Road Test: Seat Alhambra 2.0 TDI 140 Reference

Price as tested: €38,743

+ Massive space, sliding doors, comfy, well made
– Totally contrary to Seat’s sporting image, missing some key equipment
= Just not the kind of car Seat should be building


Let me start first off by saying that I genuinely, properly like Seats. Four have passed through the hands of variously myself and other family members in the past decade and a bit and none have ever given trouble or had more than a day off the road. Cracking cars, every one.

And the whole idea behind the Seat brand, since its takeover by Volkswagen in the late eighties, is a belter. VW sought to create a Spanish Alfa Romeo, a sporting brand full of passion and brio, but with the promise of the solidity of VW-derived engines and chassis underneath to allay any fears over reliability or quality.

On some Seat models, that all works fine. The Leon hatchback, especially in hot 260bhp Cupra form, is a cracking hot hatch and I have a major soft spot for the sharply styled Ibiza supermini. But the rest of the range is... well, not living up to the billing.

Take this, the Alhambra people carrier. Nothing wrong with it, when taken in isolation. It’s big, spacious, has seats for seven, it’s safe and I love the sliding rear doors, which give such good access to the rear cabin, especially in tight parking spaces.

It’s also well made, comfy and, with that excellent 2.0-litre TDI diesel engine (140bhp, 320Nm of torque) doing the shunting, it’s got decent performance and good fuel economy. In fact, with claimed economy of 5.6-litres per 100km comparing well with our observed economy of 6.0-litres per 100km, it must be one of the most consistently economical big cars going. That’s helped by standard-fit Stop-Start and the Alhambra, as tested in Reference specification, comes with seven airbags, ESP, electric child locks, front fog lights, electronic handbrake and climate control. Our test car also came with an optional €613 Lifestyle pack which includes 16” alloys, multi-function steering wheel, extra chrome bits and more. All of that for €38,743. Not bad.

Except... Well, there are a couple of quibbles. First off, let’s talk about price and spec. On the upside, the Alhambra is around €3,000 cheaper than the equivalent (and cirtually identical in every respect) Volkswagen Sharan, so that makes it something of a bargain. On the downside, who exactly is expected these days to pay the guts of €40k for a new car and find that such items as a leather steering wheel, parking sensors and Bluetooth phone connection are still on the options list? Come on Seat, look across the road at the competition from the likes of Kia and Hyundai and wake up and smell the coffee.

Meanwhile, there is a serious disconnect between the Alhambra in and of itself and the whole brand image that Seat wants to project. If Seat is supposed to be the sprawling VW Group’s sporty, youthful brand, why is it in the first place making an Alhambra at all? Surely such a big, practical car is more in the line of in-house rival Skoda? Why isn’t Seat making something more aimed at the family driver who still loves driving? Ford’s S-Max is an obvious rival in this sense; a seven-seater family hack that still has the sharp styling and equally sharp chassis that those of us who combine driving enthusiasm and the burden of kids crave.

Instead, the Alhambra majors on being comfy and spacious, but as a thing to drive, it’s a bit of a bus; lumbering awkwardly around corners and never, ever doing anything to engage the driver. The Alhambra also suffers from the same complaint we have of its Exeo saloon sister; the cabin is just too grey and too plain to give you even a tiny hint of the Spanish style that Seat is supposed to exude. Only at night, when it’s pleasantly lit with read and white backlighting, does the Alhambra’s cabin come to life.

As an individual vehicle, the Alhambra’s just fine. A big, spacious family hauler that’ll provide years of faithful, useful service. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But come one Seat, please start giving us more cars that live up to the marketing message.


Facts & Figures

Seat Alhambra 2.0 TDI 140 Reference
Price as tested: €38,743
Price range: €38,180 to €43,700
Capacity: 1,995cc
Power: 138bhp
Torque: 320Nm
Top speed: 215kmh
0-100kmh: 11.3sec
Economy: 5.6l-100km (50.4mpg)
CO2 emissions: 146g/km
Road Tax Band: C €302
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star adult: 96% adult, 80% child, 46% pedestrian, 71% safety assist