Seat has anticipated the new Ibiza Cupra displaying a concept in its almost definitive form at the 2012 Beijing Motor Show. Compared to the original, the facelift version boasts a more streamlined outline, aggressive front and rear bumpers, black wing mirrors and all-new lights: the bi-xenon headlights feature LED daytime running lights and cornering lights are integrated into the large fog lamps. 17-inch alloy wheels and a trapezoidal exhaust system complete the aesthetics of the sports hatch. Inside we find the Seat Portable System entertainment system with 5-inch detachable monitor.

The Cupra concept is equipped with a 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine featuring both a turbocharger and a supercharger with output of 180hp and 250Nm, mated to a seven-speed DSG gearbox with double clutch technology (as seen on the Skoda Fabia RS and Volkswagen Polo GTI).

Seat will present the new Toledo Concept at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. The prototype showcases very similar details to those of the future series, displaying a clean, simple design typical of the latest Spanish manufacturer’s style; yet recalling the model’s defining look over the years.

The Toledo Concept, a compact saloon 4.48m long, incorporates the version’s classic style reinterpreted in a modern key. The compact dimensions make the car agile in town while the spacious interior allows 5 people to travel comfortably. The 500 litres boot can be extended by reversing the rear seats, to accommodate large and bulky objects.

Inside the sleek clean design of the passenger compartment remind of the elegant yet simple body outline. The dashboard has a minimalist design and integrates a GPS system and automatic air-conditioner, controlled by very few keys. The combination between bright colours and contrasting stitching in the same shade as the bodywork, enhance the modern look of the car. The new Toledo, with its clear SEAT identity, will continue 20 years of history of the model.

A 5-door version of the Seat Mii will become available this summer, joining the already marketed 5-door variants of its twin sisters Volkswagen Up! and Skoda Citigo. In the same fashion as its two siblings, the new model gets an extra set of pillars at the back that do not alter the overall style of the car, buy surely add up to its practicality. Unfortunately the rear windows cannot be wound down as there’s just a clip to pop them out. The size of the 5-door Mii is exactly the same as its 3-dooor counterpart, meaning 3.56 meters in length and 1.64 meters in width, with 2.42 meters of wheel base. Trunk capacity varies between 251 and 951 litres (with the rear bench folded).

The Seat Mii with the 5-door body-type will come with only one engine option, a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder unit available in power steps of 60 and 75 hp. Average fuel consumption for the model is rated between 4.5 and 4.7 l/100 k, figures that can be improved when choosing the Ecomotive variant, which makes use of start-stop system, KERS and a set of low-resistance tyres. This configuration allows the Mii to consume only 4.1-4.2 l/100 km, with CO2 emissions of 96-98 g/km.

View the full Seat Mii 5-door photo gallery

Seat releases the first official images of the Ibiza hatchback after its mid-life restyling. The front-end is the area that shows the most significant changes, with completely redesigned front bumper, grill and head lights (now with integrated LED day running lights). The rear end instead has been subjected to just some subtle change, something that can be said about the cabin as well, with the exception of a new instrumentation cluster and the addition of some new color option. It is safe to say that the design of new Ibiza has been heavily influenced by the latest Seat concept cars, namely the compact crossover IBX and the coupe IBe.

As for the the engine range, we have a 1.2-litre TSI engine available in power steps of 60 and 105 hp, and 1.4-litre TSI delivering 150 hp and capable of pushing the little Spanish/German hatch from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 7,8 seconds, achieving a maximum speed of 212 km/h (132 mph). Completing the range there are a 75hp 1.2 E-Ecomotive unit and a 2.0 litre TDI producing 143 hp. The restyled Seat Ibiza is scheduled to make its debut in March at the Geneva Motor Show.

View the full Seat Ibiza restyling photo gallery

In 2012 the Seat Ibiza will take on the market with a new look, and here is the first picture of the revamped model, taken by a passerby and published on forum dedicated to the brands of the Volkswagen Group. Apparently, the design of the new model will be heavily influenced by the most recent Seat concept cars, namely the IBX compact crossover (which is bound to hit production fairly soon) and the IBe, the aggressive looking coupe model unveiled at the Paris Auto Show in 2010.

