Seat Ibiza long-term test

The car Seat Ibiza FR Sport 1.0 TSI Petrol | Run by Jonty Renk, senior videographer

Why it’s here To show that cars designed 10 years ago can be better than today's rivals

Needs to Provide an engaging drive, easy to use controls and remind me of why I fell in love with driving 10 years ago

Mileage 5201 List price £20,995 Best price £17,495 Price as tested £25,635 Official economy 51.8mpg Test economy 44.4mpg Options fitted N/A

20 May 2026 – Take it back to the start

Ah, the Seat Ibiza. I know it well, because a long time ago I a fifth-generation Ibiza was my first car. Mine hailed from 2016, so was a later model in the generation, and after passing my test, I just couldn’t wait to get in my 1.4-litre steed and drive off into the proverbial sunset. After checking my mirrors and signalling my intent, of course.

My original car was in SE trim but, at the suggestion of online forums, I stuck an FR badge on the back to make my car look sportier than it was. And I loved it. Even despite having access to my own company cars these days, my original Ibiza stayed within the Renk family right up until last year – it had served its purpose and was sold on to give someone else their first glance at motoring freedom. 

Since the sale, I’ve missed my trusty little hatchback. Don't get me wrong, I like most of the new cars I drive nowadays, with their fancy technology and sometimes overbearing ADAS gizmos, but I kept finding myself yearning for the blissful simplicity of my old Ibiza. 

And somehow, the Ibiza has never been far away. Take August 2025, for example, when myself and new cars editor Lawrence Cheung flew out to the Spanish island of Ibiza to film, you guessed it, the latest Seat Ibiza. Like a worried parent, I was anxious to see what Seat had done with the newest iteration of my first car, and to my delight, I found that it to be a reshingly simple approach to the small car formula. In the best ways, it just felt like a fresh coat of paint over the car I know and love. And it received a full five-star rating from us.

So when the time came to choose my next company car, my shortlist was only one car: the Seat Ibiza. And configuring the car, the first thing I did was put right the lie I had spun as a youngster: I went for the range-topping FR Sport trim.

I also wanted the most powerful engine: the 113bhp 1.0-litre petrol. No offence to the less powerful version, but that extra power is going to come in handy when I have a car filled up with camera gear. 

From speaking to our road test team, I was advised that the six-speed manual gearbox is the one to choose, because apparently the automatic alternative can be a bit dimwitted at times. That’s fine by me, because I love the extra engagement of rowing through the gears myself.

Then came the colour, and I chose Oniric Grey – it almost reminds me of a duck egg blue, and that's how I've explained it to anyone who has asked. Somewhat annoyingly, I've since discovered that both more vibrant red and yellow hues are available, but ho hum.

Wheels and upholstery are trim dependent, and with my FR Sport car, I get 18in ‘Performance’ machined alloy wheels – they're the best looking design in my humble opinion. Like SE, the seats are cloth, but FR trims get more supportive, sporty ones. 

So that's my car. It’s a bit pricey – at £25,635 – but these days I value luxury and comfort as much as practicality, so I'm glad to spend the extra.

Such is the nature of my job as What Car?'s senior videographer that I’ve already put a lot of miles on my Ibiza. And I have to say, it fits like a glove. It’s small enough to nip around my local city streets, and my camera gear fits in the boot well enough – although sometimes I’ve had to put things on the back seats. 

The front seats are comfortable and heated, which has come in handy more often than I hoped considering summer is almost upon us.

The engine strikes a good balance between power and fuel economy. In other words, it’ll sit comfortably at 70mph and I’ll see near-enough 50mpg if I’m gentle. And on the topic of fuel, I’ve had no issues getting back into the swing of going to the petrol pumps – my last car was electric; a BYD Sealion 7 to be exact. But with how far I’m going on a full tank (around 400 miles), I rarely find myself filling up. 

It’s almost like I’ve gone back to go forward. I feel 17 years old again and life is easier than ever. I can only hope that the feeling continues. 

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