Seat Altea 2004 test drive - 2009 minivan

All photos Seat Altea 2004 - 2009

Cheerful Altea

This story began in 2002, when VW decided to breed the brands belonging to it, and in Russia they began to forget the Spanish brand. Our people are not yet heard today, although official sales have resumed since last year. Therefore, it will be appropriate to say that these are not cars that we knew ten years ago. Therefore, for example, that during a divorce, Walter de Silva, who had managed to glorify Alfa Romeo before that time, took up their design. And he began with Altea, having managed to bring into its appearance a sports spirit in full accordance with the wishes of the leadership of the concern, which included the Seat in the Audi group. Having honed skill on hot Italians, he did this, in my opinion, brilliantly. The Spanish brand began to fade as if he had received a second wind. The process of updating the lineup is still going on, and soon we will see the new generation of Ibiza and Cordoba. Let the master manage to serve Audi over the years, and now he has become the main designer of all Volkswagen, he does not leave without attention and Seat.
What is MSV
Why the Devil of the family, by definition of the car, sports genes the question is idle. Since the demand for single recruits is growing rapidly in Europe, and a little slower in Russia, there will probably be people who want to have a burner saddle. And ready to pay for the style, which, by the way, in this case began with a curve. There is even a legend in the company in the company.
Say, de Silva Kosuyu's line of the new car belt, he looked at it for a long time, and the image of Altea was born in his head. This very line connected the top of the front arch and the rear and became forming for the profile, which was incarnated in metal without changes. A very successful profile turned out, I note. And the face is a pleasant large grille of the radiator and developed air intakes, a powerful bumper and original lighting technology everything looks dynamic, and is perceived for granted. The design of the stern is slightly more modest, although flower -shaped lanterns support the common avant -garde spirit.
Actually, Seat altea is a niche car. In terms of dimensions, it is exactly the C-class, but has a single-volume body, and most experts attribute it to compactwenes. Representatives of the company itself call Altea MSV (Multi Sports Vehicle). Once again, emphasizing the blood kinship of a car with hot hatchbacks Ibiza and Leon.

However, there is one funny feature in Altea design, which I immediately want to mention. The wipers are located on the sides of the windshield, and in non -working state they simply are not visible. In other words, if most cars have a brush under the upper edge of the hood, then in the Spanish minivan they stand along the side racks. Why is this done? I asked myself this question more than once, but having spent several days while driving Altea, and in Moscow Chumaza, I understood all the advantages of such an unusual solution. The brushes after the first wave do not raise the dirt on the glass up, but on the contrary, shift it down. As a result, according to subjective sensations, the windshield is cleaned more efficiently and with lower cost of washing fluid. Altea wipers are also original in that each of the two leashes has its own electric motor, and control is carried out by a special electronic unit. This solves many problems: electronics does not allow the motor if the brush is frozen to the windshield, and also stops the work of the wipers when the driver opens the hood. To replace the wiper elastic bands, a special service mode is provided, when the runners do not reach the side racks and freeze in the middle of the windshield in any other position, it is impossible to replace. As they say, a trifle, but nice.

The interior is on the verge
On the verge of compromise of practicality and sports. I had just such an impression when I got a job behind Altea. It was as if he really got into a hot hatchback: devices in wells, looking down the arrows, a tachometer at a place of honor in the center, red backlight, a sporting steering wheel, imitating the focus of the front panel. I saw similar solutions in Mazda3 and Alfa Romeo 147. But if the Japanese company simply shamelessly copied the Italian design, SEAT had every right to apply such a decision of the 147th was created precisely de Silvoy.
The seats are pleased with good lateral support, even if we are talking about a modest 1.6-liter modification, which visited the test. The range of their adjustments is large, and since the steering column moves both in height and in departure, there are no problems with convenient planting. Yes, and the controls are quite logical, the audio system and the on -board computer can be controlled without tearing off the hands from the steering wheel using buttons. Moreover, the musical center is able to play computer files MP3 format, although the quality of the sound pouring from the speakers did not particularly pleased me.

Along with the style of Altea, practicality itself. Near the seats there are pockets for small things, and under the chair of the front passenger there is also a small box. The rear seats not only fold in a proportion of 60:40, but also allow you to change the angle of inclination of the back. The luggage compartment itself has a volume of 409 liters, but its layout is also noteworthy. For example, under a shelf traditional for hatchbacks placed another one, on which you can place, say, a tool. In which case, you do not need to dig up the entire trunk. Under the floor, where the vast majority of cars have a spare wheel, another compartment that is suitable for something dirty that the trunk can stain. And only if you lift it to find a dock. I almost forgot: if the seats are folded, then the total volume of the compartment will be 1320 liters.

Mal, yes
It is one thing to create a car with a promising appearance, and to teach the car to drive accordingly. Moreover, the VW front -wheel drive platform is not too sports. However, the Seat engineers seem to have managed to endow Altea with a truly Spanish temperament. You notice it literally right away, just a couple of times go a turn at a good speed.
Despite the modest and rather old 1.6-liter gasoline engine, it reacts very vividly to the game of gas pedal. And the accuracy with which commands from the steering wheel are transferred to the front wheels simply captivates this truly driver settings. At the same time, the bodies of the body are minimal in the turns, and the supply of stability is great.

If you turn off the stabilization system, you can feel that, for example, when entering a turn on a obviously greater than it should, the speed of the body begins to slide in all four wheels outside the arc. This in a certain sense expands the driver's capabilities of the accelerator pedal, and the front drive wheels begin to pull the car, increasing the turning radius. He dropped the gas gas will begin to gently slide out the turn, and the main thing then does not provoke a deep skid, but to keep the car, as they say, on the verge. But the most pleasant thing is that the stabilization system does not interfere with rapid driving. Of course, she will not allow obvious slipping, but electronics are tuned in such a way that she permits some liberties, despite the fact that she is always ready to very clearly and effectively direct the body in the direction that is required. Plus, as I mentioned, the steering is quite transparent and informative.

But that's not all. A clear move of the 5-speed manual man transformation plant allows you to maintain a sports pace. Moreover, the proper dynamics is also contributed to the very well-chosen gearboxes of the gearbox, so that a lack of power is felt only after a set of 130-140 km/h. Is more required in the city? But powerful brakes will come in handy. It is not at all difficult to dose force on the pedal, and ABS even allows small wheels. In a word, the Seat altea, with all the functionality of the single crew, was pleasantly surprised by a cocky character. Namely, this, I think, was achieved by the designers.

Questions of competition
So, this is the second Spanish landing, which began landing only in the fall of last year. In truth, it was possible to do this a couple of years ago, when he demonstrated unimaginable growth rates on the market, and everything that was moving was bought. Now, of course, it is also not too late, but the pace, as the AI \u200b\u200banalysts are still noted more than once, the number of proposals in this segment has grown, and the consumer has become more picky.
No matter how the Seat itself positions Altea, and this model will have to fight for the buyer with a very non -wound and very motley team. After all, the future owner doesn’t care whether it is or not, and he may well consider as alternative options both Renault Scenic, Citroen C4, and even Nissan Note and the larger Opel Zafira. Therefore, the Spaniards will not have a sweet price list on Altea begins at 589,500 rubles. And even if standard equipment is quite rich, most competitors may be cheaper. Another thing is that the pleasure of the drive always has to pay extra. So, it seems to me that in our country there will be fans of a cheerful Seat altea.