SEAT Arosa

SEAT Arosa

Manufacturer	SEAT
Production	1997–2004
Predecessor	SEAT Marbella
Successor	SEAT Mii
Class	city car
Body style	3-door hatchback
Platform	A00
Engine	1.0L I4 1.4L I4 1.4L I4 16 valve 1.4L I3 TDI 1.7L I4 SDI
Wheelbase	2,323 mm (91.5 in)
Length	3,551 mm (139.8 in)
Width	1,639 mm (64.5 in)
Height	1,460 mm (57 in)
Related	Volkswagen Lupo

The SEAT Arosa ( Typ 6H ) 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. The successor, SEAT Mii, was launched in October 2011 and will be sold in 2012.

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

Awards

• 'Golden Steering Wheel’ 1997
• 'Utilitário do Ano' award in 1998, in Portugal

Pre-facelift (1997-2001)

Named after Villagarcía Arosa, a municipality in the province of Pontevedra, 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.

Facelift (2001-2004)

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.

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 (45 kW; 60 hp) 1.2L TDI three-cylinder turbo diesel engine and consumption 2.99 litres per 100 kilometres (94.5 mpg_-imp; 78.7 mpg_-US). In order to reduce its fuel consumption, there has been an extensive use of aluminium and other light materials cutting weight to 860 kilograms (1,900 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 km/h (102 mph).

Engines

The Arosa was available with the following units:

Petrol engines

• 1.0 L (999 cc) I4, 8v OHC, 37 kW (50 PS), 86 N·m (63.4 ft·lbf)
• 1.4 L (1390 cc) I4, 8v OHC, 44 kW (60 PS), 116 N·m (85.6 ft·lbf)
• 1.4 L (1390 cc) I4, 16v DOHC, 74 kW (100 PS), 128 N·m (94.4 ft·lbf)

Diesel engines

• 1.4 L (1422 cc) TDI I3, 6v OHC, 55 kW (75 PS), 195 N·m (143.8 ft·lbf)
• 1.7 L (1716 cc) SDI I4, 8v OHC, 44 kW (60 PS), 115 N·m (84.8 ft·lbf)

All engines came with a 5-speed manual transmission, with a 4-speed automatic optional on the 1.4 (44 kW).

Concept models

The 'SEAT Arosa Racer' concept car

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'
  

External links

• Der Spiegel article on the SEAT Arosa 3L (German)
• SEAT Arosa image gallery