Autocar UK – March 04 2026 – Autocar UK

t wasn’t so long ago that the Cupra brand was introduced and we weren’t sure what to make of it. It grew out of Seat’s performance division, launching with fast versions of Seats, but then started offering cars with simple 1.5-litre engines as well. It seemed a bit directionless. Actually, it was a masterstroke, because Cupra managed what Seat never could, becoming the hipper, sporty, semi-premium brand of the Volkswagen Group with the margins to wash its own face.

It exemplifies the art of the rebrand. So where does that leave Seat? Previously announced plans to turn it into an e-mobility brand are on ice, and instead Seat will for the foreseeable future continue as the group’s provider of affordable, largely combustion-powered cars, since that role has been vacated by the upwardly mobile Skoda. The Ibiza supermini plays an important part in this plan, because while superminis are no longer in the limelight like they were 20 years ago, they still provide a very appealing balance of affordability and practicality, and as a result sales remain healthy.

The segment doesn’t fit the sporty, premium Cupra brand as well, so the Ibiza carries on as a pure Seat. After being somewhat neglected recently, the Seat range is finally getting some love. While there are reportedly no plans for an all-new generation of the Ibiza, Seat is intending to make targeted upgrades, including more efficient engines next year. For now, though, all it’s getting is a light- touch facelift. Considering this is fundamentally a car that came out in 2017, can the Ibiza still cut it?

PROS Updates have kept the design relatively fresh; choice of manual and automatic gearboxes CONS Limited range of engines and no hybrid option; fundamentally quite old and conventional It may have been pushed to the margins somewhat in its nine-year life, but the current, fifth generation of Ibiza felt like quite a significant little car when it was launched. It was the first of a flurry of new models on the then new MQB A0 platform, which promised much- improved refinement and capability for small cars, with superior materials, bigger dimensions and Q Behold!

Book Information

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• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 43,958,723 bytes (41.922 MB)
• Title: –
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• Pages: 77
• Language: English (en)

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