Seat Ibiza Cupra and Ecomotive to debut at Paris Motor Show

Set to make their Show debuts on 2 October, the Cupra and Ecomotive are highly significant additions to the sharp-looking new Ibiza range – at a stroke, they become respectively the meanest and greenest versions of SEAT’s supermini.

The Cupra is brimming with sophisticated technology. It uses a 180 PS 1.4-litre petrol engine, featuring not only a turbocharger but also a supercharger, an approach beneficial to both power delivery and fuel efficiency. Furthermore, this compact yet potent powerplant is mated to a seven-speed DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox) transmission, complete with F1-style steering wheel shift-paddles.
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chewy - 9/2/2008 12:44:48 AM

+1 Boost

Considering the car has a giant S on its grille (which stands for Seat) I don't see how Audi is involved.

There is nothing wrong with Seat selling a car that will get 60+ mpg on the highway, or selling a sporty version that will get good fuel economy. Didn't your Ivy league education (or your Business school) teach you that not everyone is rich? Who knows how much gas you could afford @ 10 dollars a gallon?

That's probably why Mini sells cars with small engines in Europe.

mpls - 9/2/2008 2:38:20 AM

+2 Boost

Don't you know that VW group owns Audi, Seat, Skoda etc.. no wonder the back of every Skoda, VW and Ausi looks virtually the same.

chewy - 9/2/2008 2:03:04 PM

+1 Boost

and how do you know that the Seat pictured here is crap. It's an entry level car, but the 180 horsepower version probably has more performance than the Cooper S.

Euro NCAP rates it safer than the BMW 1 series (even tough the difference is just 1 point) so that shows me this is not a piece of junk. It's solidly built car that does what it's supposed to do.

And the 1.4 TSI with 180 hp has mroe horsepower than the French Mini engine. But you wouldn't let facts slow you down.

Heyhuub - 9/2/2008 4:10:42 PM

+2 Boost

The new Polo platform on which this is based is probably dynamicly superior compared to the lardish 1-series platform.