ford fiesta or seat ibiza???

[milkysmum]

Looking at leasing a new car through work. We are a family of 4. 2dc's one age 5 years the other age 2 years. I am looking to get something small (ish) but with enough room to not have us all to cramped- would like a good size boot, cheap to fuel etc.. have been drawn towards the fiesta and the ibiza but wondered what people thought? Have you any expereince of driving these or anyone got any other suggestions that would be most welcome- thanks.

I have had both and much preferred my Ibiza.

Big enough boot to fit my large pram in (with a wheel off) but small enough that I could park it easily.

It's also a VW engine so should be reliable.

I didn't like my fiesta at all, it seemed to have minor fault after minor fault but maybe I was just unlucky.

Thats helpful stars thank you. I must admit I do prefer the look of the ibiza. Did you have the petrol or diesel? I've always had a petrol but dh thinks a diesel would be cheaper to run?

anybody else?

Can't speak for a fiesta but love my Ibiza. Got the Ecomotive model which is nippy enough when I need it but manages to get an average of 60 miles a gallon

sounds like ibiza might be a winner then!

Well my current car's an Ibiza and my last one was a Fiesta. Much prefer the Ibiza to drive and the boot is definitely bigger. However, the reason for this is that there's v little space in the back seats.

If we put the rear facing carseat in the back, the front passenger seat has to be pushed forward as far as poss.

Both my Ibizas have had random electrical/wiring faults but then I had trouble with the steering in the Fiesta so I guess each car has its moments.

My Ibiza is a 1.2. This is actually pretty nippy but my friend has a 1.4 and it's so receptive to the touch so probably better if you're carrying weight/regular passengers in the back.

Hope this helps. Happy motoring in your ibiza

Sorry didn't realise that was so long!

Ah yes, I agree about the lack of legroom in the back. We seem to be ok now that were using booster seats though.
I still think overall it's not a bad size inside for a small car. Guess you'll need to try one out for yourself first to see what suits.

bump

Ibiza!

I am on my third now. Love them.

My dad unfortunately had a nasty accident in his Ibiza - it was written off but they walked away uninjured. I'm very impressed at the strength and safety of such a little car!

I've got an ibiza and I love it. Kids are 5 and 3 and seem to have enough leg room. Boot is a good size too. Mine is a 1.4 petrol and I average just under 50mpg.

thanks. great to hear from someone with similar age kids too! going to have a look at some tomorow and arrange a test drive

Do fiestas have the quick clear windscreen? My ford fusion does and I'd never have a car without it now!

no idea viva- never heard of a quick clear windscreen?

Diesel will save you £££. My fuel bill has gone down 40% a month since I changed my 1.2 petrol Polo for a diesel 1.4 Fiesta. (I commute quite a distance so the saving is appreciable)

Haven't driven an Ibiza so can't compare, but my Polo was getting old and had quite a bit wrong with it - the Fiesta is great (5 years newer though!)

Parts for either should be cheap enough as they are common cars.

im probably averaging about 10000 miles a year- would a diesal still be the one to go for?

I read that you need to do 16,000 miles a year to make a diesel worth it.

Mine are teens now (17 and 14), but I got my first Ibiza when they were at primary.

The only thing I changed this time around was going to a 5 door so that whichever one of them sat in the back, they could get out a lot more easily.

I had a petrol Ibiza and now have a diesel polo.

I'm a diesel convert!

It will do almost twice as many miles per tank as the Ibiza for not much more money.

I do a lot of mway driving though so this may be why.

I do agree about legroom in the front of the ibiza with a rear facing seat in the back but unless you use an extended rear facing seat then this shouldn't be a problem?

I was also lucky that we used DH car most of the time when out as a family so the legroom issue actually wasn't a big deal for us.

We have an Ibiza and love it. We've had it from new, so about 4 years now. We also considered a Fiesta bit price wise it was expensive for a smaller car.

jusy been to look round some car garages. I still really love the look of the ibiza and the boot space for a small car seemed great. dh now throwing another into the mix and likes the vw polo but I think it seemed quite a bit smaller than the ibiza?

I rate the Ibiza, but preferred the interior of the Polo. They are effectively the same car, so there should be no real difference size wise. In fact, I think I could get a rear facing child seat into the Polo, but not the Ibiza...

If going for the Ibiza, do not get the older petrol engines (1.2 70PS or 1.4 85PS). They are really old tech, and underpowered. The petrol TSI engines, or the diesel 1.6 TDI are the ones to go for.

At 10k miles, I would recommend petrol engines. They will also save you money on company car tax.

thanks amatutrish I hadnt yet thought what size engine to go for. is the 1.6 still cheap to fuel? I have in my head smaller engine cheaper to run?

Yes, very efficient. You should get 60mpg.