Faults:

Poor central locking, remote key never worked.

Door locks freeze instantly below zero, as well as door handles and at last the hole doors.

New coil at 105000km.

Interior lights doesn't come on any more when any door is opened, and other minor problems.

General Comments:

Quick and accurate drive, but not very comfortable.

Feels a bit cheap, despite many Volkswagen components. Not every bit of plastic is German.

Noisy at speeds over 80 km/h.

Relatively spacious luggage compartment for such a compact estate. But not for grown men in the back.

Faults:

I got the Cordoba used from private seller with the following problems:

Oil leak from the engine.

Dents from driving fault.

General Comments:

Very good engine power/hp for 1.4L.

Moderately economical.

Very responsive engine.

Stiff suspension system.

Small driver's leg room.

Uncomfortable seats.

Faults:

Rear wiper failure.

Door locking mechanism/key-less entry.

Power steering line.

ABS sensor.

General Comments:

What a fantastic car! I love it. I had to import this car from Koln Germany, And was worth every penny.

I love the feel of the car, it is very well built. The car feels very much like a MK3 Golf/Jetta. The fuel economy is better than anything we import to the US currently.

I think the interior is very comfortable. The seats in my Cordoba are better than in my '99 C230 MB. Also the car has a very good towing capacity.

Headlights are great.

Note you must be careful on launches not to spin the tires.

Faults:

Rear suspension bushes.

Passenger window regulator.

General Comments:

Overall the Seat Cordoba offers fantastic value for money.

The superb TDi engine offers fantastic fuel economy, 64mpg on motorway run at 60mph, quick acceleration when needed, and reliability, which swallows up the miles on a long journey with ease at low revs.

The SXE spec provides front electric windows and air-con.

The only faults I have had with her are rear suspension bushes. What with the way I have overloaded the boot and rear seats, it is not surprising.

The window regulator rusted and snapped. It is a poorly designed mechanical item in my opinion, and a regular fault item on these cars.

The brakes are decent. The handling quite poor. Front tyres will wear quickly if care is not taken when accelerating from standstill, as wheel-spin occurs easily.

My next car will certainly be a SEAT and have the 1.9 TDi variant engine.

Faults:

All door-locks went to hell in two months

General Comments:

The car is quick, with sharp steering and very good road manners, but it is very noisy at 3000 rpm and 100 km/h. The interior is a bit cheap, but practical and rather good looking. Seats are firm, but not especially comfortable. The suspension is o.k.

0,70L/10KM at highway driving doesn't make it especially economical. There is plenty of room for the legs at front, but under average for the cars size in the back. Plenty of space for luggage however when rear seats are folded. A little bit sportier car than it's twin Polo STV, but with a bit more questionable build quality and finish.

SXE is reasonably equipped for a car at this age with double airbags in front, ABS, central locking, and electrical windows at front, and mirrors.

Faults:

The power steering belt started to slip in the wet.

General Comments:

This is a great car, it handles pretty well, although it can be a little light at the rear end causing it to spin out in the wet.

It's pretty comfortable, I drive down south quite often and doing a five hour journey is not much trouble at all.

The only gripe about driving position is that the accelerator pedal is at an awkward angle, and makes you ankle ache after a few hours.

Fuel economy for a two liter car is pretty good, until you start to floor it then it disappears pretty rapidly. You can't have it all I suppose. It's very quick when you floor it.