SEAT Ibiza Anniversary (2021 - )

It’s hard to believe the SEAT Ibiza is 40 years old this year and currently in its fifth generation. And to mark the occasion, there is a special Anniversary Limited Edition model that is packed with tech and really looks the business when approached from any angle.
The Ibiza Anniversary Limited Edition is available with three powertrains, all petrol. There is a 1.0 TSI with 95PS or 115PS with manual  transmission, or a 1.0-litre TSI with 115PS and mated to a seven-speed automatic gearbox.
Prices for this special model range from £23,975, but the Ibiza line-up starts from just £19,725 if you don’t feel the need for all those bells and whistles.
We opted for the SEAT Ibiza Anniversary Edition with the most powerful 1.0-litre engine and the automatic DSG gearbox for our test drive.
 

The five-door SEAT Ibiza Anniversary is a limited-edition model that, for the first time in the company’s history, sees the car fitted with front bucket seats. It’s still instantly recognisable as an Ibiza with a black grille housing the SEAT emblem, plus there are sweeping light clusters, a rippled bonnet, tinted rear windows, a sunroof, a wide rear end and twin tailpipes. 
The car is supplied in an exclusive colour of Graphene Grey and also features special ‘Anniversary Limited Edition’ badging on the door pillars, plus Performance 18-inch Cosmo Grey alloy wheels.
Moving inside you get those exceptionally sporty seats, a 9.2-inch infotainment screen which acts as the car’s nerve centre, along with a 10-inch digital cockpit display where all the important driving data is clearly shown via a screen that can be personalised according to preference.
Creature comforts are plentiful and include a pitch-perfect nine-speaker beats sound system, full smartphone connectivity via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat nav, DAB radio, Bluetooth and plenty more besides.
A separate panel for all the climate control settings is positioned below the infotainment screen and this is always welcome as it causes far less driver distraction than navigating menus whilst driving.
 

Powering our SEAT Ibiza Anniversary Limited Edition was a 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine delivering 115PS and 200Nm of torque. Weighing in at 1,178kg, the car can sprint from 0-62mph in 9.9 seconds and maxes out at 123mph.
Getting the perfect driving position is easy enough with ample manual seat and steering wheel adjustment, and all controls, dials and readouts are ideally positioned for ease of use on the move.
The acceleration through the seven-speed automatic gearbox is smooth and responsive, with steering wheel mounted paddles for added driver engagement.
The Ibiza is nicely balanced when faced with twisting country lanes and can also cope well on motorways, although there is more noticeable engine noise at higher speeds. In addition, if you are particularly heavy on the throttle, the gearbox and engine seem to take a little while to fathom out you want instant pace.
There are drive modes that alter the characteristics and responses of the car and these are called Eco, Normal, Sport and Individual.
With good all-round visibility the Ibiza is agile and easy to manoeuvre in busier city centre traffic and it’s easy to park thanks to its compact dimensions.
Unless pushed on particularly hard, the cabin is nicely hushed with occupants well protected from outside noise. But with those body-hugging seats, along with a fairly firm suspension set-up, expect to feel the full force of any unexpected potholes.
 

The SEAT Ibiza is a fabulous small car so the clues to its practicality are  pretty clear in that statement. It’s not a family vehicle that’s big on cabin and luggage space.
It stretches 4,059mm in length, is 1,780mm across (including wing mirrors), 1,447mm high and has a wheelbase of 2,564mm.
Up front, there is oodles of space to stretch out and a couple of six-foot-plus adults will fit in with lots of leg, elbow and head room. It’s true, a couple of adults will fit into the back, but if the front seats are pushed back, it won’t be long before the protests about restricted leg room begin. Ideally though a trio of children can sit comfortably in the back of the Ibiza without any complaint. 
The boot, accessed via a manual tailgate, is well sized for a compact vehicle and its capacity of 355 litres means it can easily cope with a large supermarket run. And the space opens up further with the 60:40 split-folding rear seats dropped flat. 
In addition, there are numerous handy storage compartments scattered throughout the cabin and these include a fairly compact glovebox, door bins with space for a water bottle, two front cup holders, seat back pockets, some trays, along with USB ports to keep devices connected and charged.
 

The SEAT Ibiza costs from £19,725 for the entry-level SE version and the standard range-topper is the XCELLENCE LUX, which costs £24,905. The Ibiza Anniversary Edition FR, which builds on the FR specification, is priced at £25,470. Our test car also featured a Safety and Driving Pack that added £250 to the final price-tag, but that was the only optional extra on this generously-equipped car.
This added adaptive cruise control, high beam assist, forward collision warning including autonomous emergency braking for the adaptive cruise control set-up.
Day-to-day running costs are pretty good with a WLTP-tested combined fuel efficiency figure of 48.7-51.4mpg and carbon emissions of 128g/km.
This CO2 figure would result in a first year road tax bill, or Vehicle Excise Duty to use its official name, of £220. This would drop to the standard fee of £190 after the first 12 months.
For anyone considering the Ibiza Anniversary Edition as a company car, it has a Benefit in Kind tax rating of 30 per cent and, the vehicle as tested, sits in insurance group 15.
 

The SEAT Ibiza may be in its 40th year now and still proving popular with the masses, but there is so much more competition out there compared to 1984 when it first appeared in showrooms.
Special editions, such as the Anniversary model, keep the car in the public eye, but it seems Cupra has grabbed all the headlines in recent years. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how much of a head turner this Ibiza Anniversary version proves to be.