SEAT Arosa
Encyclopedia
The SEAT Arosa is a city car
from the Spanish
automaker SEAT
, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group
, built between 1997 and 2004. The pre-facelift model debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1997, while its facelifted model was presented at the Paris Motor Show in Autumn 2000 and was in production until 2004. SEAT will revive the car in late 2011, with a electric version in 2013.
The total production per year of SEAT Arosa cars, manufactured in SEAT and other Volkswagen group plants, is shown in the following table :
, Spain
, it was only available as a three-door, four-seater hatchback
. The Arosa, launched in 1997, was to a large extent identical to Volkswagen's own city car which was introduced later in 1998, Volkswagen Lupo
, and both cars were based on the Volkswagen Group A00 platform
, a shortened version of the A03 platform used by the larger Volkswagen Polo
and SEAT Ibiza
.
The Arosa was initially manufactured at a Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg
, Germany
, and only in May 1998 was the production moved to SEAT facilities in Martorell
in Spain.
The Arosa was designed by the same man who designed the Bugatti Veyron
16.4, Jozef Kabaň
.
The model later received a facelift in 2001. The Arosa replaced the SEAT Marbella
in the Spanish brand's lineup, but was not itself replaced by any SEAT model when production ceased in 2005. Apart from its exterior restyling the facelift model featured a restyled interior with a new dashboard.
three-cylinder turbo diesel engine and consumption 2.99 L/100 km. In order to reduce its fuel consumption, there has been an extensive use of aluminium and other light materials cutting weight to 860 kilograms (1,896 lb), improvements in lowering the air resistance, Start-Stop modules and use of low-friction tires put into alloy wheels. The model was also equipped with an electronically driven automatic transmission with three modes: 'Eco', Normal and 'Tiptronic'. This combination of powertrain and saving weight allowed the Arosa 3L to accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in 14.7 seconds, and reach a top speed of 164 kilometre per hour.
Petrol engine
s
Diesel engine
s
All engines came with a 5-speed manual transmission
, with a 4-speed automatic
optional on the 1.4 (44 kW).
City car
A city car is a small car intended for use primarily in an urban area.City cars are sold worldwide and most automotive industry manufacturers have one or two in their line-up. In North-America city cars are often referred to simply as "subcompacts" alongside the superminis. These kind of cars...
from the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
automaker SEAT
SEAT
SEAT, S.A. is a Spanish automobile manufacturer founded on May 9, 1950 by the Instituto Nacional de Industria , a state-owned industrial holding company....
, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen Group
Volkswagen Group is a German multinational automobile manufacturing group. , Volkswagen was ranked as the world’s third largest motor vehicle manufacturer and Europe's largest....
, built between 1997 and 2004. The pre-facelift model debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1997, while its facelifted model was presented at the Paris Motor Show in Autumn 2000 and was in production until 2004. SEAT will revive the car in late 2011, with a electric version in 2013.
Sales and production figures
Since its launch in 1997 up to 2004, more than 175,000 SEAT Arosa cars have been sold and produced.The total production per year of SEAT Arosa cars, manufactured in SEAT and other Volkswagen group plants, is shown in the following table :
| model | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEAT Arosa | ??? | 38,338 | 46,410 | 28,403 | 22,980 | 19,627 | 13,814 | 9,368 |
Pre-facelift (1997-2001)
Named after Villagarcía Arosa, a municipality in the province of PontevedraPontevedra
Pontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, it was only available as a three-door, four-seater hatchback
Hatchback
A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...
. The Arosa, launched in 1997, was to a large extent identical to Volkswagen's own city car which was introduced later in 1998, Volkswagen Lupo
Volkswagen Lupo
The Lupo is a city car manufactured by German automaker Volkswagen from 1998 to 2005.-Model history:The Lupo was introduced in 1998 to fill a gap at the bottom of the VW model range caused by the increasing size and weight of the VW Polo. Rivals included the Ford Ka, the Opel/Vauxhall Agila and...
, and both cars were based on the Volkswagen Group A00 platform
Volkswagen Group A00 platform
The Volkswagen Group A00 platform is an automobile platform shared among various marques of city cars from the Volkswagen Group. It is based on a shortened A03 platform.-A00 platform cars:...
, a shortened version of the A03 platform used by the larger Volkswagen Polo
Volkswagen Polo
The Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car manufactured by Volkswagen. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, coupé and estate variants....
and SEAT Ibiza
SEAT Ibiza
The SEAT Ibiza is a car in the European supermini class, constructed by the Spanish car maker SEAT S.A., is SEAT's best-selling car and perhaps the most popular model in the Spanish firm's range....
.
The Arosa was initially manufactured at a Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the River Aller northeast of Braunschweig , and is mainly notable as the headquarters of Volkswagen AG...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and only in May 1998 was the production moved to SEAT facilities in Martorell
Martorell
Martorell is a town near Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain, primarily known for its medieval Devil's bridge.It has three railway stations - one on the RENFE line from Manresa to Sant Vicenç de Calders called "Martorell", and three on the FGC line from Barcelona to Manresa called "Martorell-Vila",...
in Spain.
The Arosa was designed by the same man who designed the Bugatti Veyron
Bugatti Veyron
The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engined grand touring car. The Super Sport version is the fastest road-legal production car in the world, with a top speed of . The original version has a top speed of...
