Rating
Quick Summary
Recommended. The Alhambra is a new car in an already crowded class, but its qualities are underlined by decent value for money and generous equipment levels.
Road Test
The introduction of a new seven-seat MPV to Seat's range might seem slightly incongruous given the brand's overt dedication to a 'sporting' ethos (the VW-owned firm would still like to be thought of as a Spanish Alfa Romeo) but the Alhambra has actually been a part of the manufacturer's line up for longer than the Leon.
The original car remained in production for a remarkable 14 years, and Seat succeeded in shifting over 200,000 of them in that time. Like its venerable predecessor, the new Alhambra is a sister model to the Volkswagen Sharan, with which it shares almost all of its DNA.
Rather than opting for an overtly 'sporty' version of the MPV (as Seat has done successfully with the Ibiza/Polo and Leon/ Golf variants) the manufacturer has decided to market the Alhambra on another of its historic core principles; value for money.
Seat hasn't confirmed prices for the new model yet, but with an estimated starting price of £21,500 the Alhambra is likely to undercut the Sharan. The entry-level car will be comparatively well equipped too, with three-zone climate control, Bluetooth connectivity, alloy wheels and parking sensors as standard.
Higher trim levels will get electric sliding doors as standard which makes access to the Alhambra's spacious interior a cinch. The MPV shares much the same interior as its rival from VW, which means each of the five rear seats can be collapsed or resurrected with just one (strong and well-practiced) hand.
The Alhambra is significantly bigger than its predecessor which means gains for the normally squashed third row. Seat's claim that adults can now be carried long distances in the cheap seats is pushing it a little, but taller children will have no reason to complain. Parents will be even more pleased to see that boot space with all the seats up has increased by a respectable margin.
Fold all the rear seats flat and a gargantuan 2430 litres of load space is available for clutter carrying. The Alhambra's practicality is matched by the frugality of its engines. The 2.0-litre diesel engine comes with two power outputs, both offering around 50mpg and already qualifying for the Euro6 emission standards. The familiar 1.4-litre TSI petrol unit is also bound for the UK, although this isn't quite as well suited to the MPV as the oil burners.
Unsurprisingly, the car offers much the same experience on the road as the Sharan. It almost goes without saying that previous Alhambra customers will marvel at the difference; Ford Galaxy owners will be less impressed. The Seat is a safe, solid drive, but it falls short of the Ford's rewarding dynamic style.
That fact is unlikely to concern many buyers in the MPV market, though. Dependability, practicality and safety are the main criteria in this class and the Seat has those features in spades. Seat's established fans are also likely to appreciate the brand's traditional approach to pricing, as will the fleet managers at which the manufacturer is aiming two-thirds of its business.
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