SEAT Altea

The Altea was released a few years after many of its competitors arriving on the scene, but it was expected to sell well. However, it exceeded expectations, and 31,223 Alteas were sold within the first year.[4] It is a family oriented five seater, which attempts to portray a more sporty image than most of its rivals. The car is based on Volkswagen Group's A5 (PQ35) platform.

An unusual design feature is the 'vertical parked' windscreen wipers, which are designed to improve pedestrian safety. They disappear in to the window surround either side of the screen. The effect is a completely cleanly swept windscreen, but does mean the 'A pillars' are rather wide and cause a blind spot.

There were six trim levels: Essence, Reference, Reference Sport, Stylance, Sport (no longer available in the United Kingdom) and FR. Internal combustion engines are available, with the range topping 2.0 FR Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) delivering 125 kilowatts (170 PS; 168 bhp), available since April 2006.

There are four gearboxes available (depending on market and engine); five or six speed manual, five speed tiptronic automatic, and six or seven speed Direct-Shift Gearbox. It is named after the Spanish city of Altea.

In March 2014, British vehicle magazine Auto Express reported that SEAT was working on a family of SUVs, with an estimated release date of 2016, to be based on the same platform as the SEAT León.[5] This proved to be exact, with the launch of the SEAT Ateca SUV in 2016.

The SEAT Altea was tested in 2004, for its safety performance under the assessment scheme Euro NCAP, and it achieved an overall rating of five stars:[6]

• Adult occupant
• Child occupant
• Pedestrian

• "Red Dot: Best of The Best" Design Award, from the Nordrhein Westfalen (Germany) Design Centre [7]
• 'The World's Most Beautiful Automobile 2004', in Milan [8]
• 'Autonis' Design Award, by the Auto-Strassenverkehr and MOT magazines
• 'Best Concept Car in 2003', by the Designers (Europe) organisation (for the SEAT Altea Prototipo) [9]
• 'Towncar of the Year' Award, by the Caravan Club, in collaboration with the English magazine What Car?
• 'Auto Trophy' 2004 and 2005, by the German car magazine Autozeitung [10]
• “XII Edición de los Premios del Motor” award of 2005, by the Spanish magazine Telva [11]
• 'Coche de Flotas del Año' award of 2005, by the Spanish magazine Flotas
• 'Ampe' award in 2005 in the category Internet [12]

The following powertrain specifications are available:

A flexible-fuel vehicle model was also on offer, under the label "MultiFuel", featuring the 1.6 MPI E85 102 bhp engine.[15]

SEAT Altea XL Seat Altea Freetrack
2006–2009
Overview
Manufacturer	SEAT
Also called	SEAT Altea 4 Seat Altea XL Stationwagon (The Netherlands)
Production	2006−2015 (XL) 2007−2015 (Freetrack)
Assembly	Martorell, Spain
Body and chassis
Class	Compact MPV (M)
Body style	5-door multi-purpose vehicle
Layout	Front-engine, front-wheel-drive/four-wheel-drive
Platform	Volkswagen Group A5 (PQ35)
Related	Audi A3 Mk2 Audi TT Mk2 SEAT León Mk2 SEAT Toledo Mk3 Škoda Octavia Mk2 Volkswagen Golf Mk5 Volkswagen Golf Mk6 Volkswagen Golf Plus Volkswagen Touran Volkswagen Tiguan
Powertrain
Engine	petrol engines: 1.4 L I4 1.4 L I4 TSI 1.6 L I4 1.8 L I4 TSI 2.0 L I4 TSI diesel engines: 1.9 L I4 TDI 2.0 L I4 TDI DPF 2.0 L I4 TDI 2.0 L I4 TDI DPF 2.0 L I4 TDI CR DPF
Transmission	5-speed manual 6-speed manual 6-speed Direct-Shift Gearbox 7-speed Direct-Shift Gearbox
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,578 mm (101.5 in) — XL 2,576 mm (101.4 in) — Freetrack
Length	4,467 mm (175.9 in) — XL 4,493 mm (176.9 in) — Freetrack
Width	1,768 mm (69.6 in) — XL 1,788 mm (70.4 in) — Freetrack
Height	1,576 mm (62.0 in) — XL 1,622 mm (63.9 in) — Freetrack
Kerb weight	1,330 kg (2,932 lb) - 1,586 kg (3,497 lb)

SEAT Altea Freetrack

SEAT Altea Freetrack (prototype)

The SEAT Altea XL is an 18.7 centimetres (7.4 in) longer variant of the normal SEAT Altea, a five door five seat compact multi purpose vehicle (MPV), with increased luggage capacity compared to the standard Altea.[16] It was launched at the Paris Motor Show in September 2006. Sales commenced in November 2006.

The SEAT Altea Freetrack is dimensionally similar to the Altea XL, but is designed as compact sport-utility vehicle (SUV).[17] It features raised suspension for increased ground clearance and larger plastic bumpers, and plastic wheel arch and sill extensions, which all increase its exterior dimensions.[18]

All versions of the Freetrack, except the 2.0 Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) 2WD, are equipped with a Haldex Traction based on demand four-wheel drive (4WD). The 4WD versions are also called Seat Altea 4. In Mexico and Russia, the SEAT Altea Freetrack is marketed simply as the SEAT Freetrack.

Although the Freetrack is available with 4WD, it is not marketed by SEAT as an "SUV". However, the Freetrack could be seen as a competitor for small SUVs from other marques. The possible internal combustion engine choices are almost the same as for the normal Altea. When the car was launched, it was available in a very uncommon intense yellow.

This colour was also seen on models in several promotional brochures. The colour scheme was no longer available by August 2010.

Powertrain

The following powertrain options are available, with certain configurations utilising Volkswagen Groups highly regarded Direct-Shift Gearbox (DSG):[20][21]

all available internal combustion engines are inline four cylinder designs
model	displacement, valvetrain, fuel system	max power at rpm	max torque at rpm	transmission(s)	XL	Freetrack
petrol engines all fuel injected
1.4	1390 cc, 16v DOHC multi-point fuel injection	63 kW (86 PS; 84 bhp) at 5,000	132 N⋅m (97 lbf⋅ft) at 1,500	5 speed manual
1.4 TSI	1390 cc, 16v DOHC Turbocharged Fuel Stratified Injection	92 kW (125 PS; 123 bhp) at 5,000	200 N⋅m (148 lbf⋅ft) at 1,500−4,000	6 speed manual
1.6	1595 cc, 8v SOHC multi-point fuel injection	75 kW (102 PS; 101 bhp) at 5,600	148 N⋅m (109 lbf⋅ft) at 3,800	5 speed manual
1.8 TSI	1798 cc, 16v DOHC Turbocharged Fuel Stratified Injection	118 kW (160 PS; 158 bhp) at 5,000−6,200	250 N⋅m (184 lbf⋅ft) at 1,500−4,500	6 speed manual 7 speed DSG
2.0 TSI	1984 cc, 16v DOHC Turbocharged Fuel Stratified Injection	155 kW (211 PS; 208 bhp) at 5,300−6,200	280 N⋅m (207 lbf⋅ft) at 1,700−5,200	6 speed DSG 6 speed DSG		2WD & 4WD
diesel engines all Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI)
1.9 TDI (from Sept '09)	1896 cc, 8v SOHC "Pumpe Düse" (PD) unit injection	66 kW (90 PS; 89 bhp) at 4,000	210 N⋅m (155 lbf⋅ft) at 1,800	5 speed manual
1.9 TDI	1896 cc, 8v SOHC "Pumpe Düse" (PD) unit injection	77 kW (105 PS; 103 bhp) at 4,000	250 N⋅m (184 lbf⋅ft) at 1,900	5 speed manual
1.9 TDI DPF	1896 cc, 8v SOHC "Pumpe Düse" (PD) unit injection, diesel particulate filter	77 kW (105 PS; 103 bhp) at 4,000	250 N⋅m (184 lbf⋅ft) at 1,900	5 speed manual 6 speed manual 4WD 6 speed DSG
2.0 TDI	1968 cc, 16v DOHC "Pumpe Düse" (PD) unit injection	103 kW (140 PS; 138 bhp) at 4,000	320 N⋅m (236 lbf⋅ft) at 1,750−2,500	6 speed manual 6 speed DSG
2.0 TDI DPF	1968 cc, 8v SOHC "Pumpe Düse" (PD) unit injection, diesel particulate filter	103 kW (140 PS; 138 bhp) at 4,000	320 N⋅m (236 lbf⋅ft) at 1,750−2,500	6 speed manual 6 speed DSG		2WD & 4WD
2.0 TDI CR DPF	1968 cc, 16v DOHC common rail, diesel particulate filter	125 kW (170 PS; 168 bhp) at 4,200	350 N⋅m (258 lbf⋅ft) at 1,750−2,500	6 speed manual		4WD

A flexible-fuel vehicle model was also on offer, under the label "MultiFuel", featuring the 1.6 MPI E85 102 bhp (76 kW; 103 PS) engine.[22]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to SEAT Altea XL.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to SEAT Altea Freetrack.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to SEAT Altea.

• Official website