Seat Altea 2004 test drive - 2009 minivan

All photos Seat Altea 2004 - 2009

Seat Altea Freetrack

No matter how seductive characteristics are, they do not always reflect the true character of the car. In this case, all the numbers were only a pale reflection of bright reality. Talk about the appearance of a crossover in the SEAT gamut has been conducted for a long time.
And that, the topic is fashionable, the development of relatively budget, in addition in Spain itself and the surroundings, there are a lot of interesting places where it is harmful to its health on a car, and it is not useful for the budget on the SUV ... However, German cartridges from the VW concern are diligently positioning the Spanish brand as A certain burning mixture of flamenco and corrida. Today's Seat is an aggressive character and stylish appearance, sports settings and elegant lines, powerful motors and ease of control. In a word, the task was set by a difficult crossover to create a passionate, like a kiss of a gypsy in love. As a result, the compact SEAT altea single-collar was taken and complemented by all-wheel drive, large wheels and a plastic body kit that protects against crushed stone-flying. And where is the madness? Please: under the hood, a 2.0-liter gasoline engine with turbocharges, a 6-speed mechanical transmission to it, into the Haldex clutch. We will highlight the front panel and devices in red, we will make the seats deeper, the lines are quinent ... It looks great!

Full -wheel drive
A picnic machine. I drove one and a half hundred kilometers along the highway, twenty along the lane and three along the forest road, in the clearing to the stream. If the rain goes not scary at night: that’s all about all -wheel drive! Puddle, sand, roots do not stick out: 40 mm clearance more than that of the base Altea XL! The bushes do not scare the body: plastic overlays with scars look even better, and they are easily polished. And on the road is good: the music is full -time, the seats with tenacious lateral support are comfortable, the suspension is moderately tough, the motor does not make noise, the wind does not whistle, and the speed is already over 180. I would not run into! We will turn it to the laundry. There is still a lot of snow, the ice is cracking in the puddles, the car goes confidently, sometimes helps itself, creaks the anti -wings. Freetrack all-wheel drive is implemented through an electronically controlled Haldex clutch. The principle of its operation is simple: ABS sensors transmit a signal to the control unit that one of the wheels rotates faster than the other, and the difference in speeds indicates that this is a slip. The command is immediately given to two electric motor

one opens the valve, the second drives the oil pump. Depending on the degree of slipping, the pressure of the oil that compresses the couples of the coupling changes. Blocking can reach 100 percent, and maybe ten. Five is by itself due to oil friction in the system. While I wrote this, the clutch could work two hundred times. Complete blocking occurs in a fraction of a second, more precisely, then for the segment in which the incoming shaft manages to get ahead of the output by 45 degrees. If you count, taking into account the gear ratio of the main pair, it turns out that the difference in rotation of the wheels will be about 79 degrees. You will not even feel when the coupling turned on! And no breakdowns of the rear axle in a steep turn, digging the front wheels, while the rear ones work, is not foreseen. Nevertheless, I want to warn potential users: the Seat Freetrack drive, although complete, but automatic, must be protected, as, indeed, any other. Hard passage of relief irregularities, sharp starts on the rise and pseudoral maneuvers will dump the coupling for the season!

Turbine mix
Five or six engines are designed for Seat Altea Freetrack. I will say right away: four or five of them do not interest me. If you have 200 turbines under your hood with a equipped mass of 1,500 kg, you will not be interested in little. A spurt up to 100 km/h in 7.5 seconds, and where to accelerate to the maximum 214 km/h ... Now, if the box was more clearly switched! The progress of the selector handle is small, but the programs stick sluggishly, like through frozen oil. If this is appropriate for a family compact wan, then there is no hot crossover.
But there is nothing to blame the steering. And the steering wheel itself is pleasant to the touch, and the reactions to its turn are adequate and accurate. The controllability of the SEAT FRETRACK hobby is generally. Of course, with a dynamic snake, it feels that the center of gravity has become higher with the growth of the clearance, but the multi -link rear suspension and powerful reptile stability stabilizers are fully coping with this. It is noticeable that the work on the suspension was carried out under the strict guidance of colleagues from Wolfsburg: no matter how much the Spaniards try to invest in it, the Germans did not give comfort. Compromises in such matters do not pass, especially from behind, so the only, although the most expensive decision is a five -leaf multillein. In front of McPherson with an intricate subframe made in the form of a huge plate of light alloy. In fact, he plays the role of a power element, which gives the entire design the necessary rigidity for twisting and bends, which also positively affects the accuracy of control, allowing in favorable conditions to ride in a completely rally manner or write a trajectory on the verge of breakdown.

Matter: Seat altea Freetrack

CONGIONAL COME!
The version with all -wheel drive and the turbo engine costs, for a minute, a million rubles with ducking ... Yes, I also had this word first when I found out about the price. Why are we forced to pay that kind of money? The basic Trailblazer costs almost the same. So there is a car there, and here ... Well, all -wheel drive, of course, in the snow, clay, wet grass. A mechanical 6-speed box for those who feel Alonso and still seek their column. Salon on five without comment. The engine with a turbine 7.5 seconds to a hundred, the guys in Subarru were surprised. A good motor, fast and neat, you need to be able to use this, but, again, there are enough pillars for everyone. Image, prestige, image. If you are not a DJ or at least not a stylist, these are not the words that are combined with Seat, with all my respect. What else to surprise? Here is a built-in DVD system with a ceiling console and a seven-inch screen for the rear passengers. A good argument, but it seems to me that there will be not those who will then go to Freetrack in the back row of seats ... The plant, secretly, releases all-wheel drive 200-horsepower altea freetrack at 23 thousand euros, with duties it turns out about 30. Everything is turned out to be about 30. equally expensive! Even with a movie is expensive! However, for the opportunity to whistle to overtake some zoom-zum with a fashionable creature at the wheel sometimes I want to pay. And for the opportunity to fly to your beloved meadow at Istra about forty minutes. Unless, of course, summer residents on ordinary minivans will not score the track ...