SEAT CORDOBA 1999 test drive - 2003 sedan

Winter joys

A year and a half ago, I happened to participate in the first navigator rally VW-gold ring. The crew of the drawing engine got the most simple car - the Polo Classic 1.6, which did not prevent it from bringing fourth place in the absolute and the third in high -speed slalom. The meeting with Seat Cordoba 1.6 - a direct classmate Polo - not only caused pleasant memories, but also brought new sensations. Winter.
 

The appearance of the car is friendly and accurate, the front part is like the Ibiza model, and also resembles a coal. Color is metallic, the Snow Queen (strictly in season), this hides the features of the body lines in almost any car. The Cordoba profile differs little from Polo Classic: low hood and high feed. For some reason, a small anti -wing is on the stern - during the front drive, the element is not too necessary. However, the main thing that interests me is how appropriate the Spanish car is in our winter conditions. Ronal alloy wheels with studied rubber gislaved NordFrost 3 size 185/60R14 will surely make the road more pleasant. While the car hung in the cabin on the lift (replacing tires), I examined the bottom. It is absolutely flat, separated along only the final path. In the middle and end, the tunnel is grasped across by two screeds - this protects pipes and a resonator from mechanical damage and gives the body additional rigidity. The brake tubes are also well insured from damage, everywhere at the bottom are traces of anti -corrosion treatment. The engine crankcase has its own protection, outwardly not a fake. In the rear overhang there are a silencer and a compartment for a spare wheel.
 

The wheels are worn, the lift is lowered, you can look into the salon. You can’t call it spacious, but four will be placed almost comfortable. Torpedo is very different from the Volkswagenovsky, only the instrument shield with four round dials and many control bulbs is common. The lighting of the devices is red - what is needed for twilight. A large LCD display in the central part of the torpedo is designed in the same range. Information on the temperature inside and overboard, the mode of operation of the audio installation (music is full -time, but plays well), as well as time, is displayed on the screen. We can say that the front panel was made under the driver, only heating deflectors, the airbag and a very spacious glove box with cup holders remained the passenger.
 

The landing is convenient, the belts are unobtrusive, the seats fabric are well opposed to slipping. The chairs have mechanical adjustments - here also without complaints. True, the pillows and backs are harsh. The back is less free, but the volume of the global interior is simply created for the transportation of large cargoes. It seems that, having folded partially or completely the rear seat, a small elephant can be driven into the car. The hardness of the body is provided by a powerful cross -member connecting the rear racks, it is also the base for the loops of the trunk lid. Under the villi, molded rug, a spacecraft was lurked on an ugly black disk, although the trunk would freely accept a full-sized wheel. There is also a jack and a standard tool capacity, a cylinder key lies separately ...
 

It's time on the road. Once again looking around the car, I note the difference in the size of the arches of the front and rear wheels, which is emphasized by the color of the body. It’s nice to hold the steering wheel in your hands, a large hub with a pillow of safety does not interfere with the review of the devices. The red zone on the tachometer begins with 6500 revolutions per minute (according to the sensations, the limiter works at about 6700 rpm). In a closed room, the sound of the engine is a call -outist - nothing to do with the German brother VW Polo. The rear gear spring spring is much more elastic than in Ibiza, this is a plus. The space above the head is rather necessary than sufficient. The view forward is not bad, it is excellent in external mirrors, the inner mirror is uninformative - too high food, and the anti -wing interferes. Light control is traditionally taken to a rotary and exhaust multi-position switch. It is interesting that with turning the key, the near light automatically lights up, and I could not turn it off. In some countries, it is necessary to drive only with the headlights included - apparently, this particular car is also taken into account.
 

Mechanically adjusting the chair for me, I go out into the street. There is a dense snowfall. (Strange: in the last test of the SEAT - Leon 1.8 20V model - there was a hurricane.) Visibility - 300 meters, speed - 30-40 km/h.
 

The people are clearly reinsured - the free stripes of the carriageway are separated by rather dense snow shafts of variable height and width. What seems asphalt is actually a layer of ice rolled up to shine.
 

The car confidently starts and slows down, the work of ABS without comments. I rebuild from a row in a row, without any problems, cutting through the snowy parapets. With such rubber, you can feel confident enough, and therefore I go much faster than the stream. The sound of the engine, as it were, offers to switch more often, simply starts, and in the entire speed range (in these road conditions - from 1,500 to 4000). Cordoba is without effort from the second transmission, the clutch pedal is very informative and allows you to easily dose the torque, without tearing the wheels into the boxes. It is better to slow down with a combination: the pedal and a decrease in the transmission. The motor reacts to the discharge of gas with a clear cut -off, while the noise penetrates through the sound insulation in very moderate quantities. The release is just a masterpiece!

 
The box is quiet, and it is a pleasure to control it: the amplitude of the lever moves is the optimal, neutral position is clearly defined. The suspension is quite rigid, but moderately energy -intensive, a road microrelief characteristic of the city winter, the riders do not feel, despite the fact that the seats, as already mentioned, do not differ in particular softness. The steering with an amplifier is acute and informative, the car has typical front -wheel drive habits. The climatic installation so necessary in our latitudes has even excessive performance, so you stop driving a few minutes after planting. Glass, by the way, do not fog at all. The second row is blown less intensively, but it was not possible to cut it out there - even in light boots.

 
The day with Cordoba led to a definite conclusion - this machine is perfectly adapted to Moscow conditions. It is important in the conditions of winter urban movement and its moderate appetite. I was struck by the volume of a whimmer washer tank: more than 6 liters! Are there really dirty roads in Spain?

 
The potential buyer Cordoba may confuse the high price, but for his money he will receive a high -quality automobile product - confident movement of the sucon into sports style in any climatic conditions. And this in some cases is much more expensive.
 

Text: Egor Karpunin

 
 
 

Source: Motor magazine [No. 1/2002]