SEAT Altea XL 1.9 TDI Stylance

Sep 19 2008 Steve Hughes

STRETCHED limos used to a luxurious rarity for the rich but now it seems that everyone is at it.

Among the myriad of models on offer are the Grand versions of the Citroen C4 Picasso, Renault Modus, Scenic and Espace, the Nissan Qashqai+2, SW versions of the Peugeot 308 and 407, the Volkswagen Golf Plus and SEAT's Altea XL.

The Altea XL it is basically a stretched version of the standard car designed to increase interior flexibility and luggage space.

It is about seven inches longer so that the luggage capacity with all seats in place is 530 litres in comparison to the standard car's 410 litres. When the rear seats are moved forward the space grows to 635 litres and with them folded down it becomes 1,600 litres.

Such vehicles are aimed at families with young children who want a car for the daily commute or school run with the added versatility to cope with the weekend's leisure activities.

Ideally they would have a degree of four wheel drive ability too but in the case of the Altea XL drive is to the front wheels only via a fairly wide choice of engines and transmissions.

These include 100bhp 1.6-litre and 160bhp 1.8-litre petrol units plus a 150bhp 2.0-litre automatic and diesel options of 1.9 litres with 104bhp and a two-litre unit offering a choice of 140bhp or 170bhp

The £13,395 entry-level 1.6-litre petrol model comes with Reference trim and equipment which includes air conditioning, remote central locking, traction control and four electric windows.

All of the others have higher-grade Stylance trim and equipment with alloy wheels, parking sensors and full climate control.

It is a generous package for such a spacious vehicle that is also great to drive and offers a fair turn of speed and economy regardless of which engine is beating beneath its sharply-raked bonnet.

The mid-range Altea XL 1.9 TDI Stylance at £15,495 is probably the best compromise between performance and economy with a power output of 105bhp and pulling power of 185lb ft.

There is a top speed of 115mph for effortless motorway cruising, fairly rapid acceleration to 60mph in about 12 seconds, economy of about 50mpg and a CO2 figure of 146g/km giving a company car tax liability of 20 per cent.

The extended XL versions of the Altea represent an impressive package but the great news is that there is now such intense competition in this sector of the market that there are bargains to be had.

Dealers are currently offering reductions of £1,000 or more and at the end of this month the models that have been registered without buyers in order to meet targets will be discounted even more generously.

FAST FACTS

SEAT Altea XL 1.9 TDI Stylance

Price: £15,495

Mechanical: 105bhp, 1,896cc 4cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via 5 speed manual/6 speed DSG gearbox

Max speed: 115mph

0-62mph: 12.4secs

Combined mpg: 52

Insurance group: 5

CO2 emissions: 146g/km

BiK rating: 20%

Warranty: 3 years 60,000 miles, 3 years paint, 12 years anti-rust