SEAT ALHAMBRA 1.9 TDi Review

Overall Rating

Economical, Reliable

Front Windscreen Wiper, Rear screen wash control.

I bought the Seat Alhambra 1.9 TDi in January 2000. I'd been deliberating between an Alhambra and a Scenic for ages. By sheer coincidence I ended up, with my partner, at a garage with both, side by side! 3 hours later, lots of test driving and despite the Alhambra costing more money than we'd planned to spend (even though we'd managed to get over a £1000 off the price) it was the Alhambra we settled on.
Have we ever regretted buying it? No.
Sure its had its bad moments, like the sensor on the accellerator playing up. Like you want it to move but it doesn't! £16.00 for the part. Then the Air Mass Meter decided to pack up. Now this is not a fun thing to happen. You find that the usually potent diesel engine just doesn't won't to move very fast (it struggles to do 20mph). Cost fitted £323! Apart from the Air Con losing its coolant, not a lot has gone wrong. Servicing has been very up and down depending on who works on the car (not all mechanics are equal).
From the above you would think it has been a nightmare.
Wrong!
The model I have has the original 95 bhp engine. How does 49mpg sound? Later model's are not as economical (according to a Seat dealer). Tyre wear has been extremely good. The front on average do 30000, the rear at least 35000 miles.
We bought the car with 26000 miles on the clock, it now reads (March 2006) 104000.
Still going strong. Its travelled up and down in the UK, France, Switzerland Germany Austria Italy (temperature in the low 40's) We intend to travel to Spain this year. Apart from the air mass meter problem which happened in the UK it has travelled all those miles without missing a beat. 650 miles is easily done between fueling stops (longest trip we ever made on one tank was about 750 miles and by that time you do start to wonder if its will be time to walk shortly! Not that we ever have.). The air con is brilliant. The cruise control really is a blessing on long trips. You can control your speed with the buttons instead of the pedal.
We are into camping. The result is the two rear most and middle seats are taken out (heavy). The suitcases are put in the space where the middle seat was. The tent and everything else (nearly including the kitchen sink) takes up the space in the rear up to window level. The top box goes on top. Loaded and we are off. The Alhambra drives this lots complete with 2 adults and 2 teenagers with no difficulty at all. Roadholding is remarkable. Very stable even at speed. The car came with a 6 CD auto changer in the back, controlled via stalks on the steering column. Why Seat don't fit this as standard is beyond me. It means driving is very relaxing and pleasureable. The sound system is very good. The front windscreen wiper is poor though on the drivers side. Leaves an unswept area of about 100mm on the off side. I did try to modify the problem but short of buying a complete new setup it cannot be cured (you can't just move the wiper on the shaft because the nearside wiper will then hit it). The rear wash wipe control is naff! If you wash the rear screen and then need to wipe it again because of water running down the screen you will inevitably end up washing it again. The brakes can be very sharp. Even loaded up the car stops without any real effort on the part of the driver. Really put your foot down and the ABS kicks in for some really fast decelleration. Certainly the most powerful brakes I've ever had on any car.
Oil hasn't been a problem so far. It goes from service to service without any extra being added (10000 mile service interval). The paint work is still like new although good ol' shopping trolley syndrome has put a couple of small dents in the top of both rear wheel arches. The rubbing strip has saved the doors many times. Views out are in a word..nice. You can see over hedges as you drive along. Reversing is a bit problematical sometimes especially if its raining. Otherwise it drives just like a car. Would I buy another..Yes!

Members' Comments onbertie2's Review

• sledman on 12th Feb 2007

  As a avid camper similar to yourself, I have researched in finding a suitable car for many months and I can safely say you comments have inspired me as I know you have directed me to the ideal car for my family.