New Ford Fiesta & Seat Ibiza vs Skoda Fabia
New version of the UK’s favourite car. New version of one of its toughest rivals. Not-so-new current Small Car of the Year. New class leader?...
Infotainment was always one of the previous Fiesta’s biggest flaws. Not any more: the 8.0in touchscreen is bright and relatively simple to use, although it isn’t as intuitive or quick to respond as the Ibiza’s. It’s also a pity there are no phyical shortbut buttons to make it easier to hop between functions. The upgraded Bang & Olufsen sound system is seriously punchy and well worth considering if you love music. The Fiesta is also the only car here available with a CD player.
Seat Ibiza
The Ibiza’s glass-fronted 8.0in touchscreen is crystal clear and responds without delay when you prod it. The menus are also logical and easy to navigate, and you can shortcut straight from one feature to another by using touch-sensitive shortcut buttons that flank the screen. We also like the fact that the screen is angled towards the driver. Our only complaint? It’s a touchscreen, which means you inevitably have to take your eyes off the road to make sure you accurately hit the icons.
There’s nothing wrong with the Fabia’s infotainment system; it’s actually one of the better offerings in the class. However, in this company the screen is quite small, and the fact that you have to fork out extra for sat-nav is galling. We wouldn’t bother, because the Smartlink system lets you use your phone to run a basic sat-nav app through the car’s screen. The stereo’s sound quality is acceptable rather than great, and you can’t upgrade it like you can with the Ibiza and Fiesta.
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