The
SEAT Málaga is a four-door saloon produced by
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
automakerThe automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells the world's motor vehicles. In 2008, more than 70 million motor vehicles, including cars and commercial vehicles were produced worldwide....
SEATSEAT, S.A. is a Spanish automobile manufacturer founded in 1950 by the Instituto Nacional de Industria , with initial Fiat assistance, and now a wholly owned subsidiary of the German Volkswagen Group. Its headquarters are at Martorell near Barcelona, Spain...
from 1985 to 1992. It can be considered a saloon variant of the first-generation
SEAT IbizaThe SEAT Ibiza is a car constructed and marketed in the European supermini class, sold under the Spanish SEAT marque.Introduced in 1984, it was initially manufactured by SEAT S.A., based on joint venture designs from Fiat...
hatchbackHatchback is a term designating an automobile design, containing a passenger cabin with an integrated cargo space, accessed from behind the vehicle by a single, top-hinged tailgate or large flip-up window...
, which was launched the same year. The underpinnings of both the Málaga and the Ibiza were based upon those of the
SEAT RondaThe SEAT Ronda is a small family car produced by Spanish automaker SEAT from 1982 to 1986. The car is a version of a Fiat Ritmo redesigned just enough so that Fiat could not sue SEAT on the basis of patent infringement after 1980 when Fiat abandoned their cooperation with SEAT...
, a
rebadgedBadge engineering is a term that describes the rebadging of one product as another. Due to the high cost of designing and engineering a totally new model, or establishing a new brand , it is often more cost-effective to rebadge a single product multiple times.The term derives from the trademark...
version of the
Fiat RitmoThe Fiat Ritmo is an automobile from the Italian manufacturer Fiat, launched in 1978. Styled by Bertone of Italy, it was seen by some as the most distinctive looking small family car in Europe on its launch in 1978 Turin Motorshow. It was badged in Britain, Canada and the U.S. as the Fiat Strada...
. In this sense the Málaga most closely resembled the
Fiat RegataThe Fiat Regata was the saloon version of the Fiat Ritmo small family car, produced by Italian automaker Fiat. It was produced from 1983 to 1990, corresponding to the post-facelift Ritmo. The Regata had a choice of three gasoline and two diesel engines...
,
FiatFiat S.p.A., an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial and industrial group based in Turin in the Piedmont region. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli. Fiat has also...
's own saloon version of the Ritmo.
The car was spacious and economical, but let down by heavy
steeringSteering is the term applied to the collection of components, linkages, etc. which will allow for a vessel or vehicle to follow the desired course...
and flimsy build quality.
The
SEAT Málaga is a four-door saloon produced by
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
automakerThe automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells the world's motor vehicles. In 2008, more than 70 million motor vehicles, including cars and commercial vehicles were produced worldwide....
SEATSEAT, S.A. is a Spanish automobile manufacturer founded in 1950 by the Instituto Nacional de Industria , with initial Fiat assistance, and now a wholly owned subsidiary of the German Volkswagen Group. Its headquarters are at Martorell near Barcelona, Spain...
from 1985 to 1992. It can be considered a saloon variant of the first-generation
SEAT IbizaThe SEAT Ibiza is a car constructed and marketed in the European supermini class, sold under the Spanish SEAT marque.Introduced in 1984, it was initially manufactured by SEAT S.A., based on joint venture designs from Fiat...
hatchbackHatchback is a term designating an automobile design, containing a passenger cabin with an integrated cargo space, accessed from behind the vehicle by a single, top-hinged tailgate or large flip-up window...
, which was launched the same year. The underpinnings of both the Málaga and the Ibiza were based upon those of the
SEAT RondaThe SEAT Ronda is a small family car produced by Spanish automaker SEAT from 1982 to 1986. The car is a version of a Fiat Ritmo redesigned just enough so that Fiat could not sue SEAT on the basis of patent infringement after 1980 when Fiat abandoned their cooperation with SEAT...
, a
rebadgedBadge engineering is a term that describes the rebadging of one product as another. Due to the high cost of designing and engineering a totally new model, or establishing a new brand , it is often more cost-effective to rebadge a single product multiple times.The term derives from the trademark...
version of the
Fiat RitmoThe Fiat Ritmo is an automobile from the Italian manufacturer Fiat, launched in 1978. Styled by Bertone of Italy, it was seen by some as the most distinctive looking small family car in Europe on its launch in 1978 Turin Motorshow. It was badged in Britain, Canada and the U.S. as the Fiat Strada...
. In this sense the Málaga most closely resembled the
Fiat RegataThe Fiat Regata was the saloon version of the Fiat Ritmo small family car, produced by Italian automaker Fiat. It was produced from 1983 to 1990, corresponding to the post-facelift Ritmo. The Regata had a choice of three gasoline and two diesel engines...
,
FiatFiat S.p.A., an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial and industrial group based in Turin in the Piedmont region. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli. Fiat has also...
's own saloon version of the Ritmo.
The car was spacious and economical, but let down by heavy
steeringSteering is the term applied to the collection of components, linkages, etc. which will allow for a vessel or vehicle to follow the desired course...
and flimsy build quality. Production ended in 1992, well after the
Volkswagen GroupVolkswagen Group is a German automobile manufacturing group, currently the third largest automobile maker in the world, and the largest in Europe...
subsidiary
AudiAUDI AG, is a German company which produces luxury cars under the Audi brand, . It is part of the Volkswagen Group. The name Audi is based on a Latin translation of the surname of the founder August Horch, itself the German word for “listen!"Audi is headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany.It...
took over SEAT. It sold relatively well in Spain, but did poorly in export markets, despite sharing the same
System Porsche powertrainIn a motor vehicle, the term powertrain or powerplant refers to the group of components that generate power and deliver it to the road surface, water, or air. This includes the engine, transmission, driveshafts, differentials, and the final drive...
with the Ibiza. Its successor, the
SEAT CórdobaThe SEAT Córdoba is the saloon, estate and coupé version of the supermini SEAT Ibiza, built by Spanish automaker SEAT from 1993 to 2008. It is named after a city in Central Argentina, where several famous rally events have been held in the past...
, was launched at the end of 1993.
In the UK, Daily Telegraph journalist Neil Lyndon ran a Malaga as a long term test car for 12 months. He praised its versatility and actually drove it to Malaga and back, dubbing it the "spiritual successor to the SEAT Ritmo".
The Málaga was marketed in
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
as the
SEAT Gredos, because the word
Málaga was considered very similar to
Malaka, a ubiquitous
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
swear word.
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