The new SEAT Alhambra

Introducing the 7 seater car - SEAT Alhambra: SEAT originated from Spain; and happens to be one of the renowned automobile manufacturer. Among the 7 seater MPV manufacturers, the SEAT company has its name on top. Presently the SEAT company is owned by the Volkswagen Group. 7 seater MPV SEAT Alhambra was first introduced to market in the year 1996 by the SEAT company and has evolved twice in two generations. The name of the car is inspired by the famous monument of Spain; the Alhambra Granada. The two models of this particular car were all built n Portugal.

Currently this particular car has a lot of demand in the 7 seater cars market. Statistics speaks the history; as the SEAT Alhambra has sold more than 250,000 units worldwide since it was first introduced in the market.

Time-line of 7 Seater Vehicle SEAT Alhambra

1st Generation

The first generation of this car can be termed between 1996 and 2010. It was in the Geneva Motor Show of 1996 when the first generation of this 7 seater MPV was introduced and was named the MK1. It went for sale from the same year. For next four years, the SEAT company didn't bother much about redesigning the car or releasing a better version until 2000. In 2000 the SEAT Alhambra received major design changes but the original style was retained. The first generation of the cars were featured with the detachable rear five seats. The removal of the rear seats introduced ample space in the car. A lot of luggage could be accommodated in this space. This facility was featured only in the SEAT Alhambra car and no other cars from SEAT. This was one more reason why people loved this 7 seater vehicle. Talk about space; the car scores around 2610 liter space when 2 seats out of 7 are laid, and 852 liter space with 5 seats laid and with all 7 seats are laid it scores 256 liter. The company also released an environment friendly version of this car; the SEAT Alhambra Ecomotive which managed to emit only 159 grams of Carbon Dioxide per km.

VW Group to Display Up to Seven Concepts at the Geneva Show

It seems that the VW Group will do just about anything to become the world’s biggest automaker by 2018. After announcing a €51.6 billion (US $70.3 billion) investment plan last November, the Germans also want to showcase their future intentions at the Geneva Motor Show in March, by displaying up to seven concepts.

Walter de Silva, head of the group’s design department, told ANE that the concept lineup will include Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen models, plus “one – if not two” Audis.

Furthermore, the Italdesign Giugiaro design studio, acquired by the automaker last spring, will also present two Volkswagen concept cars.

Seeing this kind of commitment, one has to wonder what exactly has Volkswagen is store for us. With the Golf Mk7 said debut in late 2012 or early 2013, we're inclined to say that it’s too early for a design study and the same goes for the next generation Audi A3, due for a release in the summer of 2012. While the manufacturer did say that it wants to expand its North American SUV lineup, information on the subject is scarce, so we wouldn’t bet on an SUV concept either.

In any case, if you have an opinion on the matter, now is the time to share it with us in the comments section below.

Seat Adds Exeo 143HP 2.0-liter Diesel Engine with Multitronic CVT Transmission to the Mix

The Seat Exeo is essentially a previous generation Audi A4 with some “auto emocion” touches here and there. However, having an older platform doesn’t mean that it’s a bad car, especially when it comes with the VW Group’s latest powerplants and transmissions. The Multitronic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) gearbox is one of them and now it has been paired with the 143HP 2.0-liter TDI diesel engine available on both the Exeo sedan and station wagon (ST) models.

Although it comes with 7 pre-configured gears, the CVT transmission can virtually provide infinite gear ratios, better exploiting the engine’s resources, while reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

In terms of performance, the diesel-powered sedan accelerates from standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 9.3 seconds and can reach a top speed of 208 km/h (129 mph). The station wagon is marginally slower (0-100 kmh/0-62 mph in 9.6 seconds, top speed of 201 km/h or 125 mph), but both versions are equally frugal, requiring 5.8 lt/100 km (40.5 US mpg) in the combined cycle.

The Seat Exeo and Exeo ST equipped with the 143-horsepower diesel and Multitronic gearbox come as standard with seven airbags, dual-zone air conditioning, front and rear power windows, foglights, chrome roof rails (on the Exeo ST), remote-controlled central locking, cruise control, Bluetooth, auto-dimming rear view mirror, CD MP3 radio with 8 speakers and 17-inch alloys.

Besides the transmission addition, Seat says that all new Exeos benefit from a repositioned the rear seat configuration, which increases legroom by an impressive 4.4 cm (1.73 inches) without affecting the comfort or cargo space.