Information on the Altea please

[Fingers Freddie]

Hi Guys..
Im looking around for a car for the wife.. She is disabled and cannot drive a manual car.. In fact she has not driven a car at all for 3 or 4 years but as we are moving house soon it will become necessarie to put an additional car on the drive..

She need an economical car that is easy to get in and out of and of course it will have to be an automatic transmission..
We would prefer to buy as economical car as is possible and performance is not a priority .

Budget up to 7K..

So any information , The Pros and cons and real world MPG would be greatly appreciated !

Oh and seasons greetings !!

Thanks !!.................

 

[Viking]

Real world mpg on my Altea was about 48mpg. That was the 2.0ltr TDI Sport manual though. If you go for an Auto (DSG so not really an Auto in the true sense) then expect less. There were a very few 1.9ltr TDI DSG cars produced which might give slightly better economy if you can get hold of one.

When you say disabled does this mean wheelchair bound, because the boot space in the Altea won't be good for one I doubt.

 

[Fingers Freddie]

Real world mpg on my Altea was about 48mpg. That was the 2.0ltr TDI Sport manual though. If you go for an Auto (DSG so not really an Auto in the true sense) then expect less. There were a very few 1.9ltr TDI DSG cars produced which might give slightly better economy if you can get hold of one.

When you say disabled does this mean wheelchair bound, because the boot space in the Altea won't be good for one I doubt.

No mate not chair bound but relies on sticks and determination ...

Real world MPG in your case looks pretty good ! DSG is a twin clutch auto ? No matter really so long as there is no clutch pedal to push as she cannot lift her left leg to push one,,

We have 3 cars on the shortlist/
Altea XL or normal as both will do nicely.
Focus C.Max
Golf Plus..

But the Altea we think is the best looking of the 3 plus it has better space and equipment for the budget..

As the car will do mostly short trips though is the Diesel the best option ?
Are these engines like many prone to problems with DPFs ect ?

If an alternative petrol was available it could be the way to go but looking on Autotrader they are mostly diesels for sale second hand...

I prefer the low down torque of a diesel though to be honest and both the current cars are chipped/tuned diesels ,

Thanks !!

 

[Viking]

Sorry for the late reply, been to the Christmas panto. Yay.....

Real world mpg was based on a rather light foot when I was driving and a rather heavy foot when the wife drove. So I would be getting 52 or so while the wife managed about 43.

The DSG is indeed a twin clutch box, with no clutch pedal, but not an auto in the real sense of the word. The Altea XL is a bit of a munter in my view, only slightly better than the Toledo it replaced. Awful looking car that was. If looks aren't a problem you might get a Toledo with great spec, although they're a bit long in the tooth now. Golf Plus is a bit of an orphan and finding one with any toys, auto, and a diesel might prove difficult.

Petrol would be a 1.6 which suffers as an economical engine due to the size & weight of the Altea really. I'd avoid it.

Focus C Max is a reasonable car, but my next door neighbour had one and it wasn't economical at all (although it feckin flew when he booted it which was most of the time).

You might get a better economy with a mapped TDI, but mine was mapped and it made little difference. That was probably down to the company who mapped it though.

 

[robint]

XL petrol autos are rare - not even sure they were available, but early standard 2.0FSi petrol autos exist (I've got one!) and the auto is fine but economy isn't great at about 30 overall and 35-38 on a run. Goes well, but likely to be a 05/55/06 reg so getting on a bit. No DPF or funny flywheels.....

 

[Viking]

umm, your car does have a dual mass flywheel as well, y'know... And they've been known to fail.

 

[Mike555]

Hi

I have a 1.6 Altea XL SE TDI CR DSG

Over some 7600 miles I have got an average of 41mpg and a best of 53mpg tank to tank refills.

On a 26 mile round trip to the "local" ASDA store, if I try hard and keep to just under 50mph I can get around 60/62mpg.

The only real problem is on the very cold mornings, it takes an age (8 miles) for the engine/car to warm up. So I cut and fitted an old front window sun shade to the lower front air intake, this covers the lower half of the radiator. Warm up time is a bit better at 4 miles.

The next diesel car I get I will try and make sure it has a supplementary heater.

Other than that, the seats are comfy, the ride is great, it corners well and comes to a stop oh so well. All that computer stuff realy works.

Regards Mike

 

[Fingers Freddie]

Great information Guys thanks !!

Its 99 certain the car to fill the gap will be an Altea.. In fact I am away to look at a "Stylance " late this week if its still for sale..
I would provide a link but I'm not allowed to just yet....

Great info on the supplementary heater or ways of getting round the car not having one ! We have 2 cars at the moment both diesels and both have supplementary heaters which are a big help this time of the year..

Looking on the SEAT website I see no mention of this Stylance model so am assuming.. its a limited edition or discontinued package ? .. No matter really as its a nice car with decent equipment and a sunroof which is a bonus..

Thanks again !

 

[Viking]

The Reference was the base line model, then came the Stylance, and after that came the Sport. Differing levels of trim apply to them so the Stylance would be a sort of mid range model. Then I think they dropped the Sport and made a sports option on the Reference and Stylance. So if you've found a Stylance then it's not gonna be a bad spec I reckon.

