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SEAT Altea (2004 - )  
Home » Car by Car » SEAT » Altea 2004

Roomy cabin with a decent boot. Beautiful styling. Excellent crash test rating.

The ride quality isn't forgiving enough. Overall, a Ford C-Max does it better. Poor treatment of owners over ABS/ESP module failures.

Introduction

I have very fond memories of Altea. It's a pretty artist's town on a turquoise sea between Benidorm and Calpe. I had a girlfriend there when I was about 20. Her mama was a painter, and took me to a wonderful restaurant called Pepe's in an old building by the sea where we ate charcoal grilled mackerel with chilled red wine.
But instead of launching the Altea in Altea, SEAT chose Watford.

Why? Well it just so happens that The Grove hotel in Watford's green belt is probably the finest art hotel in Britain if not the finest hotel full stop. Everything, from the wall of keys behind reception to the Perspex case of butterflies in my room, is an accessible kind of art that delights even sceptics like me. And the sun shone almost as intensely as it does on the Costa Blanca. So the scene was certainly set to launch a car SEAT wants us to appreciate for its style and form.

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Last updated 13 May 2012
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Also Consider

  • Ford C-MAX 2003
    Best entry and egress of any car anywhere. Excellent front seat comfort.
  • Citroen C3 2010
    Neat looking small hatchback, uses some of the same engines as MINI, 1.6 HDi engine emits 110g/km of CO2, excellent ride quality.
  • Citroen C4 Picasso 2007
    Versatile five-seat cabin with a 500-litre boot, plenty of clever touches inside, easy to fold rear seats, comfortable ride, decent value for money.
  • SEAT Altea XL 2007
    More versatible than your average hatch. Very roomy inside and a huge boot. Decent amount of kit. Excellent crash test rating.

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