A Warm-Happy Fuzzy Kinda

What we like:

Lovely handling

ride quality

generous on torque

design and quality.

What we dislike:

Slight drone in cabin at low revs due to transmission switching up too early

high boot lip makes loading and unloading larger items more difficult

rear seats do not fold flat.

Behind the wheel, the Ibiza comes across as light and nimble. Its steering, slightly on the lighter side, is pleasantly accurate. The Ibiza utilises a front McPherson strut and simpler rear semi-rigid axle suspension setup. While it is slightly firm, the car rides well and does not come across as jarring.

Very quickly, I found myself in my own element, pitching the compact hatch into corners with confidence. The Ibiza is very forgiving, and with those short overhangs, the amount of frontal plough is also significantly reduced when entering a bend.

Under the hood, the Ibiza is powered by the all-familiar and proven Volkswagen-sourced 1.0 turbocharged 3-cylinder engine, and is mated to a quick-shifting 7-speed DSG transmission. With 115ps on tap and an impressive 200Nm, which is high for a car its size, the Ibiza does 100km/h in a respectable 9.5 seconds. Fuel economy is a lab tested 21.2km/l, but we do believe that 17-18km/l is more attainable in the real world, which is very good.

Road noise is largely kept out of the cabin, thanks to some good insulation,apart from some exhaust resonance intruding into the cabin, due to the transmission wanting to upshift earlier for the sake of better economy.

But not all that drive pleasure comes from tossing this happy little car around. The cabin is truly a nice place to be in.

The Ibiza is a practical small hatch, easy to drive and can be loads of fun behind the wheel. It comes across as a very personal car, not only due to its size, but how it presents itself to you on the inside. Almost kind of like how a home should be… Personal, warm and fuzzy.

That is why we decided to shoot this car at Normanton Park on the final day it remained open. Once home to many military families has closed its gates for good after a successful en-bloc sale. The 40-year old estate does carry with it that personal sense of warm and fuzzy... what a home really should be.

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