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.

Continue reading: Seat Ibiza ST station wagon pics

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

Continue reading: Volkswagen Polo GTI, GTD and Polo R: Seat Cupra R to follow

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.

Continue reading: Seat: Ibiza Bocanegra presented and new small car on the way

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

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

The debut of the five doorSeat Ibiza will happen next June 14. For three door model, that as we expected will be called Sportcoupè you’ll have to wait from anywhere between August and September, when what seems to be the true heir of the Geneva Bocanegra will arrive in showrooms.

In Germany the five door “base”, equipped with a 1.2 70 hp, will cost around 12,190 euros while other petrol models, from 86 to 105 hp will be around 13,390 and 15,760 euros respectively. Diesel models are from 14,790 for the 1.4 TDI 80 hp, and reach 15,390 for the 1.9 TDI 90 hp, with the 105 hp selling at 17,660 euros.

All versions have the ESP series and four airbags, while amongst the optional extras you can choose from further airbags, adaptable headlights and the new seven gear DSG. The increase in size has done well for room and boot size (now at 292 litres), but hasn’t added anything to weight, in addition cutting consumption and emissions by ten percent compared to the previous model.

Continue reading: Seat Ibiza: details and German pricing

Confirmation of the production of the Seat Bocanegra Concept revealed at Ginevra has arrived. The prototype seen at the show previews the aspects of the next three-door Ibiza, expected for November with the name Sportcoupè: but especially it will have the black nose reflecting the mean look of the Cupra, 2009, which as a showcar makes itself noticed for its chrome finish.

The good news is that the Cupra will maintain most aspects of the Bocanegra such as the front air vent design. Designer Luc Donckerwolke, ex-Lamborghini, has declared that given the success won for the prototype, it would be unthinkable to change the series’ version.

The Cupra will be equipped with a 1.4 TFSI at 180 hp and the new DSG seven gears and together with the new Toledo will be the most important news in 2009. The Toledo will be based on the old Audi A4 series but dressed up in Seat style.

Continue reading: Seat Ibiza: three doors in November and the Cupra in 2009

Seat has published new photos of the Ibiza, Martorell’s base model presented at the beginning of April and expected on the market between June and July.

The shots are the first official pics from the photo studio. Seen on the road this new Ibiza shows its dynamic and sporty aspects, characterised by the unusual lateral lines running along the sides of the car.

The large gallery includes new photos of the interior and its dynamic style, reflecting the bodywork of the car.

Seat Ibiza 2008

Continue reading: New photos of the Seat Ibiza