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

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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

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Increasing Seat profits is a big part of Volkswagen’s strategy to be the world’s biggest car manufacturer by 2018, but it’s not an easy task. While the brand is being turned around and sold 340,000 units last year, it also made a loss of 311 million euros. A five year restructuring plan is “the last attempt for Seat as a brand” according to boss James Muir, although sales should increase this year to make a profit subsequently in 2013.

New models to help along the way will be:

• the Seat Ibiza ST launched late 2010
• the new Seat Alhambra
• a 2012 Seat Leon facelift
• a new Seat entry-level model and four-door sedan
• and a major Seat Ibiza facelift

Other growth for the Seat brand is planned as it moves to China - a market expected to help boost sales to 800,000 units a year by 2018. Seat will also have a key role as it builds the new Audi Q3 in Spain at Martorell facilities.

Source | Automotive News

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Seat has received some good news recently as it works towards the Volkswagen ultimatum of increasing sales or else…. Seat has experienced good results on its local market of late, placing itself as leader in market sales seven times in eight months this year. That indicates that it’s probably been beating some tough competition, lower prices or not.

Seat is now hoping that it’s put the worst behind it and is entering a recovery stage, with these results indicating that Seat could be back as the favourite local brand for Spain - a position it held years ago but has lost recently. The positive sales are thanks to the new Seat Ibiza model, while the Exeo also seems to be doing well.

The politics of the Seat recovery are difficult to ignore, with the Spanish brand answering to its German owners. But if they manage to close the year with good results, it should keep the wolf at bay for the moment, and prove that Seat can make its modest contribution to Volkswagen gaining world manufacturing domination.

Source | Motorpasion

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The Skoda Fabia RS equipped with the same 1.4-litre TSI engine with 180 hp as the Volkswagen Polo GTI and the Seat Ibiza Cupra, could be considered as giving similar performance as those two cars but at a lower price. We personally are not sold on the style of the Fabia RS so much, but that’s probably not something that will worry purchasers too much.

As the guys at Autocar say, not only is the Fabia RS snappy in its drive at the top end, through mid-range revs it’s also quite flexible. The seven-speed DSG gearbox makes for a fun drive, but not as fun as a manual would prove. Given it’s design, while it might not be the most attractrive hot hatch around it’s practical and roomy and comes in a station wagon, too.

Volkswagen has undercut its own Polo GTI on price with the Skoda, meaning you can get plenty of power for less money than the Polo or the Ibiza Cupra mentioned before. In the 90-second verdict, there’s not a lot of room to talk about whether that lower price greatly affects the quality of the vehicle but one thing is for sure - you’re still getting a zippy little hatch.

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This mean-looking Seat Ibiza SC Sport Limited is destined just for Germany in 300 units of a limited edition. The Ibiza SC is equipped with a 1.6-litre engine with 105 hp and will cost about 20,620 euros. The Sport Limited kit includes new-look Lumina Orange tint, 17-inch wheels, new air intakes, rear spoiler and new bumpers. The rear spoiler is matched with a sloped look finishing in twin exhaust pipes. Matt black tint is used for the roof and the rear view mirrors.

The interior picks up the same bright orange theme with added orange plastic inserts around the gear stick, air conditioning outlets and along the arm rests of the doors. Other features of the Ibiza SC Sport Limited include sports seats, aluminium pedals, rain sensors and rear parking sensor. Check out this special edition hot hatch in the gallery below.

Continue reading: Seat Ibiza SC Sport Limited

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The Worthersee Tour will see the Skoda Fabia RS+ and Octavia RS+ debut, and will also host seven special versions of the Audi A1. Audi will also take the new A8, RS5, TT restyling, R8 Spyder and GT along to the event, but the highlight will be the A1 special editions.

Three will appear with the 1.4-litre TFSI engine: the ‘Follow Me’ citrus yellow version, the ‘Wasserwacht’ suzuka grey version and the ‘Hot Rod’ Daytona grey. The other four Audi A1 special versions are: ‘FC Bayern’ in Misano red, ‘Pickerljäger’ in Ibis white, ‘Fashion’ in aubergine purple and the ‘Competition Kit’ in Amalfi white famous for the Audi quattro. These four models are equipped with the 1.6 TDI and will have an aerodynamic kit with front spoiler, side skirts, rear diffusor and chrome sports exhaust.

