These two cars are basically identical under the skin – but which should you choose?
We compare the Spanish brand’s desirable supermini to its crossover sibling
The two cars pictured above are remarkably similar – and not just because they’re both freshly facelifted and painted Oniric Grey.
The Seat Ibiza and Arona are very closely related, to the extent that the latter is just a slightly bigger version of the former – so I grabbed the opportunity to remind myself of how different the crossover feels to the supermini which I’ve been living with.
‘Slightly’ here officially means 94mm lengthways, all but 2mm of that coming from the front and rear overhangs; 88mm vertically; and not even an atom widthways. Probably of greater relevance is that the Arona provides an extra 110mm of possible leg room for the driver and an extra 60mm of possible head room, thanks to that taller body, while leg room in the rear is a notable 86% more generous.
Standard stuff for a supermini and a supermini-based crossover, but what once again strikes me about the Arona is that it actually isn’t typically crossovery. The illusion of extra safety created by a higher seating position is one of the main draws of a crossover, yet the hip point here is barely 40mm above that of the Ibiza, so you still feel ‘in’ the car, rather than ‘on’ it.
Some crossovers also justify their higher prices with snazzier-looking interiors, but that isn’t true in this case either. In fact, these siblings are virtually indistinguishable from the dashboard perspective. Same basic architecture, materials, dash screens, even identical seats.
The Arona also retains the pleasantly light, fleet-footed dynamic character of the Ibiza, with a total absence of the stodgier feel and lazier dynamics that often afflict a crossover’s taller body. We considered this the standout chassis in its class on arrival in 2017, and even all these years later it remains uncommonly well suited to British roads in terms of both handling panache and ride comfort. Of course, something very similar is true of the Ibiza.
There is one big difference, however, and it might swing your favour towards the Arona. At first, these cars mirrored one another in their trim levels, petrol engines and gearboxes: normal or sporty, 1.0-litre or 1.5-litre, manual or automatic. But the four-cylinder version of the Ibiza was discontinued very early on, meaning the Arona has long held a slight power advantage.
Then again, the 113bhp 1.0-litre three-cylinder version of the Ibiza (which I’m running in automatic form) doesn’t feel like it’s missing the extra 35bhp of the 1.5-litre four-cylinder-probably because it’s 35kg lighter. Its 0-62mph time is only 1.3sec slower, and I doubt you would ever notice that in daily use.
I’ve still never warmed to crossovers, and I still would never suggest anyone buys a crossover instead of a hatchback, because there are usually uncompensated compromises. Unless, of course, they’re tall or less flexible than they might be and if you are someone who needs a tall but small car, then I can recommend none better than the Arona, simply because it’s so similar to the wonderful Ibiza.
