Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Considering they both belong to the city car segment and utilize the same 4-door sedan body style and the front wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific petrol engine choice they offer. The first one has a Chevrolet-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 93hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 100hp engine designed by Volkswagen.

The fact that the Chevrolet got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, doesn't actually do much for it, as it's still a lousy 2-star coffin on wheels. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the city car segment, which is generally not a very good thing safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. On the other hand, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, the Spanish car offers a marginal difference of 4% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Chevrolet does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Chevrolet with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the Seat badge with 4.4 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed Aveo as average reliability-wise, and Cordoba is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as the American car rank it on average as 4.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 2.7 out of 5.

Chevrolet is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.4 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 176 kilometers per hour, 17km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 6.7 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (42 mpg), in combined cycle.

Chevrolet 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 Spanish car offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. From there things take a different direction, with Chevrolet offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... It's really tough to make a final decision here, but if I'd need to, I'd say Seat. 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. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser™, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.