Seat Ibiza Reviews

Australians aren't exactly starved for choice when it comes to cars, trucks, SUVs and commercial vehicles.

When news came through that the Lincoln Navigator, a large American luxury SUV, would soon be available in Australia, we started thinking… what other foreign badges could we see on local roads?In the case of the Lincoln, the 336kW/691Nm SUV is imported and converted to right-hand-drive by International Motor Cars, the same mob that remanufactures the Cadillac Escalade and Dodge Challenger for Australia.This practice is a costly affair, with the Lincoln Navigator Black Label expected to check in from $274,900 plus on-road costs. For context, the same model in left-hand-drive guise costs $US97,135 ($A$153,961) in the States.Despite the high price, the business case may very well stack up, as a particular group of buyers seem willing to pay a premium for the exclusivity that only a vehicle like this can deliver.Could other car brands make it in Australia's competitive market? These are the ones we'd like to see Down Under.Acura was established in the United States in 1986, and currently offers a range of sedans and SUVs, as well as the resurrected NSX sports car. Its TLX performance sedan is available with a 216kW V6 engine matched with a torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system, variable valve timing (i-VTEC) and a nine-speed automatic transmission. The Acura RDX crossover SUV could also be a good fit for Australia, with its premium looks and technology loaded cabin.While the Honda MDX seven-seater was discontinued for Australia in 2007, the nameplate lives on with Acura. Pitched as a premium three-row offering, the Acura MDX plays against the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE.Renault’s budget subsidiary Dacia could also have a place in Australia, as the Romanian carmaker plans to launch “Europe’s most affordable all-electric vehicle” in 2021.Renault has also expressed interest in importing the Dacia Duster-based Oroch dual-cab pick-up.Since its release in 2010, the Duster has been a smash hit overseas, selling in more than 100 countries with a number of engine and drivetrain configurations. The Duster even found a home at the Vatican as the latest Popemobile.With its quirky looks and proven reliability, the Duster could be positioned as a cheaper alternative to the Nissan Qashqai and Mitsubishi ASX, and a pick-up version would certainly garner interest in local showrooms.Volkswagen subsidiary SEAT (pronounced say-art) sold vehicles in Australia from 1995 to 1999, albeit with limited success. It is unlikely that SEAT will make a return to local shores as similar VW sub-brand Skoda is considered the more viable subsidiary.Earlier this year, SEAT revealed its fourth-generation Leon small car, which is based on the same platform as the upcoming Volkswagen Golf 8, and comes in both hatch and wagon body styles.The Leon sports a sleek exterior design and a minimalist cabin, and notably, is available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain.Its stylish SUVs, such as the Tarraco and Ateca, have also proven popualr in the past.You would be excused for not knowing much about this brand, but in fact Hongqi is China's oldest passenger car manufacturer.The uptake of Chinese cars has been slow in Australia, but with rapid technological improvements in recent years, brands like Haval, MG and LDV have found success on Aussie roads.While the afformentioned carmakers focus on the budget side of the market, Hongqi produces high-end luxury vehicles. As it happens, the Hongqi L5 luxury sedan is credited as the most expensive Chinese-made car ever released.The long and low L5 is often used to chauffeur high-ranking government officials, and is powered by either a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 or a 6.0-litre naturally aspirated V12.Other models in the Hongqi range are based on well-known nameplates, like the Mazda6-based H5 sedan, and the Audi Q5-based HS7 midsize SUV.French hypercar specialist Bugatti may not have a local sales agent, but in this world, money talks.Bugatti's latest model, the Chiron, starts at a base price of around $US3,800,000 ($A5,900,000), and that number gets significantly larger as you add import duties, taxes and freight costs.The Chiron does not comply with Australian design rules, although it's possible that a limited number of units could be brought in as special interest vehicles.Using an 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 engine, delivering 1119kW and 1600Nm, the Chiron is easily one of the fastest production cars in the world, if not the fastest.With a number of once-popular compact cars being discontinued in Australia, like the Honda Jazz and Hyundai Accent, and others moving more upmarket, there could be an opportunity for a new type of budget-oriented city car.Indian company Tata Motor Cars builds a range of sleek and efficient vehicles in right-hand-drive, but few would pass Australia's much stricter safety standards.But there is hope, as Tata's Altroz hatchback managed to achieve a five star Global NCAP safety rating ahead of its launch this year.Tata has plans for at least two new electrified models as well as a new Gravitas seven-seat SUV to rival the likes of the Mahindra XUV500.

The Seat e-Scooter and e-Kickscooter a part of a broad range of vehicles offered by Seat in Europe.

Global new-vehicle sales are on track to reach the 100-million mark in the next couple of years, with the Chinese market responsible for more than a quarter of that number.

VW Australia's managing director claims emissions issues facing Australian customers are not the same as the rest of the world.

...for the biggest model splurge in its 50-plus years. One of the newcomers is the good looking Leon hatchback, which shows what the budget brand in the Volkswagen Group brings to the family, and how it can contribute to VW's plan to be global sales leader by 2018.  

