Seat Arosa

Arosa is actually designed and built in Germany by Volkswagen. It is another "Sub-supermini" after Fiat Cinequecento, Renault Twingo and Ford Ka. Basically, Arosa is a baby version of Volkswagen Polo - based on a shortened Polo floor pan and powered by Polo's entry level 999c.c. four with 5-speed manual box, or Polo's 1360c.c. multi-point injection (MPi) engine with a choice of 5M or 4A. (Update: now even with the 100 hp 1.4-litre 16v) No high tech, no radical new idea, no exciting performance, but you'll find Arosa is irreasonably well built considering its price - high quality plastic, narrow panel gaps, big car-like NVH suppression....you must be amazed how mature it is. My only criticism is the short of leg room in the rear seats, which is the draw back of the short wheelbase. (VW's marketing executives must think, 'if it is spacious, who would buy Polo ?') Boot volume is also tiny. 

In dynamic aspect, Arosa offers decent handling and ride but not very inspiring. Performance is disappointing because of the old engine. It feels far less exciting to drive than Ford Ka, but don't worry, even the 1.4 litres Arosa is still some 10% cheaper than the 1.3 litres Ka. The real trouble comes from Toyota Yaris, which eclipse Arosa in virtually all area. 
 

The above report was last updated on 17 Apr 2001. All Rights Reserved.

Specifications

Model
Arosa 1.0
Arosa 1.4MPi
Layout
Front-engined, Fwd
Front-engined, Fwd.
Size (L / W / H / WB)
3540 / 1640 / 1460 / 2320 mm
Engine
Inline-4, sohc, 2v/cyl.
Inline-4, dohc, 4v/cyl.
Capacity
999 c.c.
1360 c.c.
Power
50 hp
100 hp
Torque
63 lbft
94 lbft
Transmission
5M
5M
Suspensions
F: strut / R: torsion beam
Tyres
155/70 R13
N/A
Weight
864 kg
N/A
Top speed
94 mph*
117 mph (claimed)
0-60 mph
15.2 sec*
9.4 sec (claimed)
0-100 mph
N/A
N/A
 
* Tested by Autocar
 

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