FAMILY MOTORING WITH A SPORTING PEDIGREE
31 March 2008 - Seat

SEAT in 2008 World Touring Car title chase

Spanish motor company SEAT’s involvement with Touring Car racing both in the British and World championships seems to have drawn in a younger audience of car buyers, be they private retail customers or business user-choosers.

It’s an expensive business motor sport, so the justification to go racing has to be a success on the track and in the showroom. In the UK last year SEAT sold 34,790 new cars, a 5.9 per cent increase over 2006 and almost an all time sales record. But will the upcoming motorsport exposure give their 2008 sales campaign a lift? Sales in the UK for the first two months of this year have dropped by 7.29 per cent as the credit-crunch starts to bite.

SEAT have already started their 2008 World Touring Car title chase and this weekend at Brands Hatch their attack on the BTCC championship began with drivers Jason Plato and Darren Turner. Be sure the brand new green and yellow colour scheme of the team’s new sponsors, Holiday Inn, will be seen bashing doors with the best of them, namely Vauxhall, BMW and Honda, at the front of the field.

This year the SEAT UK works team will be competing for the first time with two diesel-engined Leon TDI cars following the lead of the SEAT WTCC team which introduced racing diesel cars mid-way through the 2007 season. SEAT will be the first manufacturer to enter a diesel powered car in the 50 year history of the BTCC.

‘Win on Sunday- sell on Monday’ is a well used saying in the motor industry. To support this theory SEAT’s motorsport involvement has resulted in them adding FR (Formula Racing) derivatives to their Ibiza, Leon and Altea ranges. Each FR model range features a petrol and a diesel version and the Altea and Leon FR models have as an option the Volkswagen family DSG Direct Shift twin clutch automated manual gearbox on the 2.0-litre TSI petrol models.

Here are some more nuggets of FR information. The FR variants are the best selling versions in the Leon range. All three FR ranges have distinctive styling features inside and out. Exterior tweaks including motorsport inspired front and rear bumpers, stainless steel twin exhaust tailpipes, 17-inch alloy wheels and silver painted door mirrors. Interior modifications include a re-styled dashboard with white instrumentation, sports steering wheel and gear lever with FR logos on the front sports seats.

But second only to price it’s what’s under the bonnet that matters.

The Leon mid-sized five-door hatchback and the Altea mid-sized, high roof, five-door hatchback cum MPV in FR guise have 2.0-litre TSI petrol and TDI diesel direct injection turbocharged engine options. The petrol unit produces 200PS and the diesel 170PS.

The Leon FR TSI has a top speed of 142mph with zero to 62mph covered in 7.3 seconds and the average fuel economy is 35.8mpg, CO2 190g/km, VED £210 Price, £17,250, with DSG transmission £18,250.

Its FR TDI diesel stablemate has a top speed of 135mph, 0-62mph takes 8.2 seconds and average fuel consumption is 47.1mpg, CO2 161g/km, VED £145. Price, £17,695.

The heavier Altea FR TSI returns 136mph, 0-62mph takes 7.7 seconds and 34.9mpg is the average fuel use, CO2 194g/km, VED £210. Price, £17,595, with DSG £18,595.

The Altea FR TDI does 130mph, 0-62mph takes 8.6 seconds and fuel economy is 45.6mpg, CO2 167 g/km £170. Price, £18,095.

The smaller and lighter three-door hatchback Ibiza FR models have the option of a 150PS 1.8-litre petrol and 130PS 1.9 TDI diesel turbocharged engines.

The Ibiza FR 1.8 petrol model has a top speed of 134mph zero to 62mph takers 8.4 seconds and the average fuel economy is 36.2mpg, CO2 180g/km, VED £170. Price, £12,195.

The Ibiza FR 1.9 TDI has a top speed of 129mpg, 0-62mph takes 9.3 seconds and 54.3mpg is the official average fuel consumption, CO2 139g/m, VED £120. Price, £13,350.

Insurance group ratings start at 8E and rise to 14E depending on the model.

Views
The increases from 1 April in Road Tax and Benefit in Kind company car tax have not been kind to sports models and are likely to drive down the demand for higher CO2 emitting and more costly models. So whether financially hard-pressed customers are willing to pay the extra for enhanced good looks, higher specification and more performance in the family car market sector remains to be seen.

The SEAT Altea FR costing from £17,595 falls into this category. This model is a cross between a five-door mid-sized hatchback but with its higher roof, fairly clever seating arrangements and lots of storage space it also can be classed as a medium sized, five-seat MPV, typical family transport but the heartland of where the new tax penalties will be felt most.

I see the Altea FR with its extra performance still appealing to the younger business car users during the working week. But it will have more appeal at weekends when it doubles as sporty transport for active families. If it’s just for family transport, or a second car with no sporting intent, then other Altea models than the FR variants will be most popular and these prices start at a very reasonable £12,695. The longer and even more family friendly Altea XL range starts with prices from £13,250.

I like the image of SEAT; I like its sporty family face. The brand is certainly visually different from the vast majority of common-place mid-sized family cars. Due to SEAT’s motorsport and sponsorship activities SEAT appeals to a younger family audience and generally all their cars offer really good value for money, and they handle and drive very well and being part of the VW family their build quality and reliability is pretty good as well.

As a refresher to the brand I recently tried the Altea FR 2.0 TSI with the DSG automatic transmission priced at £18,595. Now this is no mainstream Altea model I admit but if you want to try a sporting version this is the one to go for although I would probably go for the TDI diesel FR model if I was covering high mileages.

It still suffers from the usual Altea issues such as poor all-round visibility due to its styling and thick front A pillars. It’s not as flexible to use as a proper mid-sized MPV and on models with the sports suspension the car has a pretty firm ride so comfort is not great. But the steering and handling are needle-sharp and that will please the driver at least.

I would describe the interior as user-friendly and the added FR styling touches smarten up the dark interior no end. The 30 plus storage compartments are ideal for family use but trying to remember where you or the children might have put things is family fun on its own. The rear seats fold and slide so the load space varies between 510 and 1,320 litres, again user-friendly.

The list of standard equipment is high and includes; tinted windows, twin headlights and front foglights, electrically operated and heated door mirrors, electric windows, FR badging, dual zone climate control, cruise control, sports front seats, stereo radio and CD player, front, side and curtain airbags, electronic stability programme, sports suspension, anti-lock braking with traction control immobiliser with remote central locking and deadlocks.

All very impressive but it is the engine which sets this Altea apart from its fellow models. The 2.0-litre, four-cylinder combines the best attributes of petrol and diesel engines. Lots or power and lots of ‘grunt’. The direct injection with turbo technology makes this unit highly responsive from low to high speeds, reasonably fuel efficient and relatively clean due to exhaust gas recirculation which burns away many harmful exhaust particulates.

This responsive sports engine combines really well with the DSG Direct Shift Gearbox. DSG offers the attributes of a manual transmission with an auto, but thanks to its twin clutches the gearchanges are faster and seamless and there is no torque converter to sap the engine’s power. This unit can be used in fully automatic mode or as a tiptronic unit via the gearlever or steering column mounted paddles.

If family transport with a sporty style and performance to match at a relatively affordable purchased price are the main requirements the Altea FR 2.0 TSI is worthy of series consideration but be aware of the new higher tax penalties targeted at sporty cars and their company car drivers. With SEAT moving to TDI diesel engines for their touring cars perhaps the FR TDI version is now a more obvious choice for many would-be Altea FR owners.

MILESTONES. SEAT Altea FR 2.0 TSI DSG. Price: £18,595. Engine/transmission: 2.0-litre, four cylinder, direct injection petrol with turbocharger, 200PS, 206lb ft, 6-speed DSG gearbox with manual and auto gearchange operation and traction control. Performance: 136mph, 0-62mph 7.7 seconds, 34.9mpg (26.7mpg actual), CO2 194g/km VED Band F £210. Insurance group: 13E. For: Motorsports FR image, stylish, powerful and responsive engine, fast and smooth transmission, good road manners and positive handling, high specification, roomy, keenly priced. Against: Poor visibility, very firm ride, high road tax and company car tax costs, not a true mid-sized MPV.

Miles Better News Agency

http://www.seat.co.uk

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