SEAT is intent on living up to its billing as the sporty one in the VW Group’s three-piece band of volume selling marques, writes Steve Walker.

The current crop of Ibiza models goes further than any before in emphasising the dynamism and exuberance the marketing men have destined to become SEAT’s trademark.

The look of the products definitely reflects the brand’s energetic direction and the current SEAT Ibiza, while not a clone to the extent of the others, carries many of the SEAT visual traits.

The Ibiza of today carries the effects of a facelift which edged the car closer to its newer SEAT stalemates on aesthetic grounds. Aggressive air-intakes are now evident, carved into the lower reaches of the front bumper. Twin headlamps are also fitted as standard to all Ibizas, as are wheels of at least 15in in diameter, but it’s round the back where most alterations have been made.

The more powerful engines in the line-up (those with more than 100PS) have extended exhaust pipes which are clearly visible below the rear valance. The bumper is reshaped to incorporate a mock diffuser, another nod to SEAT’s motorsport activities.

As with all modern SEATs, the Ibiza displays its name centrally on its tailgate, below the large SEAT badge which doubles as the boot release.

High-performance models have an important role to play in the range of any vehicle with sporty pretensions and SEAT has the Cupra derivatives doing the business for the Ibiza. These fire-breathing shopping rockets aren’t there to sell in large numbers but rather, to cast the light of prestige and publicity down on more ordinary Ibizas, raising their desirability levels by association.

The Ibiza FR(Formula Racing) derivatives could be a chief beneficiary of the Cupra’s reflected glory. They sit one rung down the ladder from the range-toppers but offer similar road presence and performance.

The cars feature 17" alloys, a blacked-out area behind the front registration plate and a honeycomb grille behind the front air-intakes. The FR brand is an important one for SEAT offering ‘warm’ hatches that are more affordable to buy, run and insure than a full-blown Cupra.

All the Ibiza’s powerplants have cropped up time and again, across the VW Group empire and tend to be solid, reliable performers. The same can be said for many of the Ibiza’s interior fixtures and fittings. The window switches, the gear knob, the ventilation controls and so on are all sourced from that bottomless well that’s disparagingly termed the VW parts bin, and are none the worse for it. The roofline is lower than we’ve become used to in Polo and Fabia variants and the rear legroom is less, but otherwise the cabin holds few surprises other than a rather novel textured plastic that’s softly abrasive but not particularly great looking.

The Ibiza’s driving experience has won praise from all quarters since its 2003 launch and was central to it collecting no fewer than three WhatCar? ‘Supermini of the Year’ awards over the proceeding three years. The car remains impressively composed in corners and the sharp steering makes it easy to spirit around town. The stiffened suspension on the FR and Cupra models injects more sportiness but the jittery ride is less comfortable for everyday work.

Well built, attractively styled and with that SEAT sporty edge now common among models across the range, to a greater or lesser extent, the Ibiza continues as one of the UK’s very top superminis. Some rivals may offer more innovation and style in the interior department or a more advanced engine line-up but the Ibiza just gets on with the job in hand – being a thoroughly efficient and pleasantly sporty small car.