2013 SEAT Ibiza Cupra arrives

The recently facelifted SEAT Ibiza now gets its hot hatch credentials back in order with the arrival of the 2013 SEAT Ibiza Cupra.

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The 2012 facelift for the SEAT Ibiza arrived at the Geneva Motor Show back in March and, although the changes weren’t huge they were enough to freshen up the Ibiza.

The changes amounted to the new SEAT nose with a new grill and headlights and a crease up the bonnet, a set of bigger air intakes, a new bumper and lights at the back and a very small titivate for the interior.

Now those modest updates have been applied to the 2013 SEAT Ibiza Cupra – as previewed by the Ibiza Cupra Concept at this year’s Beijing Motor Show – as well as a set of LED running lights, a set of butch bumpers and a big hexagonal exhaust tip at the back.

The interior of the Ibiza Cupra gets a sport set of seats and steering wheel with flappy paddles behind for the DSG ‘box, the SEAT Portable System which offers SatNav, Bluetooth, audio streaming, Micro SD slot and an on-board computer. Toys on offer include Climate, auto lights and wipers, bi-xenons and 17″ alloys.

Power still comes from the 1.4 litre TSI with 178bhp and a 7-speed DSG ‘box, with lowered suspension and an XDS diff lock for sportier handling, a 0-62mph of 6.9 seconds, top speed of 142mph and an official fuel consumption figure of 47.9mpg (but if you get close to that figure you shouldn’t have bought the Cupra).

The 2013 SEAT Ibiza Cupra goes on sale next week at £18,825, with first UK customer cars arriving January 2013.

2013 SEAT Ibiza Cupra Photos >>