The Cordoba completed the new SEAT generation of cars in the early 1990s, after the launch of the Toledo and the Ibiza II. The Cordoba was a saloon derivative of the latter, with four doors and a separate boot.

The SEAT Cordoba was unveiled at the 1993 Frankfurt Motor Show in September, less than six months after the launch of the Ibiza II. The two models were closely related. Not only did the Cordoba share the platform and powertrain of the second-generation Ibiza, but it was also the second model to be built at SEAT’s new Martorell plant, inaugurated in February 1993.

Moreover, the Cordoba was the third all-new SEAT model to be launched in the last 32 months. Since the Spanish brand was fully integrated into the VW Group at the end of 1990, the Toledo, the Ibiza II and now the Cordoba had been launched, to form the SEAT range alongside the smaller Marbella and Terra.

With a length of 4.1 metres, the Cordoba occupied a position between the Ibiza and the Toledo. It was almost 30 cm longer than the former and just over 21 cm shorter than the latter. Despite being a derivative of the Ibiza, the bodywork was a three-volume design that formed a highly harmonious and solid whole, rather than simply being a two-volume car with a boot attached.

Consequently, the Cordoba was a model designed for young families, who would appreciate its original four-door body, with its distinctly sporting lines, and its large 455-litre boot. The Cordoba was designed at the SEAT Design Center in Martorell, working closely with the prestigious stylist Giorgio Giugiaro (designer of the Ibiza and Toledo).

However, instead of the tailgate of the Ibiza and Toledo, the Cordoba had a boot lid, crowned by a suggestive spoiler - small on the engines up to 90 HP and large on the 1.8i GLX, higher-powered and GT versions. Therefore, access to the boot was not as practical as in the other models, although the folding and asymmetrically split rear seat allowed to increase the capacity up to 762 litres.

The Cordoba had seven different engines, five petrol and two diesel, three trim levels (CLX, GLX and GT) and the possibility of fitting the 1.8i engine with an automatic transmission. As standard or as an option, it had power steering, ABS, air conditioning, driver and passenger airbags, electric windows, central locking and EDS traction control in the GT 2.0i and 1.8i 16v versions.

The line-up of the first-generation Cordoba was diversified in 1996, with the unveiling of the two-door SX bodywork, and in 1997, with the launch of the Cordoba Vario estate. In 1999, the Cordoba was restyled in parallel with the Ibiza. That year the SEAT Leon was also launched, being the two-volume derivative of the Toledo saloon; so SEAT did the opposite as in the Cordoba, which was a saloon derived from the two-volume Ibiza.

Finally, in 2002 the second generation of the Cordoba was launched, a few months after the unveiling of the Ibiza III. With the Cordoba II the SX and Vario variants were discontinued, and once again it was available only as a three-volume four-door body, as in the original Cordoba I.