SEAT Altea FR Review

SEAT Altea

Rear seat passengers have a compartment on the side of their seat, a door panel which can hold a one litre bottle, a pouch in the front seat backs, a compartment at the end of the central tunnel plus an extra compartment and two cupholders with the armrest lowered and much more.

The boot is opened by pushing on the SEAT badge at the rear of the car and reveals a two-tiered boot floor, the first level has ample capacity for everyday use with extra storage below. The parcel shelf lifts to reveal extra storage and more space becomes available with the rear seats folded (1320 litres with the rear seats folded, the sliding partition open and the rear parcel tray removed) this can be done with one hand without removing the head restraints.

Should more space be required on the first level without folding the rear seats, the folding floor partition can be placed behind the back of the rear seats to increase boot capacity to 409 litres.

We must mention the Altea's windscreen wiper system - at rest the wiper arms are concealed vertically within the A-pillars and when activated sweep in a top-to-bottom arc.

Safety and Security

The SEAT Altea FR 1.9 TDI is equipped with the following safety and security equipment as standard:

Locking wheel bolts, EBA (Emergency Brake Assist), ESP (Electronic Stability Programme), Child locks, 3 button folding key (lock/unlock/boot release), ABS (Anti-lock braking system), Front passenger airbag deactivation, Driver's and front passenger's airbags, Front side airbags, Remote central locking with deadlocks, DSR (Dynamic Steering Response), Multi-link rear suspension, Selective door opening (SAFE), Height adjustable front seatbelts pre-tensioners and load limit, Auto lock/unlock doors, TCS (Traction Control System), Curtain airbags, Immobiliser, ISOFIX, Three 3-point rear seatbelts, VIN visible in windscreen and Volumetric alarm with backup horn.

We were pleased to see the FR comes with ESP (Electronic Stability Programme) as standard and as with all Altea’s the car is equipped with six airbags (2 x front, 2 x side and 2 x curtains), additionally for £165 you can have 2 x side rear bags, we feel that this should be standard equipment.  

The Altea did very well in the all important Euro NCAP tests, with 5 stars for Occupant Protection, 4 stars for Child Protection and 3 stars for Pedestrian Protection, the latter being the joint best result recorded by Euro NCAP to date.