Driving in Andalucia

We rented a car for three days back in 2005, picking up in Seville, dropping in Cordoba. In between we drove to Ronda and did a day trip from there to Gibraltar. I thought driving in Seville and Cordoba was anxiety-inducing but it did not feel unsafe. The anxiety came more from the process of getting out of Seville once we had picked up the car, and finding the return place in Cordoba with lots of traffic, one way streets, construction. But, dropping off the car is almost always a challenge because even with a map it can be hard to find the place. On the plus side, Ronda, the day trip to Gibraltar, and driving on the highways were all a breeze. I did not find the drivers to be crazy or anything like that at all. So don't let that stop you. That said, unless you are visiting smaller towns in between the places you mentioned, you would be better off on the train.

We rented a car for a week last fall. Picked it up in Granada, drove to Gaucin to spend a week then dropped it off in Seville. We did extensive day trips for the entire week from Ronda, Arcos de la Frontera, Gibralter and many other small towns. I never felt unsafe due to other drivers - but be aware that the roads up in the mountains are sometimes narrow and very winding - so it is slow going. There is a fair amount of traffic in Ronda, but it isn't difficult.
If you pick up your car at the train station in Granada, it is a very easy drive out of town toward Ronda.

There's nothing unsafe about it. We do it all the time. Seville will make you mad as a hornet. I know the place real well and a couple of months ago it took me an hour and a half to get from the southern bypass to the center of town.