View Full Version : Altea gets slated
LEO LION R
11-03-2004, 07:56
by Autocar as being the biggest disapointment car at the Geneva motorshow this year :-o
Now i know it does have the same look as the concept model of it, and its lost a few of the givmos but surely there were far worse dissapointments there :blahblah:
by Autocar as being the biggest disapointment car at the Geneva motorshow this year :-o
Now i know it does have the same look as the concept model of it, and its lost a few of the givmos but surely there were far worse dissapointments there :blahblah:
yes, maybe the Rover 75 V8, but problem is SEAT hyped up the Altea with the prototype. If that had been more of a futuristic concept and the designers hadn't had said in interviews that the car wouldn't change save the door handles, then SEAT may have faired better.
I find myself agreeing with autocar - SEAT seem to say they're the naughty, sporty VAG arm but haven't come up with the goods on the altea. OK nobody expected the split tailgate to make it to production but the styling has been really tamed down and is nowhere near as eye catching. :(
I think the shell remained pretty much the same, but like most proto's they slapped on big pimp rims & slightly deeper bumpers - this made it look dead cool compared to the current offering.
reality bit & most family people can't afford a people mover with 18" tyre prices
they'd probably make it - but as explained to me by SEAT once - everything has a cost, and I'm sure that you wouldn't pay another 5 grand on top of it to get it nice looking. (comparing price difference between top & bottom of the Leon range)
shame tho - it looked ace in the proto stage
just looks 'nice' in the production stage
I think the shell remained pretty much the same, but like most proto's they slapped on big pimp rims & slightly deeper bumpers - this made it look dead cool compared to the current offering.
reality bit & most family people can't afford a people mover with 18" tyre prices
they'd probably make it - but as explained to me by SEAT once - everything has a cost, and I'm sure that you wouldn't pay another 5 grand on top of it to get it nice looking. (comparing price difference between top & bottom of the Leon range)
shame tho - it looked ace in the proto stage
just looks 'nice' in the production stage
Autocar had a comment from the ex-ford boss about it and he questioned why someone would choose it over other MPVs - can someone do some before/after pics? I'm sure the body looks pretty different now.
Autocar had a comment from the ex-ford boss about it and he questioned why someone would choose it over other MPVs - can someone do some before/after pics? I'm sure the body looks pretty different now.
Comparison pics & feature on www.SEATCupra.net main page somewhere...
Mark
here
http://www.seatcupra.net/news_Alteaproduction_launch_030204.htm
under 'old news'
mark sheerin
11-03-2004, 10:00
Its true the Altea prototype really had me looking forward...it could have been a car even my anti SEAT wife would have picked to cut a dash at the gymn.
It could have been the car that really raised SEATs profile...
Its was meanty to be a new market segment..the funky/sporty MPV which SEAT christened the MPS for multi purpose sport.
Well the bugger better drive better than its looks now or it may be the model that seals SEATs fate.
Got to say the prototype was the dogs danglies and though it pains me to say it , the final result comes accross as merely average...the rear tailgate is almost Toyota Yaris...and the overly lumpy front end is a carryover from the least asthetic aspect of the current Ibiza...if they were going to pull accross some genetics from the Ibiza why wan't it the neat looking rear end not the arguably ugly front end.
The new A3 is not at all grounbreaking but it looks nicer than the Altea to me...
yours sadly dissapointed.. :(
personally I think the production version has been toned down, so that there is room for a face lift at a later date.... ala Leon....... give it 18 months and I'm sure it will start to look more like the prototype.... :blink: