What they said when the Seat Altea… (Jun 14 2004)
SEAT opens a new chapter in its history next month with the UK launch of a model designed to show the company in a different light.
When the Spanish manufacturer made its British debut in the Eighties, low prices represented the brand's only selling point.
Becoming part of the Volkswagen Group allowed massive product improvements, capitalising on German build quality, lively engines and a youthful personality to forge a useful niche market.
For the past decade, affordability has still been a top priority - but the arrival of the Altea marks a shift in emphasis.
Sporty looking and with distinctive lines, this is a compact five-door that's meant to stand out from the crowd.
A bold radiator grille, low bumper and 16-inch wheels hint at the car's sporting pretensions, but the interior is all about practicality, with plenty of headroom for adults in the back and ingenious storage compartments galore to soak up all the family clutter.
Handling is responsive and engines include very capable 150PS petrol and 140PS diesel options for driving enthusiasts, allied to slick six-speed gearboxes.
Chunky, solid interiors enhance the overall impression of quality, although the idea is to be extrovert and sporty, rather than sophisticated.
But since the price tags are not exactly bargain basement, the new generation of SEATs need to be distinctly desirable if they are too woo discriminating buyers looking for something a little bit different.
SEAT would have us believe this is a whole new concept - the multi-sports vehicle - but casual observers might feel that's pushing things a bit too far.
Nonetheless, the bold profile is set to be the shape of things to come as the new-look Toledo and Leon follow the Altea to the showrooms over the next couple of years.
Sales aspirations are modest, reflecting the company's desire to keep residual values high, so despite a £3 million high-profile TV marketing campaign to mark the launch, Seat will be happy to sell 2,500 Alteas by the end of this year, and double that figure in 2005.
High on the hit list are young couples with perhaps one child who appreciate good design and want plenty of interior space and a relatively high driving position in a car that's more stylish and dynamic that a people carrier.
They'll like the cupholders and oddments trays scattered around the interior, the practical underfloor storage area in the boot, the compartmentalised storage tray under the parcel shelf - and the five-door flexibility, of course.
There's a nice feel to the gearstick, the sports seats in the more expensive models are very comfortable, and equipment levels are high.
As with earlier models, the Altea incorporates many of the sort of features we might expect to find on more expensive VWs and Audis, without totally undermining the appeal of the prestige brands.
It's got five seats, plenty of big-car safety features, climate control and even wiper blades that are concealed at rest within the windscreen pillars.
Bizarre trim names don't tell you much but even the basic "Reference" grade comes equipped with air con, powered front windows and a six-speaker radio CD player, a far cry indeed from those cheap but very, very basic SEATs of the mid-eighties.
In many ways, the Altea demonstrates just how much the company has "grown up" in recent years, but it's also a recognition that a new identity was needed to set the cars apart from their VW stablemates.
The engines are tried and trusted, the package is appealing, but it's arguable whether the Altea is quite as exciting and different as SEAT might have us believe.
It doesn't capitalise on the brand's motorsport successes in quite as obvious a way as the Cupra R, for example. But it is a very practical proposition for anyone looking for a compact car that breaks the mould without setting the heather on fire.
Words: Andrew Knight
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