SEAT Exeo

I think Seat have scored a home goal here - they have a 'new' product which does not resemble other products in the range and they have devalued the Audi product and brand.

By mondeo_man on 28 September, 2009, 2:40pm

mondeo_man,
The front of the Exeo looks near identical to the new Ibiza. Looking at the front end pictures side by side you'd be hard pressed to tell them apart!

I do agree that the rest of the design does detract from the idea that Seat is the "sporty" brand in the VAG stable. You don't look sporty in grandads old clothes!

By SabreMatt on 29 September, 2009, 1:41pm

Badge (retro) engineering and not much enginereering come to think if it. What a waste of time!

By Focus_your_mind on 20 October, 2009, 11:27am

Seat EXEO

I disagree with the prvious comments about this car. Personaly i felt that Seat had lost their way in the vehicles they were turning out, as it was difficult to tell the apart. The IBIZA, LEON, ALTEA, and the revamped TOLEDO are so similar in design and looks that it became rediculous. I think the new EXEO is a breath of fresh air for the SEAT range, so much so that my wife and i have just traded in our LEON FR for a new EXEO SPORT.

By wtommo on 2 February, 2010, 1:47pm

I agree with most of the above. I actually think this is a good looking car when compared to the likes of the Mondeo and Insignia and even prefer it to the new Audi A4, however I do admit that it is a bit conservaive in the context of Seats stated image. On the face of it if you get the best bits of the last generation A4 with the dash from the Cabrio and the latest engines for the same or less than the price of a Passat what is not to like. The thing is they have been on sale for months and I haven't seen one out on the road, is it a car for VAG afficianados or is it taking a while to catch on. Probably a great buy second hand.

By Beckerman on 4 February, 2010, 2:50pm

Having driven the exeo se lux since september (previously had an Audi), I have to say that i'm beginning to regret it. Had some doubts when they dropped the car off, and I the vehicle had a random bolt laying on the drivers seat, and some of the fixtures were loose, since then.......

1) Bluetooth kit is rubbish, i've gone back to my own bluetooth
2) Front drinks cup holder doesnt open, after 2nd visit to garage i gave up
3) Keep getting headlight warning lights telling me they are faulty (garage says they are not)
4) The leather seats are very uncomfortable
5) Windscreen washer jets now playing up
6) Service from seat is poor, one dealer told me I needed to get the car serviced, (i questioned that most cars tell you when they need servicing, she told me the exeo doesnt). when they went to service it, they found it didnt need servicing - since the car has told me it needs a service.
7) VAG not bothering to update their systems, so
A) They cant find my car on the lease hire systems
B) The Garage cant get my tyres changed as VAG don't have it, and Exeo doesnt exist on their systems.

Need I carry on!

By SJF78 on 13 March, 2010, 1:04pm

Not good!

This looks nothing special. Considering Seat make some nice looking cars this is disappointing. 2/10

By bigbazza on 18 April, 2010, 9:01pm

Why Bother?

Why not just design an all-new car and make it look like a SEAT, instead of re-hashing Audi's old rejects? It's not big and it's not clever and anyway, who in there right mind is going to spend £20k on this piece of dated design?

By erly5 on 24 April, 2010, 8:04pm

Seat lost its way

Seat was meant to be VAGs "Alfa". They even poached the designer behind Alfas late 90s renaissance - Walter De Silva.

However, they have made a real hash of it.

Could you imagine the state of Alfa now if all it had was 3 different variations of the same basic MPV, a large MPV shared with Fiat, a supermini hatchback (which it does now as MiTo) and a rebadged previous generation Lancia?

VAG has shown that it can be creative while platform sharing - one only needs to look at the previous Golf platform - TT, A3, Octavia, Mk1 Leon (Seats 147), Mk2 Toledo (Seats 156) etc.

Why not a Superb-style bespoke large car with some sporty Mediterranean flair?

(By sporty I mean willing engines and good to drive, not needlessly stiff suspension).

One suspects that their current MPV-styled range hasn't been a huge hit with the buyers, and the rehashed A4 was a rush-job to stem the flow of those trading in their old mk1 Leons / mk2 Toledos for other marques...

By sirwiggum on 27 April, 2010, 2:06pm

at last a new seat that doesnt look total gash

finally a Seat thats not ugly maybe cos its a reworked old A4,its a strange move as its no rival for a similar priced Skoda Superb.Its nice to see a Seat that might not age as quickly as the current crop of Seats.Seat used to make nice looking cars but in past 5years they have started to get carried away with style,the current Leon Toledo Altea look so dated now compared to equivalent VW's.

By nickbsmooth on 22 May, 2010, 1:37am

Err what??

nickbsmooth

You really do have some odd thoughts about car design. You repeatedly say the Leon and other cars in the range are ugly and will date quickly (yet the Leon is generally acknowledged as a great (even sexy) looking car by the motoring press and most people I know, whilst the Altea is often quotedto be undoubtedly the best looking small MPV), yet you think that a design like the Exeo, which is based on a design over 10 years old, will not age as quickly as the Leon.

Sorry to disappoint you - the Exeo design has ready aged, whilst the Leon, Altea and Ibiza SC remain fresh and interesting designs. If only the likes of Ford would come up with something half as interesting to look at. The Leon makes the Focus look so dull and even the Golf is a boring design - so very boxy and hardly changed in all these years.

The Exeo was always intended as a quick way into the executive car market using the old A4 bodyshell. To design a car in this market from scratch would be prohibitively expensive for a company like SEAT who sell most of its cars in the mid range and supermini categories. As such it is doing quite well now and certainly I have seen quite a few ploughing up and down the motorway.

By Debbie312 on 10 August, 2010, 12:56pm

Seat Exeo

Great Steps,
It is good car in frame of the brand, and most important is rich Audi A4 standard ,noting is wrong to build on the same sheer holder company design base, Go ahead and continue with your warm Spanish idea and experience incorporate in the German precise machines .

By ohrid on 27 August, 2010, 5:19pm

how amusing

Debbie312, Seat could not afford to create a Luxury Car yet Skoda who also make budget cars built a ground up new Superb which has won loads of awards?Seat are bank rolled by the allegedly boring VW group,Seat only exist because of VW the engines electrics Chassis are all from the allegedly boring VW Group?People moan about VW yet if they folded tomorrow then it would be game over for Seat well unless the chinese saved them.Anyone remember those wonderful Seats before VW came along that were made from old Fiat parts.

By nickbsmooth on 1 September, 2010, 3:36pm

4-door saloon

Now that the main brands are going through another period of ignoring devotees of the four-door saloon, at least in the UK market, such models as this are a lifeline.

By DerekGBevan on 7 September, 2010, 3:33pm