SEAT Ibiza Guides, Photos and Videos

The SEAT Ibiza is a supermini car manufactured by Spanish car manufacturer SEAT since 1984. It is SEAT's best-selling car. The Ibiza is named after the Spanish island of Ibiza, and it is the second SEAT model to be named after a Spanish city, after the SEAT Ronda.

It was introduced at the 1984 Paris Motor Show as the first car developed by SEAT as an independent company, though it was designed by SEAT in collaboration with well-known firms such as Italdesign, Karmann and Porsche.

From the second generation version onwards, SEAT formed part of the German automotive industry concern Volkswagen Group, and all further Ibiza generations, as well as the rest of the SEAT model range, were built on Volkswagen Group platforms, parts and technologies.

The Ibiza spans five generations, among which it has debuted twice (in its second and in its fourth generations) a new platform of the Volkswagen Group. All of them were the top seller model in SEAT's range. A rebadged redeveloped version of the first generation Ibiza remains still in production under license in China, by the Nanjing Automobile Group automaker.

The Ibiza is now available only in the five-door hatchback variants, and between 1993 and 2008, saloon, coupé and estate versions were sold as the SEAT Córdoba. In 2010, an estate version, called Ibiza ST, was launched.

Introduced in the 1984 Paris Motor Show, the SEAT Ibiza Mk1 (codenamed 021A) entered production in the 'Zona Franca' assembly lines on 27 April 1984 and proved to be a success for the Spanish manufacturer, as it sold 1,342,001 units until the launch of its second generation in 1993. The Ibiza's sales success gave the SEAT marque a platform to build on, as it looked to increase sales in following years.

This version, while it established the now classic Ibiza shape, was advertised as having "Italian styling and German engines": having its bodywork been designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro's Italdesign, and being prepared for industrialisation by the German manufacturer Karmann. It was based on the SEAT Ronda, a small family car, which in turn was based on the Fiat Ritmo. The gearbox and powertrain were developed in collaboration with Porsche, thus named under licence System Porsche. Despite Porsche's direct involvement in the Ibiza's engines, it was only after paying a royalty of 7 German marks per car sold back to Porsche that SEAT gained the right to put the 'System Porsche' inscription on the engine blocks.

By the time Giugiaro was assigned to the Ibiza project, his previous proposal for the second generation of the Volkswagen Golf had been rejected by Volkswagen. So when SEAT approached him with the proposal for a spacious supermini class contender, that particular project was reincarnated as the first generation of the SEAT Ibiza.

Using a compact car as basis, in terms of size, it was larger than most superminis like the Ford Fiesta and Opel Corsa/Vauxhall Nova, but smaller than any small family car such as the Ford Escort and Opel Kadett/Vauxhall Astra. The luggage capacity started from 320 litres and increased to 1,200 litres after folding rear seats.

It was launched on the United Kingdom market in September 1985, when the brand was launched there, along with the Malaga saloon. It largely competed with budget offerings like the Hyundai Pony, and gave budget buyers a more modern alternative to the outdated offerings from Lada, Škoda, Yugo and FSO. After a slow start, sales picked up and reached the 10,000-a-year milestone by the end of the decade.

The interior space was good but styling was fairly unimaginative even though it was known for having a rather quirky interior instrument layout, marked by a lack of control stalks. The indicators were operated by a rocker-switch, and the headlights by a sliding switch. It had three principal trim levels (L, GL and GLX) with bodyworks of 3 and 5 doors and several versions such as Base, Special, Disco, Chrono, Designer, Fashion, SXi etc. As power outputs dropped due to more stringent emissions requirements, a 1.7-litre version of the engine was developed for the Sportline version. For the same reason, a 109 PS (80 kW) turbocharged version of the 1.5-litre engine was developed for the Swiss market and presented in March 1989.

In the meantime, SEAT had already signed a cooperation agreement with Volkswagen (1982) and in 1986 the German car maker became SEAT's major shareholder. The Ibiza Mark 1 received a very light restyling in early 1989 with a moderate facelift in the exterior, an entirely new, less radical interior, and many mechanical modifications. This is referred to as the second series, although it can be hard to distinguish from the original. Most obvious is the shift from a black plastic grille with seven bars to one with four body-colored ones, with some models receiving new side moldings. The interior was all new, with new seats and a new steering wheel, while the gearbox was thoroughly redesigned, and the brakes and steering improved. At the time, the Ibiza was being produced at a rate of 1100 cars per day, and the cumulative production had reached a half million.

A more thorough restyling was launched in 1991 under the name New style, although by now an all-new Ibiza was being developed.

The following year, in February 1992, SEAT launched the Ibiza "Serie Olímpica" to celebrate SEAT's participation in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona as a sponsor, and the SEAT Ibiza Mk1 along with the SEAT Toledo Mk1 became the official cars of the Games. The larger sedan version SEAT Málaga was a closer relative to the SEAT Ronda, although it shared engines with the Ibiza.

All engines were inline-four-cylinder units, front transverse mounted: The 0.9-litre and 1.2-litre engines had carburetor, as did the 1.5-litre 85 hp engine, while the 1.5-litre 90 hp and 1.7-litre engines, introduced in 1989, used single-point injection systems. The 1.5-litre 100 hp, introduced in 1988, had multi-point fuel injection. The 1.7-litre diesel was an indirect injection unit.

The SEAT Ibiza Mk1 took part in several rally events and formed the basis on which the Campeonato SEAT Ibiza de Rallies was organised by the SEAT Sport division in 1985, however its most notable rally version has been the all-wheel drive Ibiza Bimotor, manufactured in 1986 and equipped with two engines each one delivering power to the front and rear axle respectively.

In 1997, the Ibiza Mk1 design was bought by a joint venture between Chinese automaker Nanjing Automobile Group and Malaysia's Lion Group. It entered production in June 1999, as the Eagle, and was redeveloped and rebadged into the Nanjing Yuejin Soyat in late 2003. Chinese Ibiza production came to a final end in 2008, after another facelift in 2007.

The Spanish company Emelba produced two derivatives of the SEAT Ibiza Mk1: the pickup derivative of the Ibiza, and the Emelba Siete, a 7-seat MPV derivative.

Other than the Emelba variants, further Ibiza Mk1 derivative models have been produced from several companies, like the Anibal Raider and Podadera models.

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