 

[Fingers Freddie]

Spec from the autotrader ad ...

2007 (57 reg)Estate40,000 milesAutomatic2.0LDiesel
DSG,12 months MOT, 6 months road tax, Full service history, electric windows and mirrors, electric sun roof, air conditioning, climate control, rear parking sensors, power steering, cruise control, traction control, alloy wheels, radio/CD and MP3 player, remote central locking, non-smoker, excellent condition. ono. £6,950

So looks plenty well enough equipped for the use it will get.... Car is in bright red and with its lowish miles looks a real prospect..

It seems I cannot post a link or URL until I have made 15 posts ?? Best get spamming then,

 

[Viking]

You mean this one? It's an Altea XL, so I was having trouble finding it.

One thing to bear in mind is that service history might not cover everything which needs doing. Cam belt and related running gear is required at 4 year intervals (so it should've been done already but I just bet it hasn't), and the DSG box requires a service at 40k miles as well. Budget £350 for a full cambelt job, and budget £250 for a DSG service. You could get them done slightly cheaper than those prices, but beware of cowboys. Both jobs are critical and need doing properly. I wouldn't trust the dealers who say they'll get them done for you because for the cambelt they'll just change the cambelt and not the pulleys, and for the DSG they'll just say they've done it. DSG box failure is pretty much guaranteed if the service is omitted.

Also, brake fluid should be done at 2 year intervals, so budget another £80 for that to be done.

Unless these are stamped and detailed (verify this at your local SEAT dealers) by a main dealer in the service book (not just a tick in the box which can be added at any time by someone with a pen!!!) then presume they're not done.

Also, if you have the work done yourself and pay for it at a main dealer then you benefit from 2 years parts & labour warranty on the job. If you buy the car having had the work done as part of the deal then you haven't paid for it, and the warranty will be just what you get from the dealer selling it, likely only 3 months at best.

 

[Fingers Freddie]

One thing to bear in mind is that service history might not cover everything which needs doing. Cam belt and related running gear is required at 4 year intervals (so it should've been done already but I just bet it hasn't), and the DSG box requires a service at 40k miles as well. Budget £350 for a full cambelt job, and budget £250 for a DSG service. You could get them done slightly cheaper than those prices, but beware of cowboys. Both jobs are critical and need doing properly. I wouldn't trust the dealers who say they'll get them done for you because for the cambelt they'll just change the cambelt and not the pulleys, and for the DSG they'll just say they've done it. DSG box failure is pretty much guaranteed if the service is omitted.

Also, brake fluid should be done at 2 year intervals, so budget another £80 for that to be done.



Unless these are stamped and detailed (verify this at your local SEAT dealers) by a main dealer in the service book (not just a tick in the box which can be added at any time by someone with a pen!!!) then presume they're not done.

Also, if you have the work done yourself and pay for it at a main dealer then you benefit from 2 years parts & labour warranty on the job. If you buy the car having had the work done as part of the deal then you haven't paid for it, and the warranty will be just what you get from the dealer selling it, likely only 3 months at best.

Yes mate that is the very car... The XL looks to us like the best option.

Brilliant information again !! Stuff like the brake fluid change I can happily do myself but the Cam belt and DSG I would trust only to a main dealer !!!

This is exactly the sort of information I was hoping for .. I will take this forward and make absolutely sure these items have been done or factor them into the negotiations if they need doing OR simply walk away from any car that is well overdue these critical items.

I had a good read on several sites including Wikipedia which covered the DSG box and the critical requirements of it.. It does seem like a reliable unit so long as it gets the attention it needs.

Thanks I do appreciate the info !

 

[Viking]

Be careful with the brake fluid change. Make certain you don't introduce any air into the system or you'll have a massive headache on your hands. I'm happy to have mine done at the dealers for £40 (they do me a special deal as I'm mates with the service manager) rather than get my hands dirty.

How's things in Bristol anyway?

 

[Fingers Freddie]

Be careful with the brake fluid change. Make certain you don't introduce any air into the system or you'll have a massive headache on your hands. I'm happy to have mine done at the dealers for £40 (they do me a special deal as I'm mates with the service manager) rather than get my hands dirty.

How's things in Bristol anyway?

Yeh I guess for the coin involved its not worth the hassle.. Not in Bristol Mate ..

 

[Viking]

I know, just spamming you up a bit to get your post count going innit.

 

[Fingers Freddie]

I know, just spamming you up a bit to get your post count going innit.

Went to Bristol once though !! They all spoke funny ........ Bit like Bristolians ..MMmmmm

 

[Viking]

Yeh I guess for the coin involved its not worth the hassle..

The way I look at it is I can go to work for a day and make more money than a brake fluid change will cost me, plus I don't have to roll about on the floor on the drive getting dirty. And it's covered by dealers warranty if summat goes wrong.

 

[Fingers Freddie]

Yep warranty's always a good thing..

Went to bath once as well ! They spoke funny there as well ! Not to far from that Bristol so that might be something to do with it ..................MMmmmmm

 

[Fingers Freddie]

Bit farther down is that weston super mare.. They still talk funny though and are surrounded by water and donkeys .....................

 

[Viking]

Have you been to see that car yet then?