My Seat Ibiza 1.4 Mpi, cool/s, Year 2000 (1999 - 2002)

I was just thinking about my Seat Ibiza and thought I’d blog about it!

Here is a video of me starting the beast!


I brought my Seat Ibiza back in April 2012 as a replacement to my Toyota Corolla, 1997 Sportif - which had failed it’s MOT.

My Seat Ibiza is a 1.4 Mpi, 8 valve, cool/s model, which means it has climate control - or Autoclima as Seat seem to call it. During the summer it works a treat, after a re-gas that is! I’d never experienced the air conditioning in a VW/Seat car before, really nice and cold!!
When it comes to winter, thought, it’s a whole other ball game! If the temperature goes below 2.5 deg C, that’s Ext temperature sensor, the AC doesn’t come on. The AC icon on the central display doesn’t show even after you press the manual override AC button.
There is also another sensor below the windscreen wipers, under the plastic cover, that also stops the AC from coming on. This turns off the AC if the temperature falls below -1 deg C and turns it on again if it goes above 7 deg C. So if the temperature outside falls below -1 deg C then goes up to 3 deg C, the AC doesn’t come on. The icon on the central display shows up but the AC doesn’t kick in. If you drive around for a while, and after being parked up for some time, the sensor seems to warm up and the AC will come on.
This is a bit of a pain during the winter months when it gets cold. Even after driving around for an hour the AC will not come on because the Ext temperature is, say, 2 deg C.

Engine
What can I say about the engine in this car?
Well for starters it sounds a lot like a Diesel! When I had the air conditioning re-gassed the bloke who did the re-gas mentioned that he thought it was a diesel! That is until he saw the 1.4 Mpi on the engine and realised it was petrol. What a complement!?
So, what’s it like to drive when you put your foot down?
Well, it’s pretty slow! This is down to the hair dryer that lives under the bonnet. It is a 1.4 injected, 8 valve petrol engine and produces 60 PS of power, which is about 59 bhp or 44 Kw. 0 to 62 mph (0 - 100kmh) takes 14.6 seconds, which seems like a long time when you try it!
The fuel economy isn’t that great either, at the moment it is running at around 40 mpg - combined driving. Which I think for a 1.4 engine is quite poor especially as I drive it like an old man, staying at around 60 mph on the motorway! If I compare it to car I used to have a Renault Clio, RenaultSport, 172, which was a 2 litre engine with VVT. That used to average 37 mpg, combined driving, and I was doing 70 mph (perhaps maybe more... ;o)) on the motorways.

All in though I do like driving my Ibiza! :o)