Intro 2002: Ibiza drives Seat's 'young, sporty' image ; The new supermini is larger, wider and higher than its predecessor.

CADIZ, Spain - The third-generation Ibiza marks several firsts for Volkswagen's Seat division. It is the first Seat:

* Designed under the direction of former Alfa Romeo stylist Walter de' Silva (See story on this page)

* To use gasoline and turbodiesel three-cylinder engines

* To be launched in an export market - Italy - before sales in Spain begin.

Seat invested E685 million in the new Ibiza, two-thirds of which was spent on tooling. Research and development accounted for the remainder. Time to market was 27 months.

Like the recently launched VW Polo, the new Ibiza follows the modern supermini trend by being considerably larger …