Promoted: Driving the new SEAT Ibiza in its home town of Barcelona
SEAT’s 2017 Ibiza is a leap forward in style, tech and performance, but the final word will come from its drivers. We took two SEAT Ibiza ambassadors to Barcelona to find out what they thought...
![Promoted: Driving the new SEAT Ibiza in its home town of Barcelona](https://media.whatcar.com/fit-in/760x503/migration/articles/7735fb3023438c0425a9674be9a55d3d6dcde077.jpg)
It’s possible to get a lot of driving done over a weekend in Barcelona. From the winding rural roads around Mt Tibadabo to the hyper-urban streets of Barceloneta, it’s the perfect place to find out what a car’s really made of.
This time, the car in question is the new 2017 SEAT Ibiza, and the people putting it through its paces are Gaynor Thorpe from Leeds and Rav Jagdev from Birmingham: two enthusiastic fans of previous generations of SEAT’s hot hatch. Watch the video below to find out what they thought:
The new 2017 SEAT Ibiza stands out from the crowd. Its purposeful lines make for a car that looks sharper and more aggressive than previous generations, with the FR version’s twin exhausts and Full-LED headlights adding to its kerb appeal.
Climb inside and there’s plenty more to like. Keyless entry and start mean less digging around in pockets and handbags, while wireless charging lets you keep your phone connected to the as-standard Bluetooth system without worrying about its battery giving up just as you reach your destination. The FR version’s headline act is an 8-inch infotainment screen in the middle of the console, to which you can connect devices which support Apple’s CarPlay and Android’s Auto standards. MirrorLink devices are also supported.
There’s a drivetrain for everyone, too: the 2017 Ibiza’s range of petrol engines mean urban roads and long motorway drives are dispatched easily. Whether you opt for the smaller one-litre engines or the 150PS 1.5-litre Ibiza FR TSI EVO (which is available later this year), you’ll be looking at a car that returns around 60 miles per gallon.
By the end of the weekend, retrieving the keys from our Ibiza fans was not easy: a test drive around one of Europe’s most beautiful and vibrant cities in one of Europe’s most exciting new cars had both eyeing the options list.
Whether your motoring takes you to Barcelona or Bristol, though, with 2017 SEAT Ibizas starting at just £13,130 on the road, and the high-spec Ibiza FR from just £16,015 on the road, there’s a very good chance you’ll be smiling wherever you drive.
For more information on the SEAT Ibiza, click here.