SEAT Alhambra TDI

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Dave Smith

March 2002

When our SEAT Alhambra TDI last appeared in the pages of Auto Express (Issue 671), it had just returned from a gruelling trek to northern Italy during which the multi-talented Spanish MPV racked up over 3,500 miles. There was a handful of lire still stuffed into the glovebox and the memory of lightly populated Tuscan roads was still fresh in the mind.
Now, four months into a typically damp British winter, neither the currency nor the memories are much use any more. Shortly after filing the last report, Y801GKK paid a visit to my local SEAT dealer - Kingham's of Croydon - for a routine 10,000-mile service. Cost? ΂£173. However, the illuminated service warning that had first prompted me to get it booked in was still on. With time running short, I went back a few days later to have it switched off, but even second time around it took an hour of underbonnet jiggery pokery before it was sorted.
At just over 13,000 miles, the large SEAT badge on the bootlid fell off for a second time - again while I was treating the car to a well earned clean-up. Once more, the blame lay with the strip of double-sided tape tacked on to the back of the badge. This time, I simply didn't bother glueing it back on.
Of slightly more importance, though, was a mysterious electrical problem that appeared about a month ago. After parking up in the Auto Express car park one morning, I noticed that the radiator fan wouldn't switch itself off. Putting it down to a hot engine and clever electronics, I didn't think anything else of it.
That was until I returned six hours later to find the fan still spinning at full speed and a battery which was on its last legs. A call to Kingham's quickly followed, but as is always the way with ob-scure electronic problems, it managed to cure itself the day before it was due to go under the knife. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it won't return.
Apart from these few minor niggles, life with the Alhambra continues to be a pleasure. It's a brilliant family ferrier and the optional child seats have proved indispensable - they lift the kids up so they can see out properly and allow me to keep an eye on them through the rear view mirror. But perhaps the best thing about Alhambra ownership is giving smug nods to Volkswagen Sharan and Ford Galaxy owners - safe in the knowledge that our SEAT offers much better value for money than either of its two stablemates. It's a great feeling and one that shows no sign of wearing off.