In this version esseesse kite, power is increased to 180hp (cons 155 on the base version) and torque can reach 270Nm (instead of 230). So much for the engine. The option also includes a kit esseesse "Assetto" on the chassis. This includes firmer springs, a plate lowered, ventilated brake disks, wafers, high-performance front and the famous white wheels that provides a look at the Punto Rally.
Initially, I decided to get my bearings retaining the normal mode of electronic mapping. The Grande Punto is esseesse then shows a city near perfect, soft and manageable, the engine very flexible. If you tickle the accelerator a little, the answer is straightforward but is still civilized. This seems perfect for city driving or to fetch bread.
As we approach our road test favorite, I press the 'Sport Boost atop the center console. The effect is not expected, quite radically transforming the nature of the Abarth. The turbo blows harder and from lower pension, while throttle response is meant much more vivid. Dynamism that is fun! However, the kick to the buttocks esseesse does not seem much more violent than the Abarth 155ch, we can not honestly be described as lethargic.
As the pace quickens, I already found the sensations experienced in the Abarth 155ch: behavior healthily balanced grip pretty good but not amazing, strong engine that does not amount to very high towers ... Anyway conduct friendly where inputs Kit esseesse seem minimal for the purpose of this kind of car that is fun without necessarily wanting at all costs "slamming" a time record. One detail, however: one direction and frankly not very informative too assisted. Result, it is rather difficult to determine the limits of the chassis. And as it slips from four irons, it requires the pilot to the promptness in his responses. A strange feeling, one I had tried Abarth had seemed more attentive. Is this an effect of the toughest springs esseesse? Mystery ...
Changing drivers, I go to Ibiza. Quiet mode, it behaves almost like a car owner. The motor is inaudible and the smoothness of the automatic transmission you almost fall asleep. Add to that a suspension comfort of the most livable in everyday life and you have a car used every day without any worry, and pleasant even in traffic jams. Ibiza but this is it capable of entertaining its driver? To find out, it flips the lever of the DSG in sport mode and it goes to the roads that wiggle ...
In acceleration, the timbre becomes more raucous when titillates the engine. Worked in the exhaust, the sound of the 1.4 TSI 180hp is evocative, even if it is almost uncomfortable to approach the red zone because too buzzing. As for the push, it is a whole Germanic efficiency, pushing back very quickly, but with a linearity of the surrounding landscape. The combined effect of the double turbocharging and gearshift flash of dual-clutch gearbox.
From the first turn, the potential for adhesion of the frame of the Ibiza is superior to that of the Punto (which explains why I could not take off the SEAT of my mirror when I opened the road with the Abarth). The management also reveals more informative and clear, and bend registration is easy. All is not perfect. The frame actually gives the strange impression that the front and rear not working together. This forces us to play constantly and application of mass transfer for a successful own path.
But most disappointing is still the case, completely off topic. If it works wonders on a daily basis, she quickly laid the weapons on apace. The passages are fast but the management is weak, delaying to demote the reacceleration, even in Sport mode. Remains the choice of using the manual mode and paddle shifters. But SEAT have seen too much with seven reports. They are indeed so close that one is forced to constantly switch. What is not always possible sequences of corners very close and tight. A route where one remains in second or almost all the way with the Clio or the Abarth, without having to change gear ... Another strange detail: the ESP light was turned on almost constantly at this course with the Ibiza, while it remains silent on the Clio or the Abarth. Is it the manifestation of the action of XDS electronic differential? In any case, it seems to overcome its job correctly, without being unnecessarily intrusive.
