Seat Ibiza Sport Coupe (2008) CAR review

Seat’s Ibiza SportCoupe is further confirmation that car makers can no longer do anything as simple as producing three- and five-door versions of the same car. The five-door has to be family focused; the three-door – as with the Ibiza SportCoupe – is now aimed at a more youthful market altogether and carrying a new name.

Don’t underestimate the importance of the SC for Seat. The three-door version of the previous model significantly outsold its larger sister, something attributed largely to the Spanish firm’s younger-than- market-average customer base.

Ignoring the name, how different is the Seat Ibiza SportCoupe to the five-door?

It sits on the same ‘Agile’ platform as the five-door and has the same wheelbase. But Seat’s marketing boffins discovered that the age of three-door supermini buyers was significantly lower than five-door owners. So the styling of the SportCoupe reflects that.

It takes its cues from Seat’s Bocanegra concept car with a roof that drops away towards the back. And although a mere 18mm shorter than the five-door, it has an altogether sportier, more assertive stance on the road.

So is this Ibiza SportCoupe a party-goer or party-pooper?

A bit of both. The SC is available with two chassis settings: Sport and Comfort. It’s simply a tweak of the springs and dampers, and the only difference between the two is that there’s slightly more body roll with the ‘Comfort’ variant.

Both versions are very compliant over bumps, with the cabin well insulated from rough road surfaces. The electro-hydraulic steering on both is nicely weighted but doesn’t have the sort of alertness you’d expect from a car designed to delight keen drivers.

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