2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 15:44
Seat's small fuel saver is already in its second generation after a year. The Ibiza Ecomotive is based on the recently completely redesigned model series - and combines driving fun with savings fun.
By Jürgen Wolff
Officially, the average consumption of the new five-door Ecomotive Ibiza is only 3.7 liters of diesel - this corresponds to CO2 emissions of just 98g / km and is thus well below the limit of 120g / km that the EU is aiming for. These values are made possible by a whole range of measures. With the 1.4-liter TDI engine from the VW group shelf, the software in particular has been optimized. There is also fine-tuning of weight, aerodynamics and tires.
Avoidance of air turbulence
In terms of aerodynamics, the optimizations focus primarily on the front, rear and a little bit of fine-tuning around the wheels. Above all, the front grille was completely closed to avoid air turbulence. There are also changes to the lower ventilation grille and a specially tailored front spoiler 40 mm larger.
The function of the rear roof spoiler is also particularly important, says Seat's product developer Pere Vidal. And finally, small elements on the rear wheels ensure that the air flow is better guided. The drag coefficient fell from 0.33 for the normal Ibiza to 0.30 for the Ecomotive. According to Vidal, the wages: 5.2 g less CO2 per kilometer.
Optimization of the engine control
The second largest saving effect was achieved by the Seat engineers with 4.9 g of CO2 when optimizing the engine management of the three-cylinder. Using software tuning, they mainly changed the injection times and the use of the turbocharger. There is also a maintenance-free particle filter that is packed together with the oxidation catalytic converter to form a module: the engine management system constantly checks the condition of the filter and activates regeneration if necessary.
With a CO2 saving of 4.5 g, almost as much effect was achieved by reducing the empty weight by 10 kg to 1090 kg. And the last 1.4g of CO2 in the bill was brought in by using 14 inch wheels with closed hubcaps and a higher tire pressure of 2.9 bar at the front and 2.7 bar at the rear. Conclusion: Instead of the 114g CO2 / km usual with the conventional 1.4 TDI Ibiza, the Ecomotive only blows 98g into the air.
You can still drive well with the green Spaniard - in terms of driving values even a tad better than with the normal version. According to Antonio Valdivieso from Seat Marketing, the top speed increased by eight to 177 km / h. And the standard sprint from 0 to 100 km / h is achieved by the Sauber Seat in 12.9 seconds, 0.2 seconds faster than its brother. On the road, the Ecomotive is no less agile than other small cars with 80 hp. At the traffic lights he quickly gets into the push, overtaking is not a problem and even longer journeys are as relaxed as is possible in this class.
No automatic start-stop
The bottom line is that the Seat engineers were able to reduce the standard consumption of the Ibiza to 3.7 liters of diesel - the less consumption-optimized 1.4 TDI comes to 4.3 liters. Outside built-up areas, the small Seat with 3.0 liters of standard consumption even becomes a real three-liter car. And even in urban areas it is still very modest with 4.9 liters per 100 km. Despite the tank, which is relatively small at 45 liters, that is enough for a range of theoretically 1200 kilometers. Pere Vidal cannot conclusively explain why Seat has not installed an automatic start-stop system - but it is on the agenda for upcoming facelifts.
In practice, consumption is naturally significantly higher with normal driving style than on the test bench - but even then you can do well with a five to the decimal point. If you are looking for particularly fuel-efficient driving, you can actually get by with 3.6 liters - measured in the urban / rural mix and at an average speed of 73 km / h.
Hardly any waiver
You hardly have to do without anything with the Ecomotive: The little Iberian combines saving fun with driving fun. For weight reasons, only a few extras such as the electric panorama roof or the armrest between the front seats have been removed from the equipment list. Otherwise, the inside of the Ecomotive hardly differs from the production version: a choice of five or three doors, six loudspeakers, seat height adjustment, central locking, plus electronic aids such as ABS, ESP, hill start assist, tire control display and more. The extras include air conditioning, cruise control, parking aid and Co.
In Germany, Eco-Ibiza buyers are not only rewarded at the gas station. The tax office is also playing along - albeit in the usual tight-fisted way: as part of the economic stimulus package that has just been adopted and if approved before July 31, 2009, it is exempt from tax for one year. The purchase price in Germany has not yet been determined - in Seat's home country Spain it will be 14,816 euros. The predecessor cost 14,690 euros in Germany. That speaks in this country for a base price below 15,000 euros.
