76qyre: Seat Alhambra

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Seat Alhambra

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The first generation of the SEAT Alhambra was presented as a prototype at the 1995 Geneva Salon International de l'Auto, to be followed next year by the official premier of the model launched at the same motor show still in Geneva. It has been on sale from 1996 up to 2010 and stayed largely unchanged until a major restyling in 2000, when it received a restyling to reflect the new image of the marque, but remaining faithful to the original form jointly designed by SEAT, Volkswagen and Ford, under a technology sharing agreement between the Volkswagen Group and Ford, after the two companies found they were losing market share from the first generation of MPVs such as the Toyota Previa and Mitsubishi Space Wagon. It seats up to seven people — the 5 rear seats being all movable or even removable leaving a flat-load floor — something that no other vehicle of the SEAT range could offer at that time. The boot capacity thus varies depending on the seating, from 256L with the full format of 7 seats, to 852L with 5 seats or even 2610L with only 2 seats. It shares most of its components and design with the VW Sharan Mk1 and Ford Galaxy Mk1, however the Alhambra tends to have more options fitted for the same cost as its two other counterparts. All three models were built on the same production line at the joint venture AutoEuropa plant in Palmela, Portugal, and were practically the same model but with different engine options and interiors, leading to the three vehicles being referred to collectively as the "Sharalaxy" or even "Shalambraxy". Ford have now concluded their collaboration, and production of the Galaxy Mk III and the S-Max (a seven-seater based on the same platform as the Mondeo Mk IV) are built in Genk, Belgium, alongside the Mondeo. The AutoEuropa plant has been outfitted for the production of the VW Scirocco III.

2011 Seat Alhambra

A more environmentally friendly version, the SEAT Alhambra Ecomotive, was also under offer fitted with the 2.0 TDI 140 PS (103 kW) engine producing 159 g/km CO2 emissions.