Our Fleet: Seat Ibiza SE Copa - December 2011

During the winter months, cars’ stop-start systems are less effective than in the summer, and this has an impact on fuel economy. Not only do they have to wait until the engine is warm, but using heaters and lights sap power making it less likely to cut power when stopped.

I have found the stop-start in our Ibiza long termer to be, like the weather, a bit temperamental. It seems to pick and choose when it wants to work, I have tried turning off lights and air conditioning and also waiting until the engine is warmer to no avail and then a random journey to Lincoln it worked every time.

Similar to the stop-start, the warning lights on the dashboard seem slow on the uptake too. A light defect warning light comes and goes and I recently completely ran out of screen wash with no prior warning or subsequent alert to say it had ran out. In a time of year when visibility becomes increasingly poor and more night journeys are driven, you need as much notice as possible.

This has reminded me that I rely far too much on car technology and should be more pro-active in checking that all fluids, tyre pressures etc are correct.

Despite the glitches with technology, the Ibiza engine seems unaffected by the change in climate and continues to deliver good economy and drive.

New cars are constantly setting new benchmarks for reliability and no time of year demonstrates this better than in winter - The Ibiza is as responsive and smooth as ever.

I am lucky enough to have a set of Continental winter tyres on the Ibiza so have found no issues in handling so far but we shall see as the winter progresses, just how effective they are.

One of the advantages to driving a smaller car in winter is how quickly the car heats up and it makes all the difference in the world on those early morning journeys!