7/29/2019 Seat Arosa 1.0mpi April1999 Fulltest

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Car testR9920A

See also R9824

Seat ArosaFeaturing 1.0 MPi

T

HE AROSA, SPAINS LITTLE SUB-FIESTA

city car, impressed us in 1.4-litre guise when we

tested both the manual and automatic models lastyear (see R9824). This time we look at the one-litre version,

also available as a Seat in Wolfsburg clothing the VW

Lupo.

We say that its Spanish, but in fact the Arosa is more

pumpernickel than paella, because its based on the Polo

and is actually built in the same VW factory in Germany.

You wouldnt expect dynamic performance from cars

qualifying for thereduced road fund duty, andyou dontget

it with the Arosa. It is, however, thenippiest car through the

gears in theunder-one-litre class (exceptfortheenthusiastic

Yaris) and short, close-ratio gears keep it peppy in town.

The downside is that the low gearing makes the enginebusy at motorway speeds and it does no favours to the fuel

consumption, which is the highest of all the little uns.

It takes a poorly surfaced road to fluster the otherwise

compliant suspension, but the Arosa rolls noticeably

when cornering briskly, so dont expect sporty responses

on theopen road. This is,afterall, town transport, andhas

wheel-twirlingly light steering, nip and tuck handling

and excellent all-round vision to prove the point.The driving position is commendable, as well enhanced

in our test cars case by an optional Comfort Pack, which

includes seat-height adjustment to go with the

height-adjustable wheel.

Small may be beautiful for parking, but rear passengers

feel the pinch at knee level. Getting in and out isnt too

bad, though (big doors), and the seat itself is reasonably

comfortable.

Travel light if possible, because the boot is tiny. Sensibly,

though, the50/50 split back seats fold to provide additional

luggage space.

The Arosa is stylistically unadventurous and offersnothing special in terms of fuel economy and relaxed

out-of-towncruising. To its credit,however, its refinedlittle

one-litre engine gives nippy performance to match the

nimblehandling, andthecarfeels matureandsoundly built.

April 1999

HOW THE AROSA

COMPARES

Engine

cap/power

(cyl/cc/bhp)

Revs at

70mph

(rpm)

30-70mph

through

gears (sec)

30-70mph

in 5th/4th

gears (sec)

Fuel

economy

(mpg)

Brakes

best stop

(m/kg)

Maximum

legroom -

front (cm)

Typical leg/

kneeroom -

rear (cm)

Steering

turns/ (p)

circle (m)

Overall

length

(cm)

SEAT AROSA 1.0MPi 4/999/50 4100 18.5 29.6/22.3 43 30/16 105 93/62 2.9/10.0 (p) 354

Daewoo Matiz 3/796/50 4300 21.8 45.0/29.0 44 25/27 105 101/66 3.2/9.3 (p) 350

Ford Ka 4/1229/60 3490 17.3 31.0/21.4 42 28/22 105 92/67 2.8/10.1 (p) 362

Hyundai Atoz 4/999/55 4000 18.9 33.9/25.4 44 28/18 99 101/62 3.0/9.6 (p) 350

Toyota Yaris 4/998/68 3850 14.8 32.5/23.3 47 26/12 105 102/70 3.3/10.1 (p) 362

Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 12v 3//973/55 3820 19.4 38.5/26.6 50 27/16 104 99/67 4.1/9.8 373

(p) power assisted

SCORECARD

Overtaking / pulling power

Fuel economy

Handling / steering

Comfort / ease of control

Interior space / practicality

Accident / injury avoidance

Costs in service

Depreciation prospects

7/29/2019 Seat Arosa 1.0mpi April1999 Fulltest

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mph

IN 5TH

GEAR

IN 4THGEAR

30

30

4 0

4 0

5 0

5 0

6 0

6 0

70

70

THROUGHTHEGEARS

20 mph

5TH/4THSPEEDRANGES

13.4/9.8

13.4 20.5 29.66.7

13.8/10.

16.2/12.

13.6/10.

1 5

2 4

mph* for best acceleration

REVSPERMINUTE

5th4th

3rd

2nd

1st

Gearing gives 17.1mph per 1000rpmin top gear = 4100rpm at 70mph

5500* 5500 5570

24 58 95

40 76

FUEL CONSUMPTION

MEASUREMENTS

45

19

68

354

189* 164

149

128

12695-108

95

28-47

79-105

93

36

62

( no sunroof ) 9295-102

146

T: typical back seat space behind medium-sized front occupants

13(inner sill) (outer sill)

46 53T

T

* 170 with mirrors folded

86

Centimetres

9.8 15.422.3

5.0

6.5 11.418.5

2.8

Maximum speeds

2

PERFORMANCE

Acceleration time in seconds

Fuel grade: unleaded Premium, 95 octane petrol

Type of use - air conditioning not fitted* mpg

In the city - heavy traffic 28

In the country - quiet driving 55

Typical mpg overall 43

Realistic tank range 28 litres/265miles

*with air conditioning switched on, consumption will increase by 24% in

winter and 48% in summer

BRAKES

Pedal feel HandbrakeBehaviour in an emergency

Dry road stopping distance from 50mph (no ABS)

(A good-to-average best stop is about 28m at 20-30kg pedal load)

Fade test: pedal load required for a moderate (34m/.75g) stop:

14kg at start of test, 19kg at end of test (Ideal brakes show no change)

10m 20mDistance

Pe

dal

loa

d

30m

_________________

46m

_________________

35m

_________________

30m (.84g best stop - front wheels just locking)

_________________

31m (front wheels locked)

40m 50m 60m

10kg

14kg

17kg

16kg

Three-door hatchback

The Automobile Association 1999