Skip to main content

Crashing the SEAT Ibiza Launch Party

Sometimes you’re just in the right place at the right time. While flying to Europe last night I, unfortunately, got re-routed with a five-hour layover in Dublin, Ireland. Normally that would basically suck, but a friend who works for the VW Group contacted me to extend an invitation for coffee and donuts in the city center, which instantly made the situation much better.

Then, while walking through the streets of Dublin, I was able to gatecrash the national launch event for the new SEAT Ibiza, before the press and social media movers and shakers were able to enter for their first viewing of the car. Now, I can already hear you saying, “Oh good, another supermini/subcompact/whatever segment car that we’ll never see in the USA.” Well, stay with me..

The all-new Ibiza is significant because it’s the first VW Group car to ride on the MQB A0 platform, which means it’s got some significant shared DNA with most of the other VW range. The Ibiza is being released several months ahead of the massive selling Polo, which shares the exact same platform, so this is the first chance to see the new teeny MQBs in the wild (I was told that this one is the first simply because the existing Ibiza was due a redesign sooner). So is this redesign significant for a potential US release in the future? I honestly have no idea, but it sure won’t hurt its chances. The New Scirocco is built on the old non-MQB platform so I can guarantee that it’s not coming to the USA just based on that fact alone, while at least the Polo/Ibiza stands a chance in theory

dsc01610

Size-wise, just like the previous generation, it’s rather Mk2 Golf feeling, both in terms of general leg and arm space, but also in trunk size. And that’s no bad thing. Although the road test cars were set up and ready to go at the launch, sadly I couldn’t risk missing my flight so had to skip a chance to drive it. I have had significant road time with the previous generation in Europe, and they always drove exactly as you will expect from a well mannered and well balanced new vehicle wearing a SEAT or VW badge. I have to assume that barring any disasters, this new car will be the previous gen’s equal or better.

While the SEAT brand is often seen as one rung lower than it’s VW siblings in term of creature comforts, the Elegance package offers a plethora of features. Things that ten years ago were seen only in the luxury segment have trickled down, and this package comes loaded with keyless entry and start/stop, a big flush mounted infotainment system and practically everything you’d hope to see in a well equipped daily driver.

dsc01640

The “sportier” FR model skips some of those fancy features, and for about the same price of its sibling Elegance model, is likely targeting a younger, hipper demographic. They lose keyless entry and switch to having the nice radio as an available option, but those hip kids do get dual outlet exhaust tips, a bigger honeycomb design grille, split-5 spoke alloys, and red stitching on just about anything in the interior that you could stitch red.

And so with that, I have to jump onto the airport shuttle bus back and continue on to the Netherlands, where I will be driving a US-registered New Beetle throughout the lowland countries. Which doesn’t seem any more strange than stopping in Dublin for donuts and Ibizas.

dsc01622

Thanks to Paul D for the donuts, and Neil D for the exclusive first look.

Jamie Orr travels the world looking for cars, parts, and adventures. http://ift.tt/2t4PHPg  http://ift.tt/2slbg0M YouTube.com/JamieOrr
OrchidEuro.com 

The post Crashing the SEAT Ibiza Launch Party appeared first on VWVortex.



from VWVortex http://ift.tt/2t4GBlJ
via IFTTT
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Saying Goodbye to the CC V6

For all its size and its global reach, Volkswagen is still, in many ways, a deeply human company. There was, for instance, the Bugatti Veyron an ego project if ever there was one. Then the purchase of Ducati, a move most called folly. And then there was the Phaeton, the Volkswagen that most folks can’t afford. Not only were these moves all strange, I’m sure that they made VW’s accountants furious. None of them made good business sense, but they were all deeply interesting and they all are evidence of the heart that beats at the center of VW. Among these follies is the CC, a car that everyone agrees is rakishly handsome, but that no one really wanted to buy. The car couldn’t last, but the world is brighter for its having been in it. With the approach debut of the Arteon, it seems like a good time to look back on its sadly departing predecessor. The version I drove, because I live in Canada, is a V6 Wolfsburg Edition, which apparently isn’t available in the States. Nor is the V6, not as...
Post a Comment
Read more

T-Prime Makes World Premiere at Beijing

[ See image gallery at www.vwvortex.com ] The SUV segment is one of the fastest growing segments in the world and Volkswagen is showing the world how to do it. With the new T-Prime Concept GTE that was revealed today, the company is showing off all of the technology you can look for in its coming models. The T-Prime is a full-size hybrid SUV that can go up to 31 miles on a charge and gets 87 mpg. The hybrid power station is good for 375 hp and 516 lb/ft of torque and puts the power down with 4MOTION all wheel drive. It’ll get you up to 60 in six seconds. The concept’s real party piece, though, is its interior, which features exclusively touch, gesture, and voice controls. Everything from the infotainment, to the display, and even the gears are controlled by touch-screen. The T-Prime Concept GTE is bigger than the Touareg, and design elements are likely to find their way into all of their SUVs, of which there will be many. Volkswagen is also announcing that they expect to make an S...
Post a Comment
Read more

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...
Post a Comment
Read more