SEAT Alhambra 2020 - still a good 7-seat option despite discontinuation?

FrankGrimes

Have 4th child due in a few months and we tend to travel with a lot of cycling gear (turbo trainer etc.) and various other bits so space is a top priority. Did a lot of searching on here over past few months and SEAT Alhambra and Ford Galaxy and S-Max seemed well regarded.

Went to Ford: S-Max looks great but definitely not enough space with the 6 & 7th seat. Galaxy much better space, but boot still not exactly huge with 7 seats up. It was a low spec 2018 model, fairly worn, hard to get a feel for how nice a new higher end model would be?

Test-drove a SEAT Alhambra and was thoroughly and pleasantly surprised. Space is great, more usable space than Galaxy's boot due to no spare wheel and seats more reclined and comfortable as a result. Drive performance of the DSG Diesel and handling was a pleasant surprise too. Spec is genuinely impressive. Sliding doors: a gamechanger for carparks, key differentiator vs other options.

Came across a 201 model with <50Km on the clock - pre-registered and then not sold due to COVID. With trade-in for an 08 Golf price is very decent.

3 main queries before pulling the trigger:

1) Learned SEAT have discontinued the Alhambra - how much should this be a concern for servicing and future resale (e.g. if going PCP)?

2) Even though we have AA insurance, driving with no spare tire feels odd. How viable are the sealant & compressor kits?

3) The 201 I found is flat grey, and I'd prefer metallic, OH actually likes the flat grey.

Trying to tell myself that it's highly unlikely we stumbled on the right answer so early in our search and that we have months to play around with. On the other hand, the Alhambra genuinely ticked all our boxes (bar metallic paint and possibly sunroof) and we like the idea of saving 7-9K going for a 201 vs getting a 202.

So, would you pull the trigger or keep your powder dry? Any other genuinely 7-seaters with sliding doors to consider?

colm_mcm

I wouldn’t let it put me off, the market for mpvs has contracted, with many going for less practical 7 seat crossovers instead.
There should still be a market for a proper 7 seater in a few years time.

Ref spare wheel, I had a car without one for 8 years and it was fine.

peckerhead

I had an (older model, 1.9TDi) Alhambra for several years, and chose it over the Galaxy/Sharan because it has the same engine and cost 10-15% less despite having superior spec. I'm not gonna lie, it was not "fun" to drive, especially around town, and it was with some relief that I swapped back down to a standard saloon once the (5) kids had grown up and we didn't need a people-carrier any more. But it was great for the kind of use you seem likely to have, with four growing kids. One or two details to bear in mind, with any 7-seater -

• Apart altogether from fuel consumption, you'll need to change tyres more regularly, esp. front tyres - it eats them; it's a big heavy bus, with all the weight up front.
• Resale value down the road will take a much sharper nosedive than with a 'normal' car, simply because your pool of interested buyers is far smaller. No matter how pristine you keep it.

That said, if it ticks all your boxes and you see yourself holding onto it for a good few years, then yeah, go for it.

FrankGrimes

Thanks both. peckerhead - which engine and gearbox was your model? I'm coming from a Skoda Superb Elegance I've held onto since purchasing it nearly new in 2011.

That has more horsepower than the 150 BHP in the Alhambra SE, but it was the DSG gearbox I fell in love with and said it'd be hard not to drive anything without it again. Found the Alhambra in Sport mode to be a nimbler and more responsive than expected on country roads and then on the motorway when I found the paddle shifters, dropping it down 2 gears to mimic regional road overtaking, it surprised me. So the driving experience more than met my admittedly low standards given I'm going full Dad-mobile here!

Haven't fully done my spreadsheeting on the purchasing options yet, but that potential resale drop-off is something I'll think through given those comments before deciding. If we have a car and it meets our needs (as the mega boot in the Superb has done incredibly well while we have 3 kids), I'd see us holding onto it as we've no real inclination to change up just to have a new car every few years. So all going well resale value won't be a real factor until 8+ yrs down the road when you won't be expecting a huge amount either way.

Found this list here of MPVs with sliding doors. If anything, it reaffirmed our decision to rule out the van-based models as they're just too big for us and we have no interest in SUVs.

Found a couple of Sharan options that look to be broadly similar spec for 2K more, not sure it's worth considering those just due to the Alhambra discontinuation, servicing and spare parts etc. are generally available for many years after discontinuation I'd imagine?

peckerhead

FrankGrimes wrote: »

Thanks both. peckerhead - which engine and gearbox was your model?

It was many moons ago, Frank, but IIRC it was a 2006 model, 1.9TDi w/DSG gearbox. Which I also found great, especially for the start/stop driving in town (so much so that when we traded down to a Skoda Octavia, the missus again insisted on an automatic transmission).

Casati

It only being discontinued because the market has moved to SUV’s, but it’s still a great MPV and you will not have any issue with parts as it shares the same engine/ DSG gearbox with loads of other Volkswagen group cars

If you are getting a good discount now and keeping for 8 years then resale isn’t a mega concern, having said that I would think that demand will still be there for proper MPVs secondhand

The Sharan and Galaxy is used in large numbers for private hire work in the UK so you often see recent high mileage worn examples here at competitive prices but I’d try to stay away from them.

I guess it’s in Urano Grey? I like this especially with privacy glass and decent alloys though not everybody loves it