With the Seat Ibiza FR Black Edition it was certainly the latter for me, but after a week of it I was really sad to say goodbye. Let me explain.Two words that sprung to mind when the car was delivered to me were 'boy racer', and some of the looks that I got while driving it around Barnsley, particularly from students at the college, made me realise that as I head towards the slippery slope of the big 4-0, that is certainly not a description that I can pull off any more I'm afraid.The SEAT Ibiza shares many parts with the Volkswagen Polo and Skoda Fabia. Of the three, the Ibiza is more likely to appeal to younger drivers, but it still shares the solid build quality of the VW and Skoda.The eye-catching FR Black Edition is a model that screams from the rooftops "look at me" with its twin exhaust pipes, black alloy wheels and distinctive front and rear bumpers. Throw in gloss black door mirrors, a black front grille frame, sports suspension and dark tinted rear windows and you can understand why I felt like a duck out of water the first time I got in it.Take all these added extras off though and what you get with a Seat Ibiza is a car that really looks the part. The sporty theme of the model I drove continued on the inside too, with FR sports seats that were surprisingly comfortable, and red seat belts.The simplicity of the interior made a refreshing change from some of the cars that you get nowadays, and it was refreshing to have a sporty flat-bottomed steering wheel that was completely button-free.That's not to say that the Ibiza doesn't come with the modern equipment that you would now expect, it's just laid out slightly differently.There's a DAB radio for starters, and you also get a portable Garmin system that comes with live satellite navigation, Bluetooth, trip computer integration, a micro SD card slot and Bluetooth audio streaming.Under the bonnet is worth highlighting too as the 1.4 TSI ACT engine has got technology in it that is much too clever for me to understand that means that if it only needs to use a couple of its four cylinders to get along, it will do just that, significantly cutting down the amount of fuel it uses in the process.The result is a car that will hit the 62 mph benchmark in under eight seconds, but is rated at an impressive 60.1 mpg on the combined cycle.The new 140 PS ACT petrol engine replaces the 150 PS 1.4 TSI non-ACT engine in the Ibiza range, offering performance as close as makes no difference (it takes 0.2 seconds longer to hit 62 mph) but delivering a whopping 12.2 mpg average efficiency improvement, and 30 g/km less CO2 – down to 109 g/km.Available with a manual transmission only, the standard 1.4 TSI ACT FR 140 PS is also £1,015 cheaper than the 150 PS car it replaces, which came with a DSG automatic gearbox as standard.But with supermini cars like this it is all about the drive, and that is why I'm going to miss it so much. I've driven several of its rivals in the past, cars such as the Peugeot 20 and the Ford Fiesta, and this definitely compares favorably.Despite its relatively small engine it certainly packs a punch and is nippy both around town and on the motorway. Handling is sharp and responsive, while cornering has been helped by an electronic differential.All this means that the Seat Ibiza FR is great fun to drive, but with a sensible edge, and while I may have been a little self-conscious driving it at first, I soon overcame that thanks to my enjoyment.The Seat Ibiza FR Black costs £16,845 on-the-road, with the model I drove costing an extra £100 more with the addition of a space saver spare wheel.