16.4, Jozef Kabaň
Jozef Kaban
Jozef Kabaň is a Slovak automobile designer. He started his career as a designer in Volkswagen. In 2003 he moved to Audi as an exterior design assistant. In 2007 he advanced to the position of Chief of Exterior Design at Audi. He was chief-designer of the Volkswagen Lupo, SEAT Arosa and Bugatti...
.
Facelift (2001-2004)
SEAT Marbella
The SEAT Panda was a badge-engineered Fiat Panda produced by SEAT from 1980 to 1986, in the company's Landaben plant in the Spanish city of Pamplona-Navarra and also in the firm's Zona Franca plant in Barcelona...
in the Spanish brand's lineup, but was not itself replaced by any SEAT model when production ceased in 2005. Apart from its exterior restyling the facelift model featured a restyled interior with a new dashboard.
SEAT Arosa 3L
In 1999 SEAT presented the SEAT Arosa 3L to be launched in early 2000, a lightweight car fitted with a 61 PS 1.2L TDITDI
-Chemistry:*Tolerable Daily Intake ,*Toluene diisocyanate, an organic chemical-Entertainment:*Total Drama Island, an animated reality series that started July 8, 2007...
three-cylinder turbo diesel engine and consumption 2.99 L/100 km. In order to reduce its fuel consumption, there has been an extensive use of aluminium and other light materials cutting weight to 860 kilograms (1,896 lb), improvements in lowering the air resistance, Start-Stop modules and use of low-friction tires put into alloy wheels. The model was also equipped with an electronically driven automatic transmission with three modes: 'Eco', Normal and 'Tiptronic'. This combination of powertrain and saving weight allowed the Arosa 3L to accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in 14.7 seconds, and reach a top speed of 164 kilometre per hour.
Engines
The Arosa was available with the following units:Petrol engine
Petrol engine
A petrol engine is an internal combustion engine with spark-ignition, designed to run on petrol and similar volatile fuels....
s
- 1.0 L (999 ccCubic centimetreA cubic centimetre is a commonly used unit of volume extending the derived SI-unit cubic metre, and corresponds to the volume of a cube measuring 1 cm × 1 cm × 1 cm...
) I4Straight-4The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
, 8v OHC, 37 kW (50 PS), 86 N·m (63.4 ft·lbf) - 1.4 L (1390 ccCubic centimetreA cubic centimetre is a commonly used unit of volume extending the derived SI-unit cubic metre, and corresponds to the volume of a cube measuring 1 cm × 1 cm × 1 cm...
) I4Straight-4The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
, 8v OHC, 44 kW (60 PS), 116 N·m (85.6 ft·lbf) - 1.4 L (1390 ccCubic centimetreA cubic centimetre is a commonly used unit of volume extending the derived SI-unit cubic metre, and corresponds to the volume of a cube measuring 1 cm × 1 cm × 1 cm...
) I4Straight-4The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
, 16vMulti-valveIn automotive engineering a multi-valve or multivalve engine is one where each cylinder has more than two valves. A multi-valve engine has better breathing and can operate at higher revolutions per minute than a two-valve engine, delivering more power.- Multi-valve rationale :A multi-valve design...
DOHC, 74 kW (100 PS), 128 N·m (94.4 ft·lbf)
Diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
s
- 1.4 L (1422 ccCubic centimetreA cubic centimetre is a commonly used unit of volume extending the derived SI-unit cubic metre, and corresponds to the volume of a cube measuring 1 cm × 1 cm × 1 cm...
) TDITurbocharged Direct InjectionTDI or Turbocharged Direct Injection is a design of turbodiesel engines, which feature turbocharging and cylinder-direct fuel injection, developed and produced by Volkswagen Group. These TDI engines are widely used in all mainstream Volkswagen Group marques of passenger cars and light commercial...
I3Straight-3A straight-three engine, also known as inline-three engine, or a triple, is a reciprocating piston internal combustion engine with three cylinders arranged in a straight line or plane, side by side....
, 6v OHC, 55 kW (75 PS), 195 N·m (143.8 ft·lbf) - 1.7 L (1716 ccCubic centimetreA cubic centimetre is a commonly used unit of volume extending the derived SI-unit cubic metre, and corresponds to the volume of a cube measuring 1 cm × 1 cm × 1 cm...
) SDI I4Straight-4The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
, 8v OHC, 44 kW (60 PS), 115 N·m (84.8 ft·lbf)
All engines came with a 5-speed manual transmission
Manual transmission
A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
, with a 4-speed automatic
Automatic transmission
An automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
optional on the 1.4 (44 kW).
Successor
The successor model to the Arosa will be sold in late 2011, and will be called SEAT MiiSEAT Mii
The SEAT Mii is a small car produced by the Spanish manufacturer SEAT officially presented on October 2011, part of the Volkswagen Group New Small Family series of models. SEAT Mii production started in 2011, and the car will be launched in the European market with its sales starting in the fourth...
Concept models
At the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2001, SEAT presented two SEAT Arosa-based concept cars:- the 'SEAT Arosa Racer'
- the 'SEAT Arosa City Cruiser'