SEAT Altea Freetrack test drive since 2007 Minivan
Seat altea freetrack test drive: Bright and invisible
Sales of Seat cars in Europe are much better than Kia, Chevrolet, Honda or, say, Mazda. But in Russia, the Spanish brand did not gain and one and a half thousand people who want to buy their cars. On the example of an unusual cocktail from a powerful motor, all -wheel drive and family body Kolesa.ru are trying to understand what is wrong with the CEATA in Russia. In the first year in the coming year, the Kolesa.ru test drive was the top seat altea freetrack (Seat Altea Frick) with all-wheel drive, a 2.0-liter 211-horsepower engine, and a pre-sective automatic DSG gearbox costs 1,149,990 rubles.
This is half compactwane, half a crossover; In favor of the first, the high streamlined single-combed body speaks, in favor of the second clearance is higher than the average and additional plastic body kit in the Off Road style.
A body kit is dark gray overlays from a painted (!) Plastic. They will come in handy not only when sorting out into the forest, but also in the city: you must agree that replacing plastic rating with the arch will be cheaper than the wing, and traces of body repair (in the form of traces from the wings of the wings) will not remain. The only trouble is that the gray protective body kit will still have to be painted.
Compactwane outside - compactwane and inside. In the SEAT altea freetrack salon there is a spaciousness in almost any place: both front and behind. And on the right and on the left. Moreover, the rear passengers will appreciate not only the scope of their heads and in front of the knees, but also the opportunity to move the rear sofa back and forth: the sofa adjustment range is 16 cm.
I get behind the wheel. Landing the driver in the minivan vertical; If you sit so that the hands are lying on the steering wheel, are almost straight, the knees will be bent for medium height, you have to put your back as vertically as possible. Not very convenient, however, useful for posture.
At first glance, the interior of Seat Altea Freetrack is very stylish and not even in the Minor Sports. The three -spoke steering wheel with thickenings under the grip lies perfectly in his hands. The seats are held tightly in corners, and even the 450-kilometer path that I did the day after the first landing in the car did not respond with my back fatigue.
On the central console, only the most necessary: \u200b\u200bthe remote controls and climate control. It is noteworthy that in order to get to any of the keys of both devices, you do not need to stretch at all.
Under the upper part of the rim of the steering wheel, the usual three wells of the dashboard are visible, but their content is not the most traditional. The right large circle speedometer, the middle small tachometer, but several devices coexist in the left at once: the fuel level, the coolant temperature scale in the engine and in the middle of the on -board computer. Management of readings on the screen of the latter on the right steering spoke. Usually, either a speedometer or tachometer are located on the left, and only at the end of the test week I got used to such an arrangement. Most upset the plastic in the cabin. No, nothing rattled and did not crunched all the panels fit perfectly, you can’t complain about the assembly quality. But how hard! Touching the knuckles of the fingers and panels was reflected in a knock that in the doorway, in the dashboard. But this is a top version on the other hand, it was not included in my plans to beat your head about the details of the cabin, and to be fastened, then such contact is not destined to take place at all.
How is Seat Altea Freetrack in the case? Perfect. And what can be expected from the 211-horsepower TSI motor tested on many models of the Germans and the lightning-fast DSG?! Without even starting the motor, I knew that if you press the pedal of half -heartedly, the surprised passengers would pleasantly flatten at the armchairs.
A much greater revelation for me was the excellent controllability of Fritrek. Anglo-speaking colleagues will probably call him Fun-to-Drive, which is translated into Russian not quite accurate in management. Seat Altea Freetrack incites mischievous lights in the eyes of a seamyard driver, especially on a winter road. Full -wheel drive even with a disabled slip system (ESP stabilization controls) allows you to quickly go into icy turns, enjoying controlled slipping and controlled slippers.
The tires were pumped up. Firstly, the Bridgestone Ice Cruiser 5000 somewhere for 70 km/h begins to be strongly zononic, giving rise to a loud annoying rumble. The tires make you pay attention to the snow-lane mixture, when they allow the front of the car to unexpectedly slip out the turn.
The Haldex electromagnetic clutch all -wheel drive is arranged in the same way as, for example, in Land Rover Freelander or Volkswagen Tiguan. Excrements jeepers will surely frown and say that this is never all-wheel drive, but an advanced front one. The electronics reaction to the slip and the moment on the wheel is a little delayed, but it is very difficult to get off the trajectory at low speed. The character of the machine is mostly a front -wheel drive, but in the more steep turns, the connection of the rear axle helps to enter, narrowing the radius. And in a long road on the highway, this type of drive significantly saves fuel. For example, on the Murmansk highway at an average speed of 90 km/h (taking into account settlements, overtaking and several congestion), on average, 8.5 liters per hundred are not bad for 211-horsepower 2.0 with all-wheel drive, right? It is difficult, probably, to be a PR specialist in SEAT. To develop the Spanish brand in Russia, you need to be an optimist in the highest stage; How else to bring to the market (on which solaris, logs and other viburnum fly around), a line of cars, where the cheapest basic Seat Ibiza costs 545,000 rubles
SEAT altea freetrack prices
The most affordable car can be bought for 863,000 rubles. This is the altea Frick with a 1.4-liter 125-horsepower turbo engine, front-wheel drive and a 6-speed mechanical automatic transmission. The basic car is equipped with 6 airbags, ABS, TCS antipropatting system, climate control, casting disks R17, cruise control-in other words, the standard Freetrack is not possible from the absence of ESP, baggage mesh, steering wheel petals for DSG and other design Wheel disks.
The next version costs 1,049,990 rubles, but it has a 2.0-liter 211-horsepower TSI and an automatic gearbox.
What in the end
I have plenty of reasons to love Seat altea freetrack after the test. Engine, chassis, transmission with civilian, but still all -wheel drive, impressive equipment of the basic configuration, unusual appearance, spacious interior and protective moldings throughout the body. There are less disadvantages, but they outweigh. Firstly, Seat Altea Freetrack looks like a minivan, and Russians are not held in high esteem. We love crossovers. Secondly, the Volkswagen concern will have to work to introduce the Spanish brand on a separate marketing regiment, which is still not there. CEATs are not cheaper than Germans, and the prestige of these brands cannot yet be compared ...
Competitors Seat Altea Freetrack in the Russian market:
Toyota Verso (test drive)
Nissan Qashqai+2 (test drive)
Source: Wheel magazine [January 2012]