The picture above was snapped in L.A. during the shooting of some new commercial for the model, and shows how the front-end has been adapted to the styling created by designer Luc Donckerwolke: we can see LED light technology integrated in the head lamps, a newly designed front apron with different air-intakes and newly shaped grille. The new Ibiza might debut at the Geneva Motor Show next March, although no official confirmation on the matter has been released.

via | es.autoblog

Seat released more info and a large photo gallery of the Mii, the Spanish twin sister of Volkswagen Up! and Skoda Citigo that is due to enter the market in Spring 2012 in both 3 and 5 door configurations. Initially, the only engine option available will be a 3-cylinder 1.0 petrol unit -available in power steps of 59 and 74 hp - coupled with a 5-speed manual gearbox and boasting CO2 emissions of 97 g/km. A sequential automatic transmission will also be made available at a later time, while a 1.0 methane engine delivering 68 hp with CO2 emission level of only 86 g/km is also waiting in the wings.

Seat Mii measures 3.56 meters in length, 1.64 meters in width, 1.48 meters in height and weights only 854 kg, thanks in no small part to the new super light 3-cylinder engine (69 kg). Other numbers include a 35 litre capacity fuel tank, 251 litres of load capacity in the luggage compartment (which can go up to 951 litres when the rear seats are folded) and a drag coefficient of 0,32. The Mii also comes with innovative technologies such as City Safety Assist (a laser sensor acting on the brakes in case of emergency), SEAT Portable System (a removable 5″ multi-media device integrated into the car’s audio system that can be used as sat-nav, hands-free phone and on-board computer) and also more ‘normal’ features like ABS, adjustable steering column and side airbags.

As for the interior, the perfect ergonomics of the instruments and the control elements fit beautifully with the premium surfaces that can be individualized using colored trim from the various equipment lines. Seat Mii uses brand new seats as well, with integrated head restraints. The model will come with one of two equipment packages, Chic and Sport, each one offering special color and trim elements for interior individualization. To cut it short, Seat Mii is the perfect car for modern-day urban use. Click on the ‘Continue reading’ link below the thumbnails to check out its full technical specs.

View the full Seat Mii photo gallery

2012 Seat Mii Specifications:

Engine
Location: Front
Drive Type: Front Wheel
Weight: 854.114 kg / 1883 lbs

Performance
Top Speed: 160 km/h / 99.44 mph

Engine
Engine Configuration: I
Cylinders: 3
Aspiration/Induction: Normal
Displacement : 1000 cc / 61.0 cu in. / 1.0 L.
Horsepower: 60 hp (44.16 KW)
Power to Weight Ratio: 31.4 lb/hp
Fuel Feed: Fuel Injected

Dimensions
Fuel Capacity: 35.0 L
Seating Capacity: 4
Doors: 2

Exterior
Width: 64.6 in | 1640 mm.
Wheelbase: 2.4 in | 61 mm.

The Seat Mii forms part of Volkswagen’s new family of citycars but it doesn’t necessarily represent the cheaper option among the new range. The Mii will go on sale in its local market of Spain from next month and will debut with a price of 8,690 euros. My skepticism on the pricing of citycars in general continues, and the Mii should be right in line with its sister model, the Volkswagen Up!.

That particular Seat Mii price of 8,690 euros refers to the three-cylinder, one-litre engine model with either 60 or 75 hp. What you do get though, is some impressive fuel mileage, with fuel consumption measuring just 4.5 and 4.7 l/100 km respectively (with a five-speed manual gearbox). A future Ecomotive version with start&stop technology takes that even lower to 4.3 litres.

All the features on the Seat Mii will be offered as standard on the Spanish market including ABS, four airbags, steering wheel adjustment, and daytime running lamps. The Mii Style kit adds climate control, central locking, electric windows and a CD MP3 radio. The Style Sport takes on some sportier features as its name suggests with 15-inch wheels, sports suspension and leather steering wheel. We get the impression it could be a fun little thing to drive. Options available on all models are ESP, cruise control, parking sensors and portable navigator. After the jump are all the Seat Mii pricing details.

Seat Mii 1.0 60 Cv Reference: 8,690 Euros
Seat Mii 1.0 60 Cv Style: 10,240 Euros
Seat Mii 1.0 60 Cv Style Sport: 11,040 Euros
Seat Mii 1.0 75 Cv Style: 10,690 Euros
Seat Mii 1.0 75 Cv Style Sport : 11,490 Euros

With the Seat Mii the Volkswagen group completes its A segment offerings after introducing the Volkswagen Up! and the Skoda Citigo. The Mii comes with a one-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine with either 60 or 75 hp, start&stop technology on the Ecomotive version and a 250-litre boot.

