SEAT Ibiza review - Reliability & safety

Because the SEAT Ibiza shares so many parts with other VW Group cars, everything's tried and tested and therefore it should be reliable. Safety is no concern, either, as the Ibiza boasts a full five-star Euro NCAP score.

SEAT Ibiza reliability

The SEAT Ibiza last charted in our Driver Power owner satisfaction survey in 73rd place out of the top 75 models in 2022, but failed to appear in 2023. Owners rated its value for money most highly of all and they also loved the exterior styling. The interior was less well received, however, so the facelift could help improve matters here. 

SEAT as a brand came in 23rd out of 32 manufacturers, beating parent company Volkswagen, but behind sister company Skoda in 20th. A slightly average 21% of owners reported an issue with their SEAT in the first year, which is better than the aforementioned related brands (both 26%), rivals Renault (25%), Dacia (26%) and Vauxhall (23%), but on par with Ford and worse than Peugeot (19%) or Citroen (14%).

Safety

The facelifted SEAT Ibiza maintained a five-star Euro NCAP when it was tested in October 2022. However, due to ever-tightening criteria, some of its scores for occupant safety were reduced. These changes weren’t significant enough to reduce the overall safety score.

All Ibizas come with electronic stability control, ISOFIX child seat points, a tyre pressure monitoring system and Front Assist. This is a proprietary name for autonomous emergency braking (AEB), which means the Ibiza is fitted with a radar sensor to scan for potential obstacles and pedestrians, warning the driver if one is spotted, and applying the brakes if no action is taken to avoid it. Safety experts reckon AEB reduces rear-end collisions by as much as 38%, so the fact the Ibiza benefits from the technology as standard is reassuring.

Higher-spec trims also include a fatigue warning system that encourages a break if symptoms of tiredness are detected, and active cruise control, which can match your car’s speed to traffic ahead.