2005 Seat Cordoba TDi 1.4 turbo diesel from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Reliable, economical, dependable car

Faults:

Front bushes replaced three times.

Rear suspension replaced once.

Drivers seat is beginning to wear.

General Comments:

I have driven the car for over 150,000km in two and a half years. It still has great acceleration and starts first time every time.

At just over 60mpg the car is very economical.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd September, 2009

2005 Seat Cordoba SE 130 1.9 TDi from UK and Ireland

Summary:

The cordoba is a very fast, well equipped, comfortable saloon, and should suit most people

Faults:

None to date.

General Comments:

This is the first diesel I've owned in nearly 28 years driving, and definitely won't be the last.

The acceleration and overall speed of the Cordoba 130 is unreal.

My mate at work drives a 3 year old ford focus 2 litre, and always trails behind me on the way home from work (on the motorway) unless I let him pass of course!

The cabin of the Cordoba is very solid and welcoming with a storage compartment in front of the driver and also a slide out tray under the drivers seat.

The six speed gearbox is slick and smooth with loads of torque, and your average motorway speed feels as if the engine is just ticking over.

Being a Ford driver for a number of years, I can't tell you how refreshing it is to drive at night with the Cordoba's glorious RED instrument panel lighting, compared to fords boring green.

As with all cars there are always some niggles, and even on the Cordoba there are a couple.

The first being that, the sun visor seems to be a bit small and when faced with full sunshine directly in front, I find myself having to stretch to compensate so that the visor can do it's job properly.

This is probably just a case of not having my drivers chair backrest upright enough or maybe I'm just not tall enough.

The only other so called niggle would be the vision from the rear window.

The Cordoba has a similar shape to the Alfa 156, and due to its high waistline, reversing can be a bit tricky, especially if your last 3 cars have been hatchbacks, like mine have!

SEAT claim an average of 54 mpg for the Cordoba tdi se 130 and that seems about right to me, once you get onto the motorways.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th June, 2006

20th Oct 2006, 10:36

I couldn't agree more with the review of the Seat Cordoba. Like the reviewer I changed to diesel for the first time in July '06 when I bought my Cordoba - Sept.'05. Acceleration is tremendous in all gears, even 6th!

And you can get 50+ MPG without having to drive very cautiously.

Reversing is the only weak spot. It would be only too easy to reverse against a hidden obstruction. I think reversing sensors are essential, but it's a pity that the Seat version cost £250+ to buy and install. A cheaper set from Halfords or Makro will have to do even though they may not look just as neat!

7th Oct 2010, 08:35

The Seat Cordoba TDI L30 is an ideal combination of speed and economy. The car is really fast, powerful and could reach up to 60 MPG if not forcing the engine. But...

My car seems to be too noisy. As soon as I start moving constant noise begins as well. It sounds like it's coming up directly from the tyres. I checked the wheel bearings, all four tyres, air pressure and everything is perfectly well but the noise still exists.

I will be very grateful to anyone with any advice what could be wrong.

My e-mail: victor_iou@yahoo.co.uk

Thanks.

15th Oct 2010, 04:50

Hi Victor - your noise problem could be tyre related. My Cordoba had Firestone Firehawk fuel saving tyres fitted from new; I found them incredibly noisy, picking up everything on the road. When I changed them to Vredestein tyres, the noise totally vanished, they made a huge difference. Worth a try?