Seat Altea Estate 2004-2009

SEAT positions the Altea as an MSV which is short for Multi-Sports Vehicle. The Altea is one of the youngest contenders in the highly competitive micro van market. When it made debut in 2004, the sector was dominated by the Ford Focus C-Max. Eventually it emerged that the Altea justifies its MSV abbreviation and is bolder and more dynamic than the C-Max. The Altea was built on the popular Volkswagen PQ35 platform that is shared by Audi A3, SEAT Toledo, Volkswagen Golf and Skoda Octavia.

Pros and Cons:

• Justifies its name – it is a sporty car
  Great fun to drive
  Cheap and still relatively practical

• Suffers from poor visibility
  Less space than other similar MPVs

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Exterior and Interior

The Altea is a real work of art. It was created by the famous Italian designer Walter de’Silva and marked an entirely new direction in SEATs design. There are very little you can do to make a small family van look cool and dynamic. The Altea, however, translates the message very well. It was aimed at a younger less affluent buyer and needed to offer a very good reason for not buying a C-Max.

One of the most interesting design features are the vertical windscreen wipers. When you look at the car you actually think that it doesn’t have any. Of course it does, the wipers are hidden underneath the plastic surround next to the A-pillars. Although it gives a tidier look, the main idea behind vertical wipers wasn’t the looks. They were hidden away to improve the car’s pedestrian safety rating. What it did, however, was increasing the size of A-pillars, widening the blind spots. Another element obstructing the visibility is the narrow rear window. Nevertheless, the car received a very high safety rating, 5 out of 5 stars for adult passengers and 3 out of 4 stars for pedestrian safety.

The interior is quirky but cheap. There are things that leave a good impression and things that are totally wrong. The hard, sporty seats, the beautiful 3-beam steering wheel and the ultra-modern central console with purple lighting attract the eye and add to the sporty feel of the vehicle. On the other side, the cold, hard plastic and the fake aluminium (it’s cheap plastic actually) inlays make it all look a little cheap.

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Engines

The range includes a 1.6-litre 100bhp and 2.0-litre 147bhp petrol engines and a 1.9-litre 103bhp and 2.0-litre 138bhp diesel options.

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Performance and Economy

Although the smaller diesel engine is more fuel-efficient, the owner of an Altea will be much better off with one of the 2.0-litre options. The car clearly has a sporty character and the larger power units allows its character to flourish.

The 1.9-litre diesel engine is capable of 51mpg, but its acceleration to 60mph will be well over 10 seconds. The 2.0-litre engine offers great dynamics and fuel efficiency is reasonable at 34mpg.

One of the main advantages offered by the Altea is its price. It is much cheaper than a C-Max and the package it offers, is comparable.

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What it's like to Drive

It is bundles of fun to drive, especially with one of the 2.0-litre engines. The Altea was built with sportiness in mind and it delivers. The petrol engine likes it when it is revved to high numbers and the manual gears are short and precise adding to the excitement. Initially the car may feel a little stiff, but it is supposed to feel like that with its sporty suspension and it’s harder than average seats. This micro van can be driven faster than its competitors without the risk of losing control. The electronic stability control helps to assist the less experienced drivers. The only thing that may let it down is the electric power steering. Unlike the traditional pump-driven systems, this is less responsive and not as sharp as you’d like on a sporty car.

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Faults and Repairs

SEAT has been quite resourceful when it came to recalling the cars and fixing the early problems. As a result, all major issues, such as engine faults and problems with some ancillary systems, have been solved. With the Altea being so popular, it’s a good idea to be picky and wait for the right car to come along. They are relatively cheap in the used car market and it’s better to have a newer Altea, it’s likely to have less problems.

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