SEAT Ibiza hatchback (2008-2017) - Practicality & boot space

If you want the last word in practicality, then you’ll need to look elsewhere. There's enough room in the SEAT Ibiza up front for a pair of adults, but if you regularly carry rear-seat passengers, then you'd best consider cars such as the five-door Hyundai i20 or cleverly packaged Skoda Fabia. There's a decent-sized boot, though, and if you fold the rear seats down you'll have enough room for some flat-pack furniture or the occasional trip to the dump.

SEAT interior space & storage

As we've mentioned before, a lack of rear-seat space is the Ibiza's Achilles' heel when it comes to practicality. You can get two full-sized adults in the back, but headroom in particular is tight and long journeys will be tiring. What's more, it's a real challenge to get in and out of the three-door model with any dignity – even kids will find it a bit tricky.

21

Storage inside the cabin isn't much better. Although you get a glovebox, door pockets and centre-console storage like you would in any other supermini, none of them is particularly large compared to what's on offer in the competition. So if you tend to keep a lot of bits and pieces in the car, make sure they'll all fit in the Ibiza.

Boot space

21

There's better news when it comes to boot space, which is reasonable for this class: the five-door will hold 292 litres with the rear seats in place and 847 litres with them lowered, while the three-door holds 284 litres. Those in need of more luggage space should take a look at the SEAT Ibiza ST estate with its bigger dimensions – it can hold a maximum of 1,164 litres with its rear seats lowered. Not many superminis offer an estate version, so SEAT is to be commended for this.

Towing

This isn't often a consideration for supermini buyers, but if you need to, you can haul a braked trailer weighing up to 1,000kg with the Ibiza. The punchy diesel engines are particularly suited to moving a load with ease.