Now that the new-generation Ibiza has arrived in both five-door and SportCoupé forms, it feels strange to be talking about the old-style Ecomotive as if it were a new car. The reason it's still possible to do so is that the new Ecomotive won't be along until some time in 2009, so this one still has a few months' life left in it.That's not necessarily a bad thing. The old Ibiza, which admittedly hasn't seemed a fresh design in several years, was by no means a bad supermini, and as long as you don't mind paying new-car money for something so obviously outdated there's no reason to be put off. In fact, there are still enough people who prefer the Alhambra MPV (a rebadged version of the 1990s Ford Galaxy) for it to be worth SEAT's while to continue building and selling it.It would help SEAT's case if the Ecomotive were a cheap car, especially since the whole point of developing it in the first place was to achieve the 99g/km CO2 rating which makes it exempt from VED. The saving involved here is a whole £35 per year, but like the Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion the Ecomotive requires you to pay many multiples of £35 at the start of the process. Admittedly the SEAT is the cheaper car, but in three-door form it still costs a hefty £11,625.It doesn't feel worth that much, and not just because of the old design. The main problem is one of acoustics - the Ecomotive barks into life first thing in the morning, and although things settle down as the temperature rises there is no motoring condition in which this is anything other than a very noisy car.This is not specifically an Ecomotive problem, nor a SEAT one either. The trouble is that this car uses the Volkswagen Group's three-cylinder 1.4-litre TDI turbo diesel engine, and there is not a single VW or SEAT with this unit which is not dominated by the noise it makes.That's a shame, because if it were possible to absorb the decibels in some way (I assume it isn't because nobody has been able to manage it) then the little diesel would be very appealing. Its maximum power output of 79bhp means that the Ecomotive is hardly racy, but it makes the Ecomotive quicker in the real world than the academic top speed (110mph) and 0-62mph (12.8 seconds) figures would suggest.It is also so strong at low revs that it can easily handle the revised gearing which is the most obvious part of the fuel-saving, CO2-reducing Ecomotive technology. There's a great temptation to change down a gear or two as you slow down for a corner and the engine reaches a speed where you'd swear you can hear the individual firing strokes - if you did change down it would immediately negate the effect of the raised gearing, and to be honest there are times when you have to, but as long as the revcounter needle is pointing to 1500rpm or higher you can stick with the gear you've got, ignore the thunderstorm under the bonnet, pull away and smile to yourself as you realise how long it will be before you next have to stop for fuel.And those stops will indeed be a long way apart. I didn't make the necessary measurements so I don't know if I got anywhere near the official combined figure of 74.3mpg; frankly, I doubt it, since there times when I wanted to see just how far 79bhp would take me, but I can definitely report that it's easy to make a tank of diesel last well over 600 miles.I quite liked the Ecomotive, partly because of its range, partly because of the sense of peace that came over me every time I switched off the engine, and partly because I just like old Ibizas. But I wouldn't buy one. What I would buy instead would be a new-style Ibiza SC with the 1.2-litre petrol engine. It may require you to pay £120 into the Exchequer each year, and you can forget about a 600-mile range, but it's a better car, and it's more than £3000 cheaper. Case closed. Engine 1422cc, 4 cylinders Power 79bhp Transmission 5-speed manual Fuel/CO2 74.3mpg / 99g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 12.8 seconds Top speed 110mph Price £11,625 Details correct at publication date
Our Rating
