Seat Alhambra Estate 1996-2000

The SEAT Alhambra is almost identical to the Ford Galaxy and Volkswagen Sharan with very little separating the three from an external appearance apart from the badges on the front. The Alhambra was the cheapest option to buy from new though. A facelift in 2000 improved its looks drastically as well as making it a seven seater as standard and bringing in newer and more powerful engines. The seven seats are extremely comfortable and spacious and the driver receives a good view of the road ahead whilst enjoying the Alhambra’s sharp handling, excellent body control and the powerful top of the range engines.

Pros and Cons:

• The cabin is well designed
  Seats seven in comfort
  Solidly built
  Powerful and economical diesel engines

• Short of luggage space
  Seats have to be removed rather than folding flat into the floor

---

Exterior and Interior

The Alhambra shares its looks with Ford Galaxy and Volkswagen Sharan. The interior came as a six or seven seater prior to the 2000 facelift after which time it only came as a seven seater. It is spacious inside with all seven passengers receiving plenty of head and legroom. They back seats also slide forwards and backwards in order to arrange the legroom and boot space as needed. With all seven seats in place the boot is tiny so you’ll have to pack light if you intend to use all of the seats. The seats can be removed though to turn it into one cavernous open space, but they are heavy and fiddly to remove. At least they are very comfortable though.

When choosing trim levels go for cars after the 2000 facelift as they came with more kit as standard giving you more for your money. The Basic S trim offers the majority equipment that you would want such as a CD stereo, electric windows and air-con.

---

Engines

When the Alhambra was originally released in 1996 it came with two petrol and two diesel engines. However, after the facelift in 2000 these engines were either improved or scrapped for the newer versions. The petrol engines include a 1.8 20V turbo with 150bhp, a 115bhp 2.0-litre and a 201bhp 2.8-litre V6.

The diesel engines include a 1.9TDI producing 115bhp, a 130bhp 1.9TDI, s 140bhp 2.0TDI and a 140bhp 2.0TDi Ecomotive.

All engines come with a six-speed manual gearbox apart from the 1.9TDI models released after 2005 which came with an automatic transmission only.

---

Performance and Economy

When choosing an engine avoid the ones prior to the 2000 facelift as the newer engines are smoother, more refined and more powerful. The entry level 2.0-litre petrol feels a little underpowered and is best left alone as the turbocharged 1.8-litre 20V is quicker, taking 10.6 seconds to get to 60mph and is just as economical at 29mpg. The 2.8-litre V6 was a second quicker than the 1.8-litre, but less economical coming in around the mid 20’s making it unpopular and as such was dropped in 2005.

The diesels are the better engines to go for as they provide better low down pulling power which is more useful when the Alhambra is fully loaded. The 1.9TDI engines are both good, but it is loud and unrefined. The 2.0TDI replaced the more powerful 1.9-litre in 2006 being quicker at 11.8 seconds from 0-60mpg and is only slightly less economical at 41mpg. An Ecomotive 2.0TDI was added in 2008 that uses the same 140bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine and is the pick of the bunch as it is more economical achieving 47mpg and is slightly faster too.

Insurance costs range between groups 11 and 13 for all of the engines apart from the 2.8-litre V6 which falls into group 15.

---

What it's like to Drive

The Alhambra drives exceedingly well for an MPV feeling more like a smaller vehicle with its sharp handling and comfortable ride along with good body control in the corners. The SE and Sport trim levels will give you better handling as they came with stiffer suspension and larger 16 inch alloys. The driving position is good with all the buttons and dials on the dash be clearly visible and well laid out whilst the wind and road noise is minimal even at motorway speeds.

---

Faults and Repairs

The Alhambra is fairly reliable, but it isn’t problem free with several areas that you need to check before purchasing one. The electrics and the immobilser will sometimes not work, the wipers sometimes won’t switch off or will freeze in place and occasionally the electric windows won’t go up once fully down. The most costly thing to repair will be the air-con so make sure that it works properly before buying or you may regret it. The engines generally are sound, but the catalytic converters on the diesels can fail. Make sure that it also has a full service history for peace of mind.

Servicing and repair costs shouldn’t set you back too much with the Alhambra coming in around the same prices as most other MPV’s in its range.

---

Author's Google+ Profile

© 2012 WhichDeal Ltd