Auto 2011: Seat Alhambra

The SEAT Alhambra is a large 7-seat MPV by the Volkswagen Group, sold under the SEAT brand. The Alhambra already spans two generations since 1996, and both of them are built at the AutoEuropa plant in Palmela, Portugal. It takes its name from the Alhambra of Granada, one of the most famous monuments in Spain.The first generation of the SEAT Alhambra was presented as a prototype at the 1995 Geneva Salon International de l'Auto, to be followed next year by the official premier of the model launched at the same motor show still in Geneva. It has been on sale from 1996 up to 2010 and stayed largely unchanged until a major restyling in 2000, when it received a restyling to reflect the new image of the marque, but remaining faithful to the original form jointly designed by SEAT, Volkswagen and Ford, under a technology sharing agreement between the Volkswagen Group and Ford, after the two companies found they were losing market share from the first generation of MPVs such as the Toyota Previa and Mitsubishi Space Wagon. It seats up to seven people — the 5 rear seats being all movable or even removable leaving a flat-load floor — something that no other vehicle of the SEAT range could offer at that time. The boot capacity thus varies depending on the seating, from 256L with the full format of 7 seats, to 852L with 5 seats or even 2610L with only 2 seats.

New 2011 Seat Alhambra

A more environmentally friendly version, the SEAT Alhambra Ecomotive, was also under offer fitted with the 2.0 TDI 140 PS (103 kW) engine producing 159 g/km CO2 emissions.The second generation of the SEAT Alhambra was announced on 19 April 2010. The replacement Alhambra went on sale in October 2010. At 4.85 metres, the new car is 22 cm longer and 9 cm wider than the outgoing model. Like the new Sharan, access to the middle row of seats is via sliding doors. In February 2011 SEAT presented the Alhambra 4WD version featuring a permanent all wheel drive layout combined with the 2.0 TDI 103 kW diesel engine and a manual six-speed gearbox. In 2010, the SEAT Alhambra Mk2 was evaluated for its safety performance under the Euro NCAP assessment scheme. Since its launch in 1996, more than 250,000 SEAT Alhambra cars have been produced and sold in its two generations up to the present. In the year 2009, the total annual retail sales number of SEAT Alhambra cars was 5,923 vehicles, while the annual production of SEAT Alhambra vehicles came up to 6,215 units.