Ibiza Reliability

Zoom

Active Member
Apr 28, 2018
64
2
Cyprus
How reliable is the new Ibiza? It hasn't been on the roads long enough so it seems it doesn't have a "score" yet, but how reliable has it been for you so far?

I am trying to decide between Ibiza FR (115hp Auto) and the Kia Rio (1.4 Auto). In terms of performance the Ibiza wins hands down, it is a bit more spacious also. The Kia on the other hand has better interior (with leather seats - you can't specify the Ibiza with Alcantara anymore), 7 years warranty instead of 5 for the Seat, and the reliability score of the previous generation is massively better for the Kia.

However the new Ibiza is a completely different car so I hope that it has way better reliability which will not be very far from the Rio. Or is that just wishful thinking and I should take for granted that chances are that the reliability records of both companies (good for Kia, significantly worst for Seat) will continue with this generation of cars also?
 

tak-fr

Active Member
Dec 3, 2017
75
8
Cant say till a few years possibly. My aunt got one a 2 months ago brand new no problems but wouldn't expect a brand new car to have problems within 2 months.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:

Zoom

Active Member
Apr 28, 2018
64
2
Cyprus
Thanks. Maybe some people here had it for a bit longer. No problems so far would not necessarily mean that the car will be reliable in the long run, but the opposite - several problems already, could indicate that reliability has probably not improved.
 

camelspyyder

2 SEAT-er
Jun 26, 2014
1,305
175
A few threads on here about faults mostly electronic, but nothing fundamental. However the engine range is immature so we don't really know about the 1.0 or1.5 in the long term.
 

Woksin

Active Member
Dec 13, 2017
168
5
Leicestershire
Well we already know the Kia will be more reliable. The last few years VW is far from its Japanese rivals in this field.
I do really think it is a matter of chances though. Had cars like Alfas that are deemed completely unreliable with no faults, then a Honda not starting. It really seems to be chance to me.
 

Zoom

Active Member
Apr 28, 2018
64
2
Cyprus
I looked at other threads in the forum and I found several problems reported, mostly with the electronics. What worries me is that these issues seem to happen at random and the Seat dealership always seems to respond with something like "We never heard of this issue before, we will forward your complaint to the Seat management".

I agree that it is a matter of chances, but the question is how great those chances are. If the car gives me no problems then I would be certainly getting more value for my money with the Ibiza. But if I have problems, even nothing fundamental, like the ones reported here (electric mirrors, infotainment etc) then I would probably regret my choice.

If lets say there is a 3% chance of something going wrong with the KIA (in say the first 5 years) and for the Seat that number is 6%, then I would be willing to risk it. But if it is 25% then probably not.
 

camelspyyder

2 SEAT-er
Jun 26, 2014
1,305
175
Bear in mind that most forum users only post if something goes wrong. The other 99% of owners are perfectly happy and have no reason to post You need to wait for the first major survey (JD Power?) that includes the MK6.
 

IrnBru

Active Member
Apr 4, 2018
115
21
Well we already know the Kia will be more reliable. The last few years VW is far from its Japanese rivals in this field.
I do really think it is a matter of chances though. Had cars like Alfas that are deemed completely unreliable with no faults, then a Honda not starting. It really seems to be chance to me.

Aren't Kia's made in South Korea?
 

Zoom

Active Member
Apr 28, 2018
64
2
Cyprus
Bear in mind that most forum users only post if something goes wrong. The other 99% of owners are perfectly happy and have no reason to post You need to wait for the first major survey (JD Power?) that includes the MK6.

From reading the posts here it seems that this is not the case usually. For example in the thread "Electric Mirrors problems", three people who were already members of the forum reported this issue on the same day:
https://forums.seatcupra.net/index.php?threads/electric-door-mirrors-problems.443300/
 

camelspyyder

2 SEAT-er
Jun 26, 2014
1,305
175

Metfan08

Active Member
Apr 9, 2018
5
3
How reliable is the new Ibiza? It hasn't been on the roads long enough so it seems it doesn't have a "score" yet, but how reliable has it been for you so far?

I am trying to decide between Ibiza FR (115hp Auto) and the Kia Rio (1.4 Auto). In terms of performance the Ibiza wins hands down, it is a bit more spacious also. The Kia on the other hand has better interior (with leather seats - you can't specify the Ibiza with Alcantara anymore), 7 years warranty instead of 5 for the Seat, and the reliability score of the previous generation is massively better for the Kia.

However the new Ibiza is a completely different car so I hope that it has way better reliability which will not be very far from the Rio. Or is that just wishful thinking and I should take for granted that chances are that the reliability records of both companies (good for Kia, significantly worst for Seat) will continue with this generation of cars also?

You can get a 5 year warranty on the Ibiza? Where are you buying from?
 

Zoom

Active Member
Apr 28, 2018
64
2
Cyprus
3 out of what? maybe 3000 sold in the UK already - pretty good odds.

More like 3 out of X number of people who were owners of the new Ibiza and active members of this forum at that time. I don't know how much X is, but it certainly a lot less than 3000. And that is just for a single issue.
 

camelspyyder

2 SEAT-er
Jun 26, 2014
1,305
175
Most of the lock / mirror issues are probably because we don't read the instructions. Several on here, including me, thought the KESSY did not work on their new cars, but we were doing it wrong. Same with stop/start - it's easy to deactivate without realising you've done it. These are not faults but features of the car.
 

DigiMagic

Active Member
Apr 14, 2017
87
12
0 issues with my car so far, about 8 months old at the moment. Though I don't have electrical mirrors, kessy, or big radio. The only "issue" is I'd like better sound insulation, but, I have to admit it's already better than say on older generation Leon.
 

Zoom

Active Member
Apr 28, 2018
64
2
Cyprus
Thanks for all your answers! I will probably be ordering a car this week and based on what I've seen in this forum most likely I will not go for the Ibiza. Their past reliability record is not good, and it seems that the new model already has several issues that affect a large percentage of users. I am a bit disappointed because apart from this I like the Ibiza more than all the other cars in this category.
 
Genuine SEAT Parts and Accessories.