The difference between the three models lies only in the front end, with the Mii sporting a Seat logo and dedicated bumpers. The interior has a few slight differences and a mobile infotainment system with a five-inch screen will be available.

The Mii will join the other Volkswagen citycars in Bratislava production and like the other two, the line-up will probably be expanded in the future to include five-door, electric and bi-fuel models. The Seat Mii will be on sale in Spain this year and will expand to other European markets in 2012.

This new Seat IBL Concept will feature at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show which kicks off tomorrow. The sporty sedan hasn’t been revealed with any production details yet but it could fill out the Seat offering with quite an attractive model if it makes it to production. What’s more this Seat concept at least looking less Audi-esque than the Skoda Mission L Concept.

The Seat IBL Concept will measure 4.67 metres long and has the sporty coupé rear typical of sedans these days. It uses the new “arrow nose” introduced on the IBE and IBX concepts and comes with LED lights and 20-inch wheels. A new interior will adorn the IBL with a driver-oriented central console. More details to come from the show, starting tomorrow.

The Seat Exeo gets a slight restyling for the 2012 Model Year. Both the sedan and station wagon models get the updates, with a new front beehive design grille and optional bi-Xenon headlights with LED daytime driving lights. The rear lights also get updated to LED technology. New wheel design in 17 or 18-inch models is available and on the inside we get new upholstery options and an updated leather steering wheel.

The engine range gets tweaked with better fuel consumption and improved CO2 emissions. The 2.0-litre TDI diesel engines with 120 and 143 hp run with 7 g/km of CO2 less, and a new Ecomotive unit is available which has less than 120 g/km of emissions. Diesel fuel consumption is down to 5.2 l/100 km thanks to new start&stop technology.

Seat Exeo petrol units available remain the 1.8 TSI with 120 hp and the 2.0 TSI with 210 hp (the latter gets 10 hp less when used with the automatic Multitronic transmission). Standard fit-out on the Exeo includes seven airbags, ESP and ABS and a system for automatically checking tyre pressure.

The new 2012 Seat Leon will appear at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show and will probably be one of the first models in the next couple of years to indicate the future path Seat will take and whether sales numbers will continue to grow. Once the weakest link in the Volkswagen group of brands, 2010 was an important year for the Spanish brand, and VW intends 2011-2012 to be more successful.

The new Leon will be only the first in a series of upcoming debuts, and its style should be similar to that of the new Ibiza and the IBe Concept seen at the Paris show last year in October. This rendering is an interpretation of what we can expect, and Autobild suggests we will see the same nerve lines as the Ibiza running down the side of the Leon.

The German magazine also says that the new Leon will borrow the Volkswagen Golf VI platform and will come in three variants: three-door, five-door and station wagon. That should make it a more versatile model than yet another hatchback on the market but if things don’t go to plan with the Leon, the future of the Martorell plant, beyond the Audi Q3 and Seat IBX crossover, could get complicated.

Do we detect some “me-tooism” across the Volkswagen brands? While we liked the Seat IBX Concept when it was revealed at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, we wonder if VW isn’t stacking its models a little, with plans to produce the IBX based on the new Audi Q3. The savings with such a project are obvious - both models would be produced at the Martorell plant meaning production line economics can be maximised, and the IBX would be the second new model born from the Volkswagen Tiguan.

What we loved about the Seat IBX might be the very thing that disappears in a production version - its edgy design. The Audi Q3 comes across as just another Audi, but this three-door coupé-crossover could be just what Seat needs to distinguish its crossover from the rest. Audi can afford this, because it’s an upmarket brand; Seat can’t really allow itself to produce an anonymous crossover, though.

If VW goes conservative on the design though, the IBX will join the growing ranks of crossover models with nothing to set it apart. We could see this project working if Seat keeps the IBX a little different and markets it at lower price, in which case it could also find a future for itself on the Chinese car market as well, for example.

While reports are that Volkswagen is considering developing a local, low cost brand for the large Asian market, we know that brands like Seat and Skoda are still important to increasing the group’s presence outside of Europe. And a funky little model like the Seat IBX might also bring some exciting new product to the fore.

Source | Whatcar