Seat has entered dangerous territory with the recently introduced Ibiza Bocanegra – a tweaked version of the 180PS Ibiza Cupra hot-hatch.
The Ibiza Bocanegra (which in Spanish means black mouth, after the new grille) costs £700 more than the Cupra but uses the same engine and semi-automatic DSG gearbox (there’s no manual option unfortunately). The differences come from the styling tweaks, different interior styling and smoked-black alloys.
But the reason Seat’s in dangerous territory with this car is not the close proximity, in terms of price, to the Cupra, but its proximity to that all-round favourite the Mini Cooper S, which is within £100 of the Bocanegra.
While the Bocanegra is a fun and fast car, that’s good looking, sounds great and costs 42.7 pence a mile according to KwikCarcost, its residual value won’t be as good at the Mini, which is also fun, good looking, sounds great and is even faster.
If you’re after something more practical and more exclusive, the Seat’s an excellent option, it’s just that from a fleet point of view the Mini is our choice.
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