The Skoda models and the Audi A1 special editions will appear alongside two Seat Ibiza ST prototypes and the new Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Audi A1 Wörthersee Tour 2010

Continue reading: Audi A1 at Worthersee with Seat Ibiza, Skoda and Golf GTI

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Here are the first official pics of the Seat Ibiza ST station wagon version. The Ibiza ST will be presented at the 2010 Geneva motor show in March after initially being previewed by way of the IBZ Concept seen at last year’s Frankfurt motor show. The Ibiza ST is 423 cm long, which is 18 cm more on the standard five-door version. The boot has a 430-litre capacity, which can be extended when lowering the rear seats.

The Seat Ibiza ST will have the following petrol engine options: 1.2-litre with 70 hp, 1.4-litre with 86 and the 1.2-litre TSI with 105 hp. Diesels on offer include the 1.6 TDI with 90 and 105 hp and the Ecomotive 1.2 TDI with 75 hp. Optional DSG seven speed gearbox is available, and the Ibiza ST will appear in the Reference, Style and Sport kits. It will appear on the market at the beginning of summer.

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After the debut of the Golf R at Frankfurt, the Volkswagen Polo range will soon expand to include the GTI, GTD and R versions. The Polo GTI will be the first to debut with a 1.4-litre TSI engine at 170 hp. It’s the same unit as that of the Seat Ibiza Cupra, although it won’t be as powerful.

The Polo R will appear on the market later and will also be equipped with the 1.4 TSI but with a powerstep to 190 hp. A Seat Ibiza twin version should also be produced, called the Cupra R, with 10 hp more.

Finally according to Autocar, a Polo GTD could be in the works, providing the sporty looks and performance of a GTI, but with the lower fuel consumption and emissions of a diesel model. At the moment it’s purely hypothetical as the success of the 1.6-litre TDI will be used as a benchmark for any future Polo GTD.

Source | Autocar and Es.autoblog

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At the Barcellona car show, Seat president Erich Schmitt has expressed his faith in the future of the company, underlining the 15,000 jobs saved from the risk of lay-offs thanks to the VAG group decision to produce the future Audi Q3 in the Martorell factory.

During the presentation of the new Ibiza Bocanegra, the announcement was also made of a new small Seat to be based on the Volkswagen Up!, already revealed by VW itself. Schmitt said: “We are preparing to enter a smaller segment compared to the Ibiza. Thanks to the platform of the New Small Family vehicles that will be built in Bratislava, Seat will launch a small car that will be aimed at a younger public. Never before has the Seat future looked so promising.”

After mentioning the growth in quality of the Seat offering, and consequently it reaching fourth place among European manufacturers for customer satisfaction, Schmitt also focused on the need to cut production costs, saying this would be achieved through increasing employee productivity.

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The Motor Show in Bologna, starting on December 3, will host a series of important news from the Volkswagen Group, with the presentation of the new Golf Plus, that will see its international debut at the show.

Next to her we will see the Golf and the Golf GTI that were presented at the Paris show in October.

Audi, however, will be showing the world its A1 Sportback Concept, the S4 sedan and S4 Avant, also seen at the Paris show, and the new Q5. For the opening Sunday of the show, the company has organised an event featuring Emanuele Pirro, Dindo Capello and the R10 TDI, winner of the last three editions of the 24-hour Le Mans.

Continue reading: Bologna 2008 Volkswagen line-up

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EuroNcap has again put to the test some of the latest models of the last few months. Testing was carried out on seven of the cars most suited to families: Audi A4, Skoda Superb, Citroen Berlingo, Ford Kuga, the VW T5 Caravelle and the two smaller ones, the Hyundai i10 and the Seat Ibiza. All the cars did well in the test on child safety, gaining four stars which is currently the highest protection available on the market for passengers from 18 months to three years of age.

From recent research users have understood the importance of using the correct accessories for child safety during travel. However, latest studies show that 60 percent of car users still don’t correctly use such equipment. Among the most frequent cases, wrong instalment of baby seats or the wrong choice is the highest instance. EuroNcap believes these errors are caused by limited available information on the correct use of car seats, while stating that the best way of fixing a baby seat in the car is the ISOFIX system which should be offered by companies at no extra cost.

Continue reading: EuroNcap: safety tests on seven new arrivals

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