IF ever there was a time to downsize it’s now.

And I don’t mean dropping down from something like a Volkswagen Passat to a Golf. Go even smaller and save even more money with a supermini.

These are no longer cars for young first time buyers or us old folk. They can fit a family of four, five at a push, without sitting with your knees up to your chest.

Never before has there been such a rich supply. I could reel off a baker’s dozen of fine superminis and the Seat Ibiza is one of them.

Would you believe the Ibiza has been around for 30 years and is into its fourth iteration? It has forged a reputation as the sporty arm of the Volkswagen-Audi group and has the bragging rights as being prettier than its Polo and Skoda Fabia cousins although it doesn’t sell as many.

The Ibiza turned up after the Mazda2, featured last week, and would have made for a perfect comparison except that the Seat is a mildly hot hatch. 

Every successful car has to deliver a knockout blow from somewhere and in the case of the Ibiza FR it’s the engine. 

I have come across this engine in other VW group models and it is arguably the best of the bunch when it comes to horse power versus size versus performance versus economy.

It is just 1.2 litres for heaven’s sake yet spits performance at the slightest blip of the fast pedal. 

It has a sweet, short ratio six speed gearbox and to say it is a spirited performer is putting it mildly. What gives the FR its spark is a turbocharger that kicks in at just the right time. In fact it is just what the Mazda2 engine needs.

The economy won’t stretch as far as the Maz but I was content with a shade under 40mpg given that I couldn’t help playing with the engine’s feisty performance.

This fourth version of Ibiza does not look a whole lot different, just a few bodily tweaks is all it needed, but inside has been smartened up with a nice spongy feel to the dashboard covering and an improved layout which sees the heating controls raised to an easy to use level and that is about it, apart from a poorly positioned heated rear window switch. 

Everything else is housed in a five inch touchscreen display which has come straight from VW.

Like the Mazda2’s touchscreen it is pretty easy to use and houses all the car’s main functions including the electronic stability control. I would prefer a switch for this because it takes too long to go through the motions of turning it off, something I wanted to do when I was scrabbling for grip in the snow.

Talking of grip the FR has it in spades, hugging bends like no tomorrow. Much of this is down to the stiffer damping so if your preference is a comfy ride go for a standard Ibiza.

As with all new cars high tech is top of the agenda and Seat has taken its pick of VW’s impressive software supply although you have to pay £625 for the privilege. 

A sure sign of age is when you don’t know what Apple Carplay and Mirror Link is and you look for a CD slot instead. I thought the car did not have one until I found it at the back of the glove box under a lid.

Awfully difficult to find the slot in a black box in the dark but no doubt the young heads at Seat would ask who still plays CDs, or even worse, what’s a CD? Frustrated, I tried a different tack and slipped an iPod into the USB port – I can do some tech talk – but had no luck there either, it is not supported.

Hardly a deal breaker because the Ibiza is a very capable small family car. It doesn’t make my top three, but it is in my supermini top 10.

How it shapes up...

Seat Ibiza FR

Engine: 1.2 litre TSI; 108bhp

Performance: 0-62mph 9.7secs; 122mph

Economy: 54.3mpg combined

Emissions: 119g/km. Road tax £30

Insurance: group 18

Price: £15,465. As tested £17,370