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Seat unveils the new Ibiza
By Yoann Besnard on 3 April 2008 | 
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Seat has taken the wraps off the next-generation Ibiza by unveiling official pictures of the small car expected to be officially launched at the Madrid Motor Show in May.
The first variant to be unveiled is the five-door hatchback set to compete with the market segment’s best seller such as the Fiat Grande Punto or the Peugeot 207. As predicted the new Ibiza is very close to the Bocanegra concept-car seen at Geneva although the final design looks a bit different from the concept car. Penned by former Lamborghini stylist Luc Donckerwolke, the new Ibiza features a sporty line with a front fascia that takes its styling cues form the Tribu concept car seen in Frankfurt last year.
The new Ibiza shares its inner structure with the Skoda Fabia and Roomster models although it gets chassis tuning to spice up the handling. At 4050 mm long, the car is 80 mm longer than the current model, so the new Ibiza should be a little roomier. With 292 litres, the boot is also bigger than that of the current Ibiza.
Under the bonnet, the next-gen Ibiza will initailly offer three petrol engines: a 69bhp 1.2-litre unit, followed by a 84bhp 1.4-litre engine and topped by a 101bhp 1.6-litre unit. Those engines can either be hooked up to a five-speed manual transmission or VW's seven-speed DSG gearbox.
For Seat, the new Ibiza marks the start of a major product offensive which will, over the coming months, also see the debut of further Ibiza variants, as well as the new saloon and estate contenders in the upper medium segment.
