Road Test: Seat Ibiza 1.9TDi FR 3dr

When we drove the petrol-powered Seat Ibiza FR a few months ago, it didn't leave us tingling all over. Stranded halfway between proper hot-hatch-ness and ordinary Ibiza-ness, it felt slightly underwhelming. Now we have this diesel version, a sort of prudish sibling, which is supposed to mix fizzy hatchery with the affordability of diesel power. The two FRs fit together in the Ibiza range beneath the quicker Cupra, but it's this diesel that will account for 80 per cent of all FR sales.

So does a diesel improve the FR experience? Seat isn't messing around, and has dropped in a 2.0-litre TDI with 236lb ft of torque. That makes it the smallest car in the VW empire to get this mild-mannered but thoroughly useable engine, which is capable of an impressive 61mpg. It also makes it the most powerful diesel in the supermini market.

The trouble is that a diesel engine will always lack the fizz and sparkle you get from a playful petrol. You can't hang on to every gear with glazed eyes, coaxing out every single horsepower with complete tenacity. Instead, you short shift, making the most of the torque, but desperately missing a frenzy of revs.

Apart from that, the FR is a fairly gratifying thing to drive quickly. The steering is quick, so it feels agile, and the electronic diff - which uses the stability control system to replicate a mechanical limited-slip diff - works hard to sling you through a corner. There's plenty of grip and it handles all that torque without fumbling around for traction.

Seat estimates three-quarters of buyers will be under 30, single and living with their parents. In other words, young lads with loads of cash for novelty vodka and shouty cars. The diesel sits in insurance group eight, that's three lower than the petrol, but we'd still pay the premium for the zingy petrol to abuse on the way home from a failed date. And when you consider that the FR diesel three door costs £16,465 - £945 more than the petrol (and, curiously, just 80 quid less than the Cupra) - it starts to look like even more of a sacrifice.

Ultimately, this Seat is not a bad car. The problem lies with the FR badge, which feels like a forced identity; an illusion to tempt those youthful buyers. It's forcing the idea of sportiness when what we really have here is a pleasingly capable, medium-fast, diesel hatchback with great mpg. If it just got on with being one and lost those two letters on its boot - we might have got on better. For now, we remain non-tingly.