorways & particularly on A-roads where it is good for overtaking. Wouldn't say it was fast - no more than my previous Mondeo 2.0 TDCi 130, and ride is harsh off the major roads, but it's quite fun to drive. Agree with comment about exhaust trim & badges. Mine is just over a year old now, rusty exhaust trims, faded badges, scratch up n/s, and cracked rear bumper. I don't look after it particularly well, but it wasn't expensive to buy, and after a quick tart-up I'm sure there will be some boy-racer that will snap it up when I'm ready to sell. I'll run it another year or two at most and will probably go back to another 'boring' Mondeo - probably a 2.2TDCi - quick enough, but far more spacious and comfortable (and also anonymous... good for not drawing the attention of the police and daft wee boys in Saxos)!

16th Apr 2007, 10:20

Update:

I haven't been using the car as much as expected so mileage is only now up to 7k. For info, to add to the misting headlamps (which all Series 4 Ibizas seem to suffer from in varying degrees) both electric mirrors have died, I suspect a fuse, naturally a week after the annual service... A colleague who liked mine so much bought the facelifted 06 version has also had an LCD display fail, not sure if these are common, but maybe things to look out for.

Apart from that, going well, adjusting happily to suspension and to gearbox when cold. Fuel consumption settled in the low 50s. Climate control still frustrates with it's "i know best" attitude, but is easily overrided.

For the money I still can't think what new car gives anything like the bang per buck...

2nd Jul 2007, 10:51

I've had my Ibiza 1.9TDI FR for about 9 months now and I still love it. I needed to downsize from my Bora 1.9 TDI so I chose this little beauty. Unlike most, I love the suspension as the car is really fun on those country roads, really makes you feel like you are driving! and on the motorway it doesn't really matter as most of the roads are smooth anyhow. Love the torque, but not the torque steer, but with a small car being so powerful what do you expect.

My downsides to the car are the misting of the front headlights, don't use a jet wash on them and you should be okay. Does go through front tyres a bit, but again a lot of hard driving is the cause of that so I can't complain too much. And finally the Climate control, it's okay if you want the air con on all the time, but I don't most of the time I can just use the outside air, but it selects air con automatically every time you want to clear the front windscreen etc so you have to switch back manually. sorry one more thing, they could of designed the dash just a little better, it looks a bit cheaply done.

Other than that though very very happy at the MPG, the Road tax and the speed of the thing!

14th Jul 2007, 18:08

Now racked up 14k. FR badges fading to pink, and blown fuse was the cause of the inoperative door mirrors. New fuses also blew which then pointed to a dud motor in the right hand mirror. That is now replaced and I now have a rattle in the door even though I'm assured it wasn't taken apart to replace it.

Not seeing any oil consumption issues that other VAG PD130 owners talk about, but early days yet I guess. Lights still mist up and box is still reluctant to go into 2nd on cold oil.

Although I'm not a lover of 'sports' seats, the bolstering is fairly mild on the FR, you can tend to move about in the bends.

Friend who bought the mildly chaved up face lifted version in late 2006 got through 17" PZero tyres in 12k, the 16" Touranzas on mine are fine at 14k though grip is underwhelming.

6th Aug 2007, 16:05

Have just bought a new Ibiza FR 1.9 TDI on 17" wheels. Tyres are very noisy and the ride is very harsh. Very disappointed. Admittedly it goes quickly and handles well at speed, but does anyone have any ideas how to soften the ride? Would a smaller wheel and larger profile tyre work? Ideas or sell?

22nd Sep 2007, 07:22

Reading these comments reminded me that when I tested my 4 month old FR TDi prior to purchase the electric mirrors weren't working. This was duly fixed by the supplier. I've had it for 1 year now and the electric mirrors are still OK. Maybe it was a blown fuse they replaced with a higher-capacity one?

Interesting comments about kerbing alloys and not being happy with the ride. I'm toying with the idea of replacing types with 45/50% profiles and say 215/225 width. It'll cost a fortune whatever tyre I go for! The logic behind this is that the alloys should hopefully be less 'kerbable' and the ride less harsh. That's if the tyres actually fit in the wheel arches and don't rub against something when the suspension is compressed.

25th Sep 2008, 17:09

I've had the FR for 3.5 years now, and have found it to be an excellent sports hatch, and the power of the engine is marvelous. Handling is fantastic, and I love the hard ride. However, I have just recently has to replace both front springs within a week of each other after they both broke. I didn't go over any pot holes or ramps, in fact, the car had been sitting on the driveway for 6 weeks as I was away. When I got back drove it and heard a strange noise on the passenger side, and noticed that it was a couple of inches lower on that side. After I got it fixed, it happened to the drivers side a week later!! Apart from the springs, and it blew the turbo which the dealer replaced under warranty, its fantastic.

9th Oct 2008, 18:02

I have had my Ibiza for just a few short months. initially, I am impressed and it is a nice sporty little hatchback. The interior is well put together and the overall looks are mean and sporty. I am just about to take it back to the dealer to speak to them about the headlamps misting up! it's only two years old and still under warranty. Tyre's are quite expensive but the 16" wheels and 205 tyres provide a decent amount of grip and looks. The ride is hard as most say, but it does make the Ibiza a spirited drive! All in all, its under 10K and for the money, you get what you pay for. Not a VW, but the next best thing.