An odd choice, I know, what with the cars being from two different classes, but my flatmate is considering her first car (parent funded) and wondered about experiences of the following cars:
2002 "02" Focus 1.6 16v Silver (special ed) 50,000 miles, £4,800.
2003 "53" SEAT Leon 1.6 16v SX 58,000 miles, £5,500.
2003 "03" SEAT Ibiza 1.4 16v (100) Sport 42,000 miles, £4,999.
From her test drives she reckons they seem similar, but doesn't think her test drives were very representative - the SEAT's were both driven on rough roads and felt it in terms of ride apparenty, and the Focus benefitted from smooth roads and seemed smoother. She prefers the style of the Ibiza and thinks it'd be easier to park, while the Focus has the most space and heated screen and seats. The Leon is the only 5 door, which she'd prefer, and is middling between the other two in terms of practicality and equipment - and in true female fashion she's not sure about the matt-red because she thinks it'll fade to pink - is she right?
The reason these cars were selected was because she likes the style of the SEAT's and I told her what a good car my old Focus mk1 1.6 was...but she seems to look down on the Ford as common and unreliable...
Something she didn't test, but thought about when she got back was on the 3-doors do the front seats (Focus and Ibiza) return to their original position or not? Obv she doesn't want to have to reset them everytime she lets me and co in!
What it comes down to, and why she's asked me to put this to BR's is what are people's experiences of the cars (or the engines in other VAG products - e.g. Golf and Polo) in terms of drive and reliability. She'll use the car for mainly town journeys, but will make a 150 mile journey home every 2-3 weeks, so it needs to be capable of motorway cruising and country lanes.
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Well I owned an '03 Ibiza (1.2 S), but hated the harshness of the front suspension over certain types of bumps, eg speed bumps. It was an ok car otherwise.
Changed to an '02 Focus (1.8 tddi), and a much nicer handling package and cabin enviroment. Would really like the heated screen option though.
But as she doesn't like Ford image, then no contest I would have thought, the Leon walks it, although again quite a dreary cabin.
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Focus:
Very good spec by the sounds of it.
Better reputation for reliability.
Great ride and handling, great fun to drive.
Very crisp and smooth engine albeit no fireball.
Heated Screen.
Good ICE.
Aircon no doubt.
The SEAT's will AFAIAA need a cambelt change soon where as the Focus, in theory, does not need a change until 10 years or 100k miles - that being said I would never take it that long.
Also Leon's of that age a a bit staid and boring and being bigger the 1.6 might be hard work. Ibiza's of that age not as good looking as earlier or later ones IMO.
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>>Also Leon's of that age a a bit staid and boring >>
Sorry, I was thinking Toledo, the Leon looks fine. Other comments still stand.
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If its being mostly used for town driving then the Ibiza should be fine- although as said above the ride is firm but the handling is good, very pointy. Dead easy to park, although the steering lock isn't that good but you get used to it.
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sorry to diverge a bit from your question but the focus looks a bit overpriced, even if its a Special Edition
not sure where you are based, but if in the SE have a look at Car Giant
Edited by nick1975 on 13/01/2008 at 12:51
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Thanks everyone, she's just sat here and read all your comments. She learnt to drive in a MINI and this is the primary reason she wants a car that has a better ride around town as we have a lot of speed bumps. Should she rule the Ibiza out? And what of the Leon for this. She remembers my old Focus was ok, but not great.
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I should add the reason she wants an SX spec Leon is because it has a bit of silver platic inside which makes "all the difference" to the interior and livens it up and the reason she picked this Focus was because she wanted side airbags, heated screen and seats and ABS. The Ibiza is a bit dull, but as with the Leon she likes the red backlighting and says it reminds her of her Dad's Audi.
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Something she didn't test but thought about when she got back was on the 3-doors do the front seats (Focus and Ibiza) return to their original position or not? Obv she doesn't want to have to reset them everytime she lets me and co in!
Daughter has a 54reg (Mk4) Ibiza 1.2S. The seat slide and return was an option when we bought it, and even then only works on the passenger seat.
I quite like the car, although I'm not fan of the 3cyl 1.2 engine (but it is chain cam) in ours. I had a 1.4 Sport as a courtesy car and I thought it was a very nice drive indeed on our local (well surfaced) fast A roads.
One thing I wouls say is to be aware of the doors! On the Ibiza they're long and very heavily sprung. FIL has a 3dr Focus and he likes the fact that the B post is further back. The length of the doors can make getting out in supermarket car parks quite tricky.
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