The SEAT Ibiza is a car in the European supermini class, constructed by the Spanish car maker SEAT S.A. It is SEAT's best-selling car and perhaps the most popular model in the Spanish firm's range.
The name Ibiza itself comes from the Spanish island of Ibiza, and its use in SEAT's supermini car inaugurated the firm's new nomenclature in naming models after Spanish locations.
It was introduced in the 1984 Paris Motor Show as the first car developed by SEAT as an independent company, though it was designed by SEAT S.A. in collaboration with well-known firms such as Italdesign, Karmann and Porsche. From the Mk2 version onwards, the SEAT company formed part of the German automotive industry concern Volkswagen Group, and all further Ibiza generations, like the rest of the SEAT model range, have been built on Volkswagen Group platforms, parts and technologies.
The Ibiza spans four generations, among which it has debuted twice - in its second as well as in its fourth generation - a new platform of the Volkswagen Group. All of them were the top seller model in SEAT's range, and a rebadged redeveloped version of the first generation Ibiza remains under licence still in production in China by the Chinese automaker Nanjing Automobile Group.
The Ibiza is available in either three- or five-door hatchback variants; and since 1993 to 2008, saloon, coupé and estate versions are sold as the SEAT Córdoba.
Mk1 (021A, 1984–1993)[]
Introduced in the 1984 Paris Motor Show, the SEAT Ibiza Mk1 (codenamed 021A) entered production in the 'Zona Franca' assembly lines on April 27, 1984 and proved to be a success for the Spanish firm 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 was 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 was 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.
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 engined 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. Though a light restyling of the Ibiza Mk1 came in late 1988 with a moderate facelift in the exterior, a less radical interior and many changes in the mechanical parts, the most profound restyling was launched in 1991 under the name New style.
Next 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.