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Car #1
Make
Model
Variant
Engine
Car #2
Make
Model
Variant
Engine

compare selected cars
1997. - 2001.
A - Micro car
hatchback, 3 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
1998. - 2005.
A - Micro car
hatchback, 3 door
front

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

3537 mm
1639 mm
1460 mm
131 liters
790 liters
35 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
3527 mm
1639 mm
1460 mm
130 liters
830 liters
34 liters
1997 Seat Arosa
1998 Volkswagen Lupo

Engine

Škoda
1.0 AQV
Petrol
4 - Inline, 2 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
999 cc
50 hp
86 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Škoda
1.0 AQV
Petrol
4 - Inline, 2 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
999 cc
50 hp
86 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 5 gears
839 kg
17.4 s
151 km/h
7.5 l/100km
4.7 l/100km
5.8 l/100km
139 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 5 gears
856 kg
17.7 s
152 km/h
7.4 l/100km
4.6 l/100km
5.6 l/100km
134 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km

Expenses

950 EUR
Price from
1000 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

Overview

Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Not only that they both belong to the micro car segment and utilize the same 3-door hatchback body style, they are even powered by the same Škoda-developed petrol engine! There is not much there to point us towards one vehicle or the other. Or is it?

Safety

The fact that the Volkswagen got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, offers a slight advantage, as the 4-star rating is better than none. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the micro car segment, which is generally a misfortune safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? On the other hand, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, the German car offers a marginal difference of 2% more metal.

Reliability

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, when all the models are taken into account. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Seat with an average rating of 4.4, and models under the Volkswagen badge with 4.2 out of 5. The same official information place Arosa as average reliability-wise, and Lupo is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as these two vehicles rank it on average as 3.8 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Seat is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.3 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 151 kilometers per hour, 1km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 5.7 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (50 mpg), in combined cycle.


Verdict

Seat appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the German car beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. From there things take a different direction, with Seat offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Volkswagen. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.

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