Spain’s SEAT (Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo, Spanish Passenger Car Company) has a complex history for a relatively young company. Founded only in 1950, it was originally in a partnership with FIAT, to essentially licence produce FIAT designs for the protected Spanish market. FIAT started with a 7% holding; this grew to 36% by the 1980s and FIAT were intricately linked with the company’s expansion until 1982.
But in 1982, FIAT bailed out, largely as the protectionism of the Spanish market was ending and FIAT had plenty on its plate from Italy in the early 1970s. But not before SEAT had bought out BL’s efforts in Spain, as that empire crumbled too. In late 1982, in the face of partnership proposals from Nissan, Toyota and Mitsubishi, VW were able to establish a licensing and manufacture deal, and by 1986 was the majority owner of SEAT and the company’s factories became a fully signed up element of the VW manufacturing network. SEAT was nominated as VW’s value brand.
The pure FIAT based products were quickly despatched. The first new model was the 1984 Ibiza, developed separately from FIAT but with some FIAT underpinnings, an engine and gearbox designed by Porsche and the whole developed with input from Karmann.
The next new product was a pure VW Group effort – the Toledo hatchback.
The plot was very simple – take a VW Jetta Mk2 floor pan, re-skin it and add a hatchback instead of a conventional boot. The Jetta was longer in the rear for a bigger boot that the Golf, and the Toledo kept that profile. All the key dimensions were within millimetres. Practicality is often a flag of good value, and was in this case.
This may have been a car based on an relatively old VW platform, but space, practicality and value for money work for many of us. Power came from a very VW selection of 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 litre petrol engines, and a 1.9 diesel, with or without a turbocharger.
The car was facelifted gently in 1995, with reprofiled bumpers, grilles and the like, and endured to 1998.
The interior was a solid, if clearly VW derived, effort.
The Toledo was replaced in 1998 by a second generation car which slightly confusingly was a pure saloon based on the Golf Mk4 floorpan and with an Audi A3 dashboard. But the format of the first Octavia, as a saloon length hatchback based on the VW Golf family platform and sold as a value for money, carried – the 1996 Skoda Octavia and its successor generations follow the format very closely to this day, while the SEAT brand has had a fairly tough time identifying itself within the VW Group structure and is indeed now transitioning to the Cupra brand, picking up the name of the sports derivatives of mainstream SEAT models.
But the first generation Toledo was an endurance machine It went on to a long afterlife as the Chinese Chery A15 until 2010.
And as the Russian TagAZ Vortex Corda from 2012 to, as far as I can tell, now, from CKD kits from China.
These cars look like VW’s restyled by Hyundai.
And here I’d thought Škoda was VW’s “value brand”, and SEAT was supposed to be a bit more off-the-beaten-path with more sense of style, kind of what a Pontiac once was to a Chevrolet, with last-generation Audi dashboards and all.
Skoda is indeed VW’s value brand now, and SEAT was moved to the Pontiac/Dodge(?)/Sunbeam slot within the tree.
As it happens, SEAT wasn’t really able to pull that off in a truly successful way, and is now being supplanted by the Cupra brand. Cupra was previously SEAT’s sports model designation, so it’s a bit like VW being replaced by GTi or Ford by RS. I sense that there wasn’t enough room between VW, Skoda and Audi and that the base product as a reskinned VW with the same drivetrains and a bit of value didn’t have enough differentiation to succeed.
Skodas are way better cars than SEATs. There is a distinct difference in quality, not only technically but in the interiors as well. SEAT has a bit of a boy racer image, where Skoda (with the Octavia and Superb) is becoming a serious player in the lease market. There are persistent rumors that the SEAT brand will be phased out in favor of the Cupra EV brand.
Don’t forget the (nice IMHO) Giugiaro design 😀
My family has had one, a 1993 1.6, and it was a very spacious, practical and rational car, and reliable even if quite slow with that engine. Left good memories 😉
Huh. I always assumed that the Toledo was Mk3 Jetta based as the looks are much more similar to that one than the Mk2 and the time frame is so similar. And that first Ibiza looks very Giugiaro and has held up well from a design standpoint.
I kind of feel that VW is slicing their pie a little too thin – I want to like the VW stuff but if SEAT and Skoda were available I can’t help thinking I’d probably head there instead, often there seems to be a little more spice and a lot more value. At least it seems that way from over here and was reinforced when I had a rental Seat Ibiza in Spain around 2000 or so for a week and the Skodas such as the Yeti and Superb just seem to build on the VW form(s) and make them better. Perhaps it’s the non-ubiquity that I’m liking, I don’t really know…
I saw some of the transition through my collection of 1984 Seat brochures. I have both a Seat Fura (Fiat 127) and Spanish made VW Passat brochure (the six window sedan sold as the Santana in several markets).
I also regularly read Car Magazine with road tests and buyer’s guides for the Ibiza and the attempt at making Seat the the cheap and sporty brand.
One could map mid 60s BMC onto VW with Skoda as the Austin/Morris, Seat intended as as MG, and VW/Audi in the Wolseley/Riley space depending on equipment.
I’ve always thought those first Ibizas were great looking little cars.
The Toledo hatchback is a great looking example of platform sharing. It looks reasonably unique and has its own calling car with the hatchback.