Seat Altea XL - vacation to the maximum
America is the homeland of vans. There were classics like the Chrysler Town & Country and the Honda Oddysey. Incredibly comfortable with individual passenger seats and a dozen cup holders on board. That was the idea behind these cars, and people loved it. Fashion came to Europe from across the ocean. Of course, slightly modified, adapted to a local client. Over time, we have minivans built on compact floorboards. To bridge the gap between them and full-sized vans, lengthened mini-vans began to be produced. That's what we're testing today, and that's the Seat Altea Extra Large.
Altea appeared on the market 7 years ago and at the moment it is an almost imperceptible car on the street, just fitting into the crowd. In fact, it has never been a particularly outstanding car. The facelift in 2009 only slightly refreshed the body and added several elements characteristic of VW concern cars to the interior. The test Altea is an XL variety, 19 cm longer than the standard version. Consequently, the volume of the trunk has increased from 409 to 532 liters. You can also move the rear seat forward 14 cm to further increase luggage space. Unfortunately, the buyer will not find additional places for two additional passengers in the trunk. Of course, it's no secret that the seats in the luggage compartment are not as comfortable as in the first or second row, but sometimes they are useful. The XL version also differs from the "short" version by having much larger taillights. And that would be all.
The restyled center console looks much better than before. It's good that there are no microscopic buttons on it to control the radio and other devices. Now this place is occupied by a panel that can be found in almost every VW car. The navigation screen, which is an option in the test version of the Style, is touch sensitive and very easy to use. The way the map is displayed is quite unusual - it was not possible to zoom out the map to see at least one province on the screen, but in practice this does not really matter. For the first time I also encountered a keyboard for entering addresses in the QWERTY layout. The kit costs PLN 3400, but with it we get a Bluetooth kit, so the offer is worth considering.
The whole interior looks rather sketchy, and I miss the phrase "Auto Emocion" from the Seat advertising slogan. Of course, you can order leather upholstery, but such specimens are rare, because in a family car you pay extra for useful, not superfluous things. An interesting accessory worth equipping the car is the so-called Family Package worth PLN 1700. Among other things, these are roller shutters in the rear door, which protect from the sun and, in addition, create a sense of privacy. We also get tables in the backs of the front seats - although not fully thought out, because they cannot be placed horizontally, a double floor in the trunk (a very practical solution) and, finally, something for the little ones - a TFT screen in the headlining. . Children will certainly be pleased to see their favorite fairy tale on a long journey.
A family car should be spacious, and the Altea is exactly that. There is enough space in front for everyone, regardless of height. The front seats are fraught with an unpleasant surprise - they have such a small lumbar profile (even at maximum deflection) that the spine still arches in the letter C. It is enough to drive for ten minutes for the back to take its toll. A longer journey in this car will be much more pleasant in the rear seats, which are surprisingly more comfortable than the front ones. They have ample hip support and you sit quite high on them, giving you a nice feeling of control over the car. People taller than 185 cm will also find plenty of head and leg room in the back.
The interior of the Seat Altea is finished with solid materials but fitted well. The instrument panel is covered with material, we can say an interesting texture. Unfortunately, the instrument panel was already missing the visor, which is extremely plastic. Competitive models, such as the Citroen C4 Picasso we recently tested, have drivers treated with great attention to detail. How much will plastic with a more interesting texture cost? Or maybe it's the band's policy that Touran's brother should be nicer on the inside?
The test car was equipped with a well-known 2-liter diesel engine with 140 hp. This is the most powerful diesel unit in the offer. Acceleration to 100 km / h in about 10 seconds is quite sufficient for a family car. Dynamics at full load of the car is provided by 320 Nm. Interestingly, in different VW cars, the same engine is sometimes better, and sometimes less muffled. In the test Altea, the engine is less muffled, which does not mean that it is noisy - it only interferes with acceleration.
The engine was paired with a fast 5-speed DSG gearbox. It can be surprising at times in manual mode and it takes a little longer to change gears than you'd like, but it's still one of the best gearboxes on the market and worth considering spending 7. zloty on it. The efficient connection between the gearbox and the engine allows the average fuel consumption to be kept below 100 liters per km.
The Altea's suspension is neither family friendly nor sporty - it's just a compromise. When overcoming bumps, the machine may become unstable and climb over the ruts. The steering isn't very precise and the front wheels lose traction easily, though the tires seem to be to blame.
The price of a test copy reaches 90 thousand. PLN, and all this thanks to the most powerful diesel unit on offer and an automatic transmission. For such a well-equipped family car, the price is not too high, but it is impossible to turn a blind eye to the fact that the car lacks style, which competitors certainly have in the form of the Citroen C4 Grand Picasso (catalogue PLN 102). ) or the new improved Ford Grand C-MAX (97 thousand zlotys; 88 thousand zlotys - with a manual transmission). Both of these vehicles can carry people.
It is unlikely that anyone will want to spend almost 100 1.6. PLN per bus, for practical reasons only. Seat, however, can be attractive in price - if you choose a weaker and also modern diesel 79 TDI costing without DSG in the Style version. zloty So if you don't mind that the family car lacks the promised "Auto Emocion" - this might be the deal for you.
