28 May 08
Seat Altea
4Car rating: 4 stars
Price: from £12,845
For: A great drive; loads of room for four adults; five-star Euro NCAP score.
Against: Not as versatile as some rivals; 1.6 petrol is slow.
Small and sporting, the Seat Altea isn't an all-out people-carrier, but it offers an interesting compromise between a traditional small family-sized hatchback and a high-riding, high-roofed MPV. You get the raised seating position, headroom and great all-round view out as in an MPV, but the driving experience of a conventional car.
Four adults can ride in style, five will be a little more cramped, but the rear seat will happily accommodate kids and younger teenagers without complaint. Longer, larger-booted Altea XL models are more practical, with a sliding rear seat, or alternatively, there's the four-wheel-drive Altea Freetrack 4, a socially-acceptable small SUV.