Volkswagen is looking good to claim the crown as its two biggest rivals, Toyota and General Motors, both run into trouble.Brand T has been hit badly by its reliability and safety scare in the world's biggest showroom, the USA, and hurt in many other countries - including Australia - by the production troubles triggered by the Japanese tsunami and earthquake earlier this year.Volkswagen is already number one in Europe, with sales of 2.8 million vehicles - nearly triple the annual sales rate in Australia. Meanwhile, General Motors is still rebuilding after its bankruptcy and is also impacted by sluggish sales at home in America.Volkswagen Group has been aiming for the top spot for several years under the aggressive leadership of Ferdinand Piech, and forecasts it will hit the target in 2018 as it aims to increase its annual global sales to around 10 million vehicles.It is spending around $100 million to increase production across the   world, as well as developing a vast range of new models currently   headed by the value-driven baby Up.But, with the troubles at its rivals, three forecasters are now saying it will finish on top at the end of 2011. The respected JP Power organisation in the USA, as well as IHS Automotive and PwC Autofacts, believe Volkswagen's worldwide sales this year will rise by around 13 per cent to 8.1 million.Its biggest successes are coming in China off the back of the Volkswagen brand, but VW Group can also claim totals from a huge range of brands including Bugatti, Bentley, Audi, Seat and Skoda. At the same time, Toyota's total is forecast by Power to fall by 9 per cent to 7.27 million.The Japanese slide is worse than it looks, as it could also cost Toyota second place to General Motors after the hard work to become global number one in 2010. Power says GM's sales will improve by 8 per cent to 7.55 million, although the margins at the top of world motoring will be very tight by December 31.

...but this picture highlights the lengths some brands will go to disguise their future models. It shows a facelifted Seat Ibiza on a night run in Spain, with giant spotlights to light the way and also compensate.

The first will be the Volkswagen Up followed by a Skoda version and then one from Spanish arm, Seat. But while each shares the platform and drivetrain, the body style, cabin features and even the target audience will be subtly different, says Skoda board member for sales, Jurgen Stackmann. "We call it our New Small Car - it hasn't a name yet - which will sit under the wing of the Fabia,” he says. "It won't be a Volkswagen. This is a Skoda so the emphasis is on practicality, strength, reliability and function.” The NSC - which will share a Volkswagen 1.2-litre engine that is expected to be a three cylinder - won't, however, be sold outside Europe. "It is designed for dense cities and has been designed to be compact on the outside and spacious on the inside. "This is a clear sign that we are expanding our product portfolio. But we are a relatively small company so we have to take deliberate steps to retain our philosophy. We are the entry portal to the Volkswagen Group and a high-quality option to Asian products.” The NSC, expected to be shown at the Frankfurt motor show in September, is the first of up to four new models planned over the next three years. Mr Stackmann says the replacement for the Octavia is due in 2013 and shares some design themes with the Vision D concept car shown at this year's Geneva motor show. "That car isn't as relevant as some people believe,” he says. "But, wait two years - until 2013 - and you'll see some elements of it in a new product,” he says in reference to the next Octavia, now coded the A7. The next Octavia is predicted to move up slightly in size and likely to create a gap in the product range for a car about the same size as the Mazda3. "It's clearly a growing segment in other (non-mainstream) markets such as China, the Middle East and so on,” he says. "It would work everywhere except Western Europe,” he says, believing the trend is to smaller cars and that the current market is highly competitive. However, he won't rule it out and that means it has promise for Australia. The other vehicle could be a larger SUV built on the Superb's 4WD platform. Mr Stackmann says the SUV market was still strong but hinted that rather than a conventional wagon design, Skoda could offer something that was quite different. "It could have all the space and high driving position of an SUV but wouldn't look like any other SUV.” Asked if Skoda would consider a commercial vehicle such as one based on the Volkswagen Amarok, he says it wasn't within the company's mandate to make such vehicles. "It makes no sense. It would be a huge step outside of what we are and where we plan to go. There are just too many more attractive options.” Skoda is planning to produce 1.5 million vehicles by 2018 - up from 850,000 expected for this year and the 500,000 annual production of only two years ago. "It's a rich figure,” says Mr Stackmann of the proposed production target. "If things come together as planned, it's achievable. Kia did it - I can't see why we can't.”

The move acknowledges Skoda as a vital cog in the 10-brand VW machine and now gives it carte blanche to target the family market while the Volkswagen brand steps up to sit beneath Audi. While it leaves Seat - the Spanish arm of Volkswagen - adrift as a specific segment producer, it's all good news for Czech-based Skoda. Expansion includes the introduction of Fabia and Yeti later this year, new Octavia by 2013 and more versions of the large-car Superb. Superb gets another engine choice, this time the 103kW version of the existing - and ongoing - 125kW 2-litre unit. The power trim is enough to also cut back the bucks. In its front-drive format, Skoda Australia boss Matthew Wiesner says it will get the price down to the high $30,000s. "For large car buyers wanting diesel in sedan or wagon, it's a great opportunity,'' he says. "Superb is in the large car segment that has a 20 per cent fall in sales - but I think that's more the local large cars falling in popularity rather than the others. I'm happy with the way Superb.is going.'' Wiesner says getting hold of diesels is difficult. "We can't get enough of the diesels,'' he says. "Superb is 35 per cent of our total volume. In the range, 65 per cent are wagons and 80 per cent of the wagons are diesel.'' The introduction of the smaller-output diesel is aimed at trimming back the price. On the specification sheet, the difference in power and torque between the 125kW and the 103kW isn't large.  "We know that the 103kW will make the model more affordable - it will be under $40,000 - so will appeal to a bigger audience,'' he says. "We have the 125kW TDI now which has strong demand outside the fleet sector. “In saying that, we see the advantages of being in fleet because it introduces the car directly to potential buyers - it's the 'bums on seats' mentality. For this reason we have put almost 300 cars with Europcar, on its rental fleet, and we've had a fair degree of success with that leading to sales of Superb and Octavia.'' The 103kW diesel will come as a front-wheel drive version from August and then in the new year as an all-wheel drive in both sedan and wagon. Wiesner says he sees similarity with Subaru in the marketing of Skoda. "Subaru has a Liberty and an Outback as we have the Superb 2WD and a 4WD. In the same way, Octavia 4WD wagon would equate to the Impreza and the Octavia Scout would be the same as Forester.''