SEAT Córdoba

Infobox Automobile


name = SEAT Córdoba
manufacturer = SEAT
parent_company = Volkswagen Group
production = 1993–2008
class = Small family car
platform = Volkswagen Group A0

The SEAT Córdoba is the saloon, estate and coupé version of the supermini SEAT Ibiza, built by Spanish automaker SEAT from 1993 to 2008.

First generation (1993–2002)

Infobox Automobile


name = SEAT Córdoba - First generation
production = 1993–2002
body_style = 2-door coupé
4-door saloon
5-door estate
platform = Volkswagen Group A03
engine = 1.4L I4
1.4L I4 16 valve
1.6L I4
1.8L I4
1.8L I4 16 valve
2.0L I4
2.0L I4 16 valve
1.9L I4 Diesel
1.9L I4 Turbodiesel
1.9L I4 SDI
1.9L I4 TDI| length = Auto mm|4109
width = Auto mm|1640
height = Auto mm|1408
weight = Auto kg|990
wheelbase = Auto mm|2440
track =
related = SEAT Ibiza
Volkswagen Polo Mk3
Volkswagen Golf Mk3
Volkswagen Jetta/Vento
designer = Giorgetto Giugiaro

The first SEAT Córdoba was launched in the summer of 1993, penned by Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro and based on the chassis of the SEAT Ibiza which would spawn the Volkswagen Polo Mk3 the following year. In 1996 the Córdoba range was extended to an estate (Córdoba Vario) and a coupé (Córdoba SX).

Its 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0-litre petrol engines were also found in the Volkswagen Polo and Ibiza, as was the 1.9 TDI.

Though based on the Polo and Ibiza, its extended rear overhang meant its length was close to a Golf but still smaller than the Jetta.

It was considerably cheaper than saloon versions of small family cars like the Ford Escort, Vauxhall Astra, Peugeot 306 and Renault Mégane and its boot was about the size, though it failed to match the interior space due to its shorter wheelbase.

SEAT homologated a World Rally Car version of the Córdoba 16v for competition in the FIA World Rally Championship and other international rallies. 1994 World Drivers' Champion Didier Auriol, of France, and Toni Gardemeister and Harri Rovanpera, both of Finland, were among those to pilot the factory cars. Debuting at the 1998 Rally Finland with Rovanpera, and with podiums achieved at the 1999 Rally New Zealand (Gardemeister), the 1999 Rally of Great Britain (Rovanpera) as well as the 2000 Safari Rally (Auriol), the works programme concluded at the end of the 2000 season.

Rebadges

The contemporary Volkswagen Polo Classic (saloon) and Variant (estate) were in fact restyled versions of the Córdoba, and not based on the Polo Classic/Volkswagen Polo hatchback.

FAW-Volkswagen, VW's Chinese subsidiary assembled and sold the Mk1 Córdoba under the Citi-Golf name in 1996.

The Citi-Golf had the Córdoba rear and front design not the European / South American versions which helped distinguish the Córdoba from the Polo Classic/Derby models. In Mexico it was rebadged as the Volkswagen Derby. In 1995 it was imported from Spain, but the 1996 model was assembled in the Volkswagen de México assembly plant in Puebla, Mexico. In 1998 the spanish made Polo Classic/Volkswagen Polo Classic was introduced in Mexico as the new Volkswagen Derby.

Córdoba SX

The Córdoba SX was a two-door coupé version of the Córdoba. It came in four variants. A 1.6 Auto bhp|100|-1, 1.9TD, 2.0 8V (Cupra) which has the same engine as the Córdoba GTi and a 2.0 16v. The 16v Auto bhp|150|0 ABF engine is identical to the engine found in the Mk3 Golf GTi. The 16v SX also came with 16" multispoke alloys, Auto mm|280|1 front discs, ABS, traction control and air conditioning as standard. The model was slightly revised in 1998 with a new rear splitter which required the exhaust to be hidden, a revised front lower grill and splitter and leather interior became standard.

The Córdoba 16v, however, was not as popular as the Ibiza Cupra 16v due to being £1000GBP more expensive at list and 1 second slower 0-60 because of the added weight of the rear end.

In 2000 the Córdoba was face lifted, and the 16v ABF engine was replaced with a 1.8 Auto bhp|155|0 Turbo engine and joined the Cupra range. However the SX was no longer available in the UK and limited numbers are known to exist in southern Ireland in right hand drive format but only in a Auto bhp|100|-1 1.6 8v model. This decision was made based on the poor sales performance of the phase 1 SX.

Engine choices

The following petrol and diesel engines were available:

Phase 1 (1993–1999)

econd generation (2002–2008)

Infobox Automobile


name = SEAT Córdoba - Second generation
production = 2002-2008
engine = 1.2L I3 12 valve
1.4L I4 16 valve
1.6L I4 16 valve
2.0L I4
1.4L I3 TDI
1.9L I4 TDI
body_style = 4-door sedan
wheelbase = Auto mm|2460|1
length = Auto mm|4280|1
width = Auto mm|1698|1
height = Auto mm|1441|1
weight = Auto kg|1260
fuel_capacity = Convert|45|L|usgal impgal|1|abbr=on
related = SEAT Ibiza
Volkswagen Polo Mk IV
Škoda Fabia

The second generation of the SEAT Córdoba is virtually identical to the Ibiza III. It is again a four-door saloon version; no estate or coupé versions were built. The Córdoba II also shares its chassis and engines with the Volkswagen Polo Mk IV and Škoda Fabia: straight-3 12-valve 1.2-litre petrols, straight-4 16-valve 1.4 and 1.6-litre petrols, a straight-4 8-valve 2.0-litre petrol, a straight-3 1.4 litre TDI turbodiesel and a 1.9-litre TDI turbodiesel in 100 and Auto bhp|130|0 variants.

Saloons based on successful hatchbacks rarely become a sales success in Europe, and the SEAT Córdoba has done little to change that. It is to Seat what the Jetta and Vento were to Volkswagen and what the Orion was to Ford.

The Córdoba was imported to the United Kingdom until 2006.

Future

The Seat Cordoba is expected to be dropped after the 2008 model year in Europe due to declined sales in Europe and no replacement is expected. However, in Mexico, Córdoba production will continue in the Volkswagen de México Puebla assembly plant from December 2008. It will have the VW 4-cylinder, 2.0-litre. 115 bhp engine combined with a 5-speed manual or an optional 6-speed Tiptronic transmission.

External links