This is the Seat Ibiza ST, an estate-ish version of the hatchback, and the most important thing you should know about this Ecomotive version is that it does 80.7mpg.
That would have been an unthinkable fuel economy figure a decade ago and it shows just how far cars have come over the past few years. More on that later.
Firstly, the ST is 18cm longer than the hatchback, giving an extra 138 litres of space. With 430 litres of room, it still trails behind rivals such as the Skoda Fabia Estate with its 480 litres, however.
It’s fairly capacious though, and the car remains very handsome with the extra metal, if anything, adding to its appeal, making it look a little like a shrink-wrapped Audi A4 Avant.
The range starts at £12,410 for the 1.4 litre S version at £15,345 the 1.2 TDI CR Ecomotive (to give it its full title) is the most expensive.
The little diesel unit puts out a reasonable 74bhp, which hauls it from nought to 62mph in 14.6 seconds. It’s not exactly sprightly, but it’s nippy enough round town.
In these times when it’s hard to buy a litre of diesel for less than £1.40, I think most people would be willing to sacrifice a bit of performance for a lot of economy.
And the Ecomotive lives up to its name. Start-stop technology, revised gearing, low rolling resistance tyres and improved aerodynamics contribute to a headline figure of 80.7mpg, making the Ecomotive one of the most frugal cars on the market.
In real-world driving, few drivers will be able to match that figure, but 70mpg should be easily achievable and no matter how you drive you shouldn’t find economy dipping below 60mpg.
It’s pretty fun to drive as well. The Ibiza chassis is excellent, absorbent enough to soak up bumps and imperfections yet taut enough to acquit itself well when it comes to handling.
The cabin is nicely designed, with smart cloth seat covers, a sensible layout and decent quality material. The boot is accessible, with a wide, low opening, and has a useful array of nets, clipping points and a load tray for stowing smaller items.
For the price, I’d like to have seen a sixth forward gear. Not only would this have made an already exceptionally economical car even more frugal, it would have helped reduce cabin noise at motorway speeds one of two major bugbears I have with this car.
On top of the clattery diesel, wind and tyre roar become a factor at higher speeds possibly because sound insulation has been left out to reduce weight and boost economy.
You get used to that though. My biggest gripe about the Ecomotive is its price well over £15,000. The 1.2 diesel Ibiza ST can be had in non-Ecomotive guise for a touch over £14,000.
Stripped of some of the most up-to-date fuel saving technology, it ‘only’ does 72.4mpg, which still makes it much more economical than most of the opposition, and it costs £20 a year to road tax instead of £0.
Price: £15,345.
0-62mph: 14.6 seconds.
Top speed: 104mph.
Economy: 80.7mpg.
CO2 emissions: 92g/km.