USED Seat Altea Hatchback (04 - )

My car

I purchased this car in Jan 2008 with 6000 miles covered. Now in July have just topped 16000.

Good points Carries people and stuff really well. Plenty of space for four and room for a fifth if not too large. Kit list is extensive and there is really very little I would add, money no object. The front seats are probably the best I have ever had and a 800 mile round trip to Scotland was carried out with no aches or pains. Can't comment on the rears except my kids seem happy and prefer them to my wife's Picasso. It's also powerful and shrugs off hills.

Bad Points Dashboard seems to be infected by a plague of rattles. Dealer DMC in Datchet has tried but so far failed to quell all the little blighters. Still with a 10000 mile service interval we will soon be back for another go! Fuel consumption has settled at about 40/43 mpg well below what I would expect having had a Mondeo which averaged 48mpg under the same circuumstances. Also the speedo over reads by approx 10% (Compared to a sat nav!) which means you always feel you are travelling faster than you are but also may mean fuel consumption is actually even worse. Do not choose a sport pack version. Road noise is overwhelming on UK motorways. Front suspension creaks when cold at start of the day. But never when warm once you have reached the dealer. This may be hard to fix!

Only one other problem I would get rid of it (due to rattles and noise) but can't think of anything else that so exactly fits my needs!

My car

I've owned this car for 2 1/2 years and 70,000 and quite simply, i've never owned a more comfortable car. Can spend 10 hours at a time in the car and still arrive fresh. I've had a few problems, like new gearbox, clutch and flywheel at 45,000 miles. I've been told by my excellent mechanic (with 25 years VW experience) that this is a very common problem on all TDI's with the VW Golf Mark V platform. Service intervals at 10,000 miles are a real pain also, but overall it's been a great car and i'm going to be sad to see it go.

My car

Had this car from new, July 2007 and not had any problems with it. Ride feels solid and there's loads of mid-range power so great for overtaking and motorway driving. Didn't find the visibility an issue at all. First Seat service was very reasonable at £155. Cabin feels well put together and the steering wheel controls are easy to use. Averaging about 45mpg at the mo after 12,000 miles. Only letting go of it now due to lease car.

My car

I bought this new car in may 2008 from Nidd vale seat in Harrogate. Managed to negotiate £2000 off the new price (if you don`t ask you don`t get)and i must say this is a far better car than the Golf )20l fsi) I traded in. Great build quality a huge boot smooth powerful engine (if a little noisy on start up)nice upright seating position and 46 mpg what more could you ask for. Standard Stylance spec includes cruise control,dual zone climate control,rear parking sensor,auto headlights and wipers. loads of storage space in the cabin with nice under seat bins to keep things away from prying eyes. On the road the engine pulls well with a good turn of speed for overtaking ,engine and road noise is well suppressed. And last the one thing i dont like the centre arm rest is to low to use,Seat make a aftermarket one but this is £90 but should be fitted as standard. All in all though a very good car which i would recommend anyone thinking of a new car to test drive.