European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 05, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday december 5, 1985 the stars and stripes Page 13 Mediterranean in looks German in character seat s Ibiza is car with a difference before going Inlo detail on today s subject of discussion the seat Ibi i 3-door Hatchback let s take a Quick look .11 the stale owned Spanish sea firm itself. As you May know seat once worked hand in hand with Fiat of Italy but then broke off with Fiat in the Early 1980s to go it alone. Still the Spanish firm needed partners to help establish and improve its cars and seat found these partners in Volkswagen porsche  of Ger Many and the italian Georgii gig Faro s styling firm of ital design. A Strong line up to say inc least. With this italian and German sup port. Seat Hai. Described its Ibiza and other new generation of cars As Mediterranean in looks and German in Char  the Spanish car maker has been assisted by Volkswagen in raising Quality standards and Industrial efficiency by ital design with the body styling by Karmann of Germany in body tooling and by porsche with porsche engineered Gearbox and engine systems. All seat engines except the i cads have the words system porsche seat on the Cam covers. With a no ships of such High Quality one would expect the seat cars to be Good and using the Glt 1.5 Ibiza test car As an example one can say they arc very Good and they la doubtlessly get Bel Ter. It s also possible that Volkswagen May increase its interest even More by eventually taking financial control of the Spanish firm. Right now seat is marketing its cars in almost every country in Europe and it plans to have its vehicles in american and Canadian showrooms within two or three years. At the moment seat is Market ing four makes the Fura its smallest Carthe Ibiza the Ronda and its largest Model the new Malaga there s a lot More in the seat background Story of course but space precludes our going into additional de Tail so let s take a look at the main subject for this report the Ibiza 3 door Hatchback. Seat has seven versions of its front a Eccl drive Ibiza in various trim Levels and engine sizes the system porsche engines being 1.2 and 1.5-Litcr Gas engines. There is also a 1.7-Litcr diesel engine available. We had the top of the Linc Glt 1.5 the Spanish Hatchback inside and out styled by Giorgio i Ugaro s Hal design studios inc seat Ibiza Glt 1.5 presents purity of line that is pleasing to the Eye. Al right steering wheel is linked by unconventionally instrumented Lurn signal Horn wiper and Light switches. Tilza seats five people and cruises along with Case in the xo-Lo-93-Mph Range. Porsche played a role in the engine and Gearbox design. Liter version Courtesy of seat euro Auto import a Mph of Ruessel Shim Germany. The test car was a Silver coloured i talc Beauty Wilh Black trim and Black spoilers As Well As Black folded plastic bumpers. It s an attractive design and a different one for this Type of car. And the paint and other exterior wok was of High Quality. As you might expect the engine 85 he at 5,600 rpm and Gearbox were among inc highlights of the car. The High Rev ving 1.5-Litcr. Four Cylinder two barrel Carburettor engine pushes the Ibiza to a top Speed of about 105 Miles an hour Wilh cruising speeds of 80 to 93 Mph the Norm on Long autobahn runs. Although left Oul overnight in some extremely cold weather the Ibiza started on the first or second turn of the key. Some cold weal her stumbling was Evi Dent during the first three minutes under Way however but after that the engine ran smoothly. At High speeds the car is relatively silent where wind noise is concerned thanks to the aerodynamic body styling. Stability is also Good and the car handles Well in All conditions and thai includes ice and Snow. We liked inc five Speed Gearbox All gear changing Quick and easy the third and fifth gear slots quite close together but just right. Pickup through the gears was adequate our Zcro-to-60-Mph time was 12.5 secondhand there s a lot of Pep in the mid Range. The Ibi a was Nim ble and Quick in City traffic. The rack and Pinion steering is direct and the brakes disc front and Drums rear worked Well although there was some Brake noise on cold mornings. Sus pension is Independent and feel for he Road is about right. Tires on the test car were Pirelli p8 radials 165s mounted in 14-Inch Alloy wheels. Regarding Interior styling the seats in the lest car were done in a Gray  fabric that a Cal Niccla Ith the dark Blue trim. With the metallic Silver exterior the car s color scheme is attractive indeed. The scats arc firm yet comfortable and Uherc s an  amount of room in inc Ibiza.  passengers have and Quale leg and headroom while the Driver and his passenger arc provided with comfortable bucket scats. The Driver Sils up High Wilh a Good View of the Road ahead. The Ibiza seats four Large adults with Case while five would be of on a Short Range basis. The dash panel is different from other cars where the various instruments Are concerned. There arc no steering column stalks for instance the turn signals engaged by working an elliptical Swilch. While this works Well w found the other switches Horn Washer wiper lights Etc Clumsy to use. Still if one owned this car he would quickly become accustomed to this rather unorthodox arrangement the Small two spoke steering wheel in about perfect and in arc s a fwd Sie Glov Cox. Long and deep san rage bins in inc Driver and passenger doors and grab bars All around. Among drawbacks Are the Seal belts. Which arc hard to reach and often fail to retract thus hanging Oul inc Bottom of the door on occasion. We also found the Van Lillion system not quite up to Par but All in All. We had few complaints about the Ibiza. Regarding fuel usage the Irma re turned just Over 30 Miles to inc gallon under All conditions inc Jing Sudi cd High Speed runs. With the i liter engine super Premium Gas is used. In Germany the Price of inc Ibi a Glt discussed in this re porn is 15.500 Marks $6,200including the 14 percent vat tax while the same car in Lver Sion lowest trim level and with 1.2-Liicr engine costs 12.660 Marks j5.064including tax. So if . Specs arc l vital the Ibiza is Worth checking out it offers Good value for Money in ils class and is an attractive car. The seat firm has 2,500 dealers throughout Europe some 350 of Ihm in Germany alone so servicing would pre sent few problems. Randy Barnett cafes car show moves to a Sers a Fern Friday the cafes Europe new car show which opened last weekend at Heidelberg is moving to  where in will open a three Day run on Friday. More than 100 new american cars vans recreational vehicles and motorcycles will be featured inside a healed Lent on the vog Cloch Community parking lot. The tent covers an area of about 30.000 Square feet so there should be More than adequate space for display of vehicles. Featured will be a Large selection of 1986 models from american motors Chrysler Ford general motors and Volks Wagen As Well As 1986 motorcycles from Harley Davidson. The new front wheel drive Ford Taurus and the Mercury Sable the Taurus Lin Coln Mercury counterpart have been flown to Germany especially for the cafes present Lions. These iwo cars which have been in the develop Cal Slage for five years will nol be shown to the american Public until december 26, so members of the military will have the first viewing. Along with the new Taurus and Sable Ford has also flown in its Acostar Van for the cafes presentation. Tires and batteries plus Many other automotive items will be sold at special discounted prices during the show cafes says Wilh free lire mounting and Battery installation available during the show s two Day run. Daily hours Are from 11 . To 7 . On opening Day Friday from 10 . To 7 . On saturday and from noon until 6 . On sunday. . The new front it Heel Drite Mercury Sable