Mk1 SEAT Ibiza & Malaga Register

[egg]

[SEATMad]

I pinched these from the Mk1 Ibiza Facebook group ( all credit to Nathan for posting) 

I absolutely loved SEAT's marketing strategy back then.

[MantaGTE85]

Thanks for that SEATMad. I didn't realise the 1.5 GLX was given an injection engine this early in the mk1 run. In the '90s, I owned two carb-fed original 85bhp 1.5 GLX's. Both were pretty nippy in these very lightweight cars although the fuel economy wasn't the best. It would have been interesting to drive a GLX Injection to compare. Has anyone on here driven a 1.5 Injection? With 100bhp, it could quite possibly keep up with a Nova GTE/GSi.

[SEATMad]

9 hours ago, MantaGTE85 said:

Thanks for that SEATMad. I didn't realise the 1.5 GLX was given an injection engine this early in the mk1 run. In the '90s, I owned two carb-fed original 85bhp 1.5 GLX's. Both were pretty nippy in these very lightweight cars although the fuel economy wasn't the best. It would have been interesting to drive a GLX Injection to compare. Has anyone on here driven a 1.5 Injection? With 100bhp, it could quite possibly keep up with a Nova GTE/GSi.

100bhp I'm sure would've felt quite peppy in one of these. Defiantly would've given a Nova GSi or a Fiesta XR2 a run for its money. 

[JMotor]

I'd of said the Ibiza would of been a nicer place to be in over a Nova as well.

Also agreed about how it would go. Can't see an Ibiza weighing much more either? 

I was intrigued about the 80's to 90's SEAT cars and found these pictures of a Ronda. 

This was to show how much SEAT had changed enough of the Fiat Ritmo for it to be a different car. As Fiat had tried to sue SEAT for selling a car too similar looking to the Ritmo/Strada. 

*I do apologise if this was already known*

[SEATMad]

2 minutes ago, JMotor said:

I'd of said the Ibiza would of been a nicer place to be in over a Nova as well.

Also agreed about how it would go. Can't see an Ibiza weighing much more either? 

I was intrigued about the 80's to 90's SEAT cars and found these pictures of a Ronda. 

This was to show how much SEAT had changed enough of the Fiat Ritmo for it to be a different car. As Fiat had tried to sue SEAT for selling a car too similar looking to the Ritmo/Strada. 

Excellent work finding these photos! I knew about the Fiat lawsuit which ended SEAT's and Fiat's relationship however it's the first time I've seen this "demo" car. Interesting to see how much SEAT did actually change, although even with the changes, it does still look very similar to the Strada. 

 

The Ibiza may even weigh slightly less than the Nova so I reckon would defiantly have a fighting chance, Defiantly agree about being a nicer place to be, especially as higher spec GLX do look quite plush inside. 

[AnthonyG]

On 02/05/2024 at 21:51, JMotor said:

I was intrigued about the 80's to 90's SEAT cars and found these pictures of a Ronda. 

This was to show how much SEAT had changed enough of the Fiat Ritmo for it to be a different car. As Fiat had tried to sue SEAT for selling a car too similar looking to the Ritmo/Strada. 

*I do apologise if this was already known*

I do kind of see Fiat’s point to be honest! I guess the case was heard in Spanish courts, so there was probably some bias for the home side. 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I've got a feeling the court battle happened in Paris believe it or not 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

There's quite a good Spanish YouTube channel called 'Garaje Hermetico' that's got a full episode on this Seat Ronda bust-up story. It's in Spanish obvs but the YT subtitles are very good nowadays. Reccomend

 

Edit: this is it I think 

 

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I wonder if the Ronda windscreen is different to the Ritmo? I doubt it. I presume the yellow bit is just the screen seal not the window itself.

[MantaGTE85]

That video is amazing. I was always aware of the SXi, but I didn't know you could get one in early-mad-dash flavour. 

[SEATMad]

I'm really tempted to take a trip to the continent and come home with a Malaga and/or Ronda. Anyone know any decent euro car/classic sites? 

[coachie]

On 02/05/2024 at 21:40, SEATMad said:

100bhp I'm sure would've felt quite peppy in one of these. Defiantly would've given a Nova GSi or a Fiesta XR2 a run for its money. 

My 1.5 litre twin choked Weber 5 door Special certainly GLF. 

I definitely wouldn't want any more power without a serious brake system upgrade.

[coachie]

4 hours ago, SEATMad said:

I'm really tempted to take a trip to the continent and come home with a Malaga and/or Ronda. Anyone know any decent euro car/classic sites? 

I think @HillmanImp 's idea of a reverse banger rally is an ace one, but instead of a race, the object is to get every vehicle back on to home soil.

[SEATMad]

1 hour ago, coachie said:

My 1.5 litre twin choked Weber 5 door Special certainly GLF. 

I definitely wouldn't want any more power without a serious brake system upgrade.

What a contrast to the 903cc 45 BHP in mine! 

[SEATMad]

1 hour ago, coachie said:

I think @HillmanImp 's idea of a reverse banger rally is an ace one, but instead of a race, the object is to get every vehicle back on to home soil.

Yeah that's a brilliant idea, what would be your choice? 

[coachie]

I would probably go Malaga too, or a rarer Ibiza model.  

I have a mechanic friend that owns an early SEAT Marbella, and other crazy ideas mooted include a Spanish road trip to Marbella and Ibiza in said eponymous cars.

Perhaps a combination of the two events to make an epic* AS event.

Monkey tennis, anyone?

[MantaGTE85]

16 hours ago, SEATMad said:

What a contrast to the 903cc 45 BHP in mine! 

Coachie's 1.5 Special may even be faster than my two early 1.5 GLX's were. I think I've read somewhere (maybe one of my old price guides) that the 1.5 was boosted from 85bhp to 90bhp in around mid-1990. And the base-model Special would weigh less as well. When did the Fiat-sourced 903 and 1700 diesel versions come out? You certainly couldn't get one as a C-reg like my first one.

[RichardK]

Have you got SEAT's heritage Ibiza on there?

(Aha, yes, you have).

It came to the Parkers office. People were confused by the existence of a "choke" control 😕

This is long enough ago it could have rusted away by now.

[MantaGTE85]

It's a 903 Comfort model. And a very late pre-VW dash car too, May 1989 being when the revised dash came in.

[SEATMad]

On 05/05/2024 at 19:27, coachie said:

I would probably go Malaga too, or a rarer Ibiza model.  

I have a mechanic friend that owns an early SEAT Marbella, and other crazy ideas mooted include a Spanish road trip to Marbella and Ibiza in said eponymous cars.

Perhaps a combination of the two events to make an epic* AS event.

Monkey tennis, anyone?

Yeah defiantly got to be a Malaga for me. Saying that though, a Ronda would also be very tempting!

100% would be down for an absolute epic AS event like that!

 

11 hours ago, MantaGTE85 said:

Coachie's 1.5 Special may even be faster than my two early 1.5 GLX's were. I think I've read somewhere (maybe one of my old price guides) that the 1.5 was boosted from 85bhp to 90bhp in around mid-1990. And the base-model Special would weigh less as well. When did the Fiat-sourced 903 and 1700 diesel versions come out? You certainly couldn't get one as a C-reg like my first one.

I would absolutely love to experience the 1.5 in @coachie's. It'll feel like a absolute rocket ship compared to mine! I believe the 903cc came out on release and the 1.7 diesel came out around 1987/88 but don't quote me on it..

 

11 hours ago, RichardK said:

Have you got SEAT's heritage Ibiza on there?

(Aha, yes, you have).

It came to the Parkers office. People were confused by the existence of a "choke" control 😕

This is long enough ago it could have rusted away by now.

Was this featured in this video by any chance? 

 

[SEATMad]

Another ad

[Barry Cade]

56 minutes ago, SEATMad said:

Another ad

That is the exact colour and wheels that my 1.2 GLX was, many years ago when it was mint. I swopped it for a 216 Vitesse!

[MantaGTE85]

I like that ad. Going by the Ibiza pinstripe, it looks like a very early 'facelift' equivalent of my second 1.5 GLX, which was a G-reg but still early-dash 5dr in gold (Kalahari Beige). It's still a nice looking shape.  

[MantaGTE85]

It's easy to forget how much visibility these impressive little cars have. Watching that video review has given me a real feeling of de-ja-vous, reminding me so much of the two I owned. I actually do remember having to lift my legs quite a way up to push the pedals. The brake pedal did indeed have about an inch downward travel before the brakes would start jumping into action, it turns out TADTS. The front wiper switch was a slider control which felt sticky to operate and if you were too heavy-handed, you would inadvertently be skipping the switch too far into the highest speed when all you wanted was intermittent. The indicator rocker switch was very eager to self-cancel almost as soon as you started to straighten the rather low-geared steering.

One hidden feature I remember of the early-dash cars was, at night, if you had the lights on and you twist the trip-counter reset button clockwise, the green back-lit instruments would go brighter.  And would go dim if you twisted the trip button anti-clockwise. I don't know if the newer VW-dash cars have this feature. So SEATMad, out of interest, can you check your Ibiza and elaborate, pretty please? 😊

The early (but not earliest) base-model 5dr was the Comfort, the base-model 3dr was the Designer. The amount of painted metal inside this heritage Comfort model is quite impressive. My two GLX's had full door-cards with thick vinyl on plywood backing. The open front headrests had early-'80s-Ford-era removable cushions on the higher spec models, but the two-spoke steering wheel was exactly the same across the range, except for the mildly sporty Crono.

 

[Pieman]

On 02/04/2024 at 00:23, coachie said:

J851 LLA from an x/twitter post last year.

 

Just seen this - that's Jude Currie, he's on a couple of car spotting groups I follow on Facebook.  I think he must have invented time travel given the amount of stuff he finds almost daily all over London!

[coachie]

On 10/05/2024 at 00:40, MantaGTE85 said:

It's easy to forget how much visibility these impressive little cars have. Watching that video review has given me a real feeling of de-ja-vous, reminding me so much of the two I owned. I actually do remember having to lift my legs quite a way up to push the pedals. The brake pedal did indeed have about an inch downward travel before the brakes would start jumping into action, it turns out TADTS. The front wiper switch was a slider control which felt sticky to operate and if you were too heavy-handed, you would inadvertently be skipping the switch too far into the highest speed when all you wanted was intermittent. The indicator rocker switch was very eager to self-cancel almost as soon as you started to straighten the rather low-geared steering.

One hidden feature I remember of the early-dash cars was, at night, if you had the lights on and you twist the trip-counter reset button clockwise, the green back-lit instruments would go brighter.  And would go dim if you twisted the trip button anti-clockwise. I don't know if the newer VW-dash cars have this feature. So SEATMad, out of interest, can you check your Ibiza and elaborate, pretty please? 😊

The early (but not earliest) base-model 5dr was the Comfort, the base-model 3dr was the Designer. The amount of painted metal inside this heritage Comfort model is quite impressive. My two GLX's had full door-cards with thick vinyl on plywood backing. The open front headrests had early-'80s-Ford-era removable cushions on the higher spec models, but the two-spoke steering wheel was exactly the same across the range, except for the mildly sporty Crono.

 

The VW dash is backlit orange and the reset knob does not twist unfortunately. 

I did notice a tiny black plastic plug on the clear plastic to the right of the speedo that I had not clocked before.  Possibly something there on the more luxurious models?

 

[jonathan_dyane]

Last year I saw César Manrique's Ibiza in Lanzarote. It was nice but showing signs of rust despite the favourable climate!

[jonathan_dyane]

Wasn't the rumour about the Ritmo/Ronda lawsuit that the reason Fiat were so pissed of was not that the Ronda looked like a Ritmo but that it was a dead ringer for their planned but unreleased Ritmo restyle?

[SEATMad]

 

 

Ooooohh the want is strong, this looks very tempting... 

 

https://www.coches.net/x-57623558-covo.aspx