SEAT CÓRDOBATiming chain or Belt?

The Seat Córdoba is a subcompact car (B-segment in Europe) by the Spanish brand Seat and manufactured by Volkswagen Group. It was first launched in 1993 as the sedan variant of the Seat Ibiza. It replaced the Seat Malaga, and had a total of 2 generations. It was discontinued in 2010.

The first generation Seat Córdoba was built on the Volkswagen Group A03 platform. This platform was also used to produce the Seat Ibiza Mk2, the Volkswagen Polo Mk3, the Seat Inca and the Volkswagen Caddy. The car was available in sedan, coupé and estate body styles. The coupé variant was called Seat Córdoba SX, while the estate was called Seat Córdoba Vario.

VAG decided to give this model a major facelift in 1999. There had been a previous facelift in 1996, but a very subtle one. In this new version, new mouldings, completely redesigned lights, new interiors and a much more modern and refined front end were used. It is probably one of the most elaborate redesigns the brand has ever done, as it is hard to believe that this is just a simple redesign and not a completely new generation. The estate version also received cosmetic changes, although the rear end remained unchanged. Most notably, it was renamed from Seat Córdoba Vario to just Seat Vario.

The second generation arrived in 2002, produced on the Volkswagen Group A04 (PQ24) platform. This time it was only produced with a sedan body. It shared a chassis with the Skoda Fabia (Gen 1 & Gen 2), as well as with the Volkswagen Polo Mk4.

Although B-segment utility-based sedans have never been very successful in Europe, the Seat Córdoba was quite popular, especially after the facelift of the first generation. From the second generation onwards, sales dwindled until the model was finally discontinued. Few vehicles were a real alternative to this subcompact passenger car. Some noteworthy models were the Opel Corsa sedan, the Fiat Siena, the Kia Rio, the Chevrolet Aveo sedan or the Dacia Logan.