The original SEAT Alhambra was released in 1996 and quickly became popular as a good value and practical people carrier seating 7 adults comfortably. When SEAT announced that it was going to produce a new Alhambra, existing customers and prospective customers were eager to see what they would come up with.
Expectations have been met and exceeded with the new Alhambra, which goes on sale in the UK including SEAT Scotland, this month. The new Alhambra is completely new from top to toe, SEAT have designed and built this model in house to demonstrate that a practical full size MPV does not have to be lacklustre to look at.
SEAT design boss Luc Donckerwolke and his team have truly done a great job with the Alhambra, they have demonstrated how a MPV can be sporty, dynamic and engaging. They have incorporating SEAT's trademark Arrow Design' to make the Alhambra look and feel like a modern day SEAT. The designers decided to add two sliding rear doors to aid practicality and make rear access easier.
In the inside there are seven individual seats that can comfortably accommodate seven adults, even third row passengers benefit from generous knee and headroom. The new Alhambra does away with the old-style individually removable seating concept in favour of a clever new fold-flat system that sees all five second- and third-row seats pivot into the floor.
Under the bonnet there is a range of engines to choose from, the petrol option is a turbocharged 1.4 with 148bhp. The diesel options are 2.0-litre units with either 138 or 168bhp. All three come with either a six-speed manual or DSG gearbox.
We'll have to wait for user reviews to find out if the all new Alhambra turns out to be as good and popular as its predecessor