Seat’s greenest car is a scrappage star

SEAT is highlighting not just the cash benefits but also the important environmental benefits that spring from the much-anticipated scrappage scheme, announced in last month’s Budget by Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling and coming into force today.

The innovative scheme, which sees some car buyers qualify for a £2,000 contribution towards a new SEAT in exchange for a commitment to scrap their old vehicle, should mean the removal of thousands of relatively heavily polluting aged motors from the UK’s roads.

So, not only does the scrappage incentive mean that qualifying new car buyers can look forward to seeing the invoice price of, for instance, the ultra-green new SEAT Ibiza SC Ecomotive shrink from its previous £11,605 to a mere £9,605, but it also promises massive improvements in fuel efficiency and CO2 savings into the bargain.

Today’s second generation Ibiza Ecomotive, available to order now in SC and 5dr form with deliveries due to begin in a matter of weeks, offers exceptional fuel economy of up to 94.1 mpg (76.3 mpg combined, 57.6 mpg urban) allied to CO2 emissions of just 98 g/km.

Powered by a 1.4-litre TDI three-cylinder engine with a diesel particulate filter (DPF) as standard, the 80 PS Ibiza Ecomotive wrings every last ounce of economy out of every precious drop of diesel.

Compare its impressive statistics with a scrappage-compliant ten-year-old SEAT Ibiza 1.9 TDi S 3dr and the economy and environmental savings are obvious.

In its heyday, at the turn of the century, the Mk II Spanish supermini could offer a combined cycle average of 56 mpg, with CO2 emissions of 135 g/km. Respectable enough numbers, for sure. But contrast them with today’s Ibiza Ecomotive – 76.3 mpg combined, only 98 g/km and the pollution-limiting effects of the DPF – and the environmental appeal of the new model is obvious.

More than that, the 1999 car’s RRP of £11,995 compares very unfavourably with the new Ibiza Ecomotive’s scrappage-adjusted RRP of just £9,605. The new car’s a full £2,390 less, despite the decade difference.

To give that remarkable number real context the Retail Price Index, representing a typical basket of goods and services, has gone up almost 29% over the same ten-year period. Add the 2009 SEAT’s extensive list of standard-fit kit versus its 1999 forebear and the exceptional value of today’s Ecomotive is unquestionable.


SEAT UK Head of Marketing, Steve Robertson, said: ‘Today’s official launch of the scrappage scheme is clearly good news for SEAT.

‘Our portfolio of already attractively-priced models is capturing car buyers’ imagination as they look to maximise style, value and driving pleasure.

‘And with economy at the forefront of many drivers’ minds the road tax-exempt new Ibiza Ecomotive which, with the new scrappage incentive, can be bought for as little as £9,605 is clearly a car very much for our times.’