Review Of Seat Alhambra 2016 - First introduced back in 1996, the seven-seater SEAT Alhambra remained essentially unchanged for more than a decade until the introduction of the second-generation model in 2010. Since then, it underwent a facelift in the middle of last year to bring it bang up to date, but it still maintains the same family-friendly seven-seat capacity as before. Built on the same platform as the Volkswagen Sharan and using many of its components too, the Alhambra shares much of the capability of the Sharan, but aside from the badge what else sets the SEAT apart? As per all modern SEATs, the interior is handsome enough and well-laid out, with this 6.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system as standard, plus controls for the three-zone climate control. All Alhambras get an eight-speaker sound system as standard, while this mid-range SE model is a worthwhile step up as it adds cruise control, automatic lights and wipers in addition to front seats with electronic lumbar adjustment. This model also comes with the optional Navigation System package, which adds sat-nav, DAB radio and a rear-view camera to the equipment list. It’s an expensive option at £995, but given the amount of extras included, many of which drivers will consider essentials, once you break it down it doesn’t seem quite so bad.
Sliding rear doors provide extremely easy access to the rear and prove very handy particularly when in cramped car parks, while the seven full-sized seats and huge interior space makes the back a pretty comfortable place to be, with plenty of room for passengers of all sizes. The second and third row seating can also be rearranged in a variety of combinations to incorporate people, luggage, or both and with all seven people on board there’s still 267 litres of boot space to play with, which is just under the amount in your average Ford Fiesta. Fold the back seats down and space increases to 658 litres, while with both the second and third row of seating stowed, cargo capacity clocks in a pretty impressive 2,297 litres. The general attitude towards MPVs seems to be that they’re not particularly sexy and nowhere near as notable for on-road ability as even your average family saloon.
Happily, plenty of modern people carriers are surprisingly able on the road, and the Alhambra is up there with the best of them. It’s grippy, there’s not as much body lean in the corners as you’d think from a rather bulky car, and the steering is incredibly well weighted and direct. So far so very good, while the parking sensors and reversing camera go a long way towards taming the length of the car when parking. There are two engines available, a 148bhp 1.4-litre petrol and a larger 2.0-litre diesel, which comes in two states of tune. We’ve got the less powerful 148bhp diesel along with a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox, though there’s also a hotter 182bhp option along with six-speed manual gearboxes for all engines. 0-62mph takes just over 10 seconds so it’s not the fastest thing in the world but neither is it the slowest, while the automatic gearbox is one of the better units we’ve tried with none of the clankiness found in some other dual-clutch transmissions. Compared to some other engines it’s not the most frugal in the world, but with start-stop as standard SEAT claims it can return up to 54.3mpg.
We’ve gotten closer to in the time that we’ve had it, but that’s still not bad, while CO2 emissions clock in at 137g/km. Prices for the Alhambra start from £24,885, while as tested this model commands a price of £32,305, which includes nearly two and a half grand’s worth of optional extras. Compared against rivals, it’s more expensive than the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso or the Kia Carens but about on par with the Ford Galaxy and we reckon that it’s worth its more upmarket feel is worth the little extra so long as you’re sensible with the options list. Although compared with rivals like the Ford S-Max, the Alhambra might come across as slightly frumpy, from behind the wheel you can see why it’s rated one of the best cars in its segment. Well equipped, good to drive and brilliantly practical, perhaps it doesn’t carry quite the badge appeal of some others but if you’re looking for a high-quality people carrier, it’s definitely worth a closer look. Thanks for visit Review Of Seat Alhambra 2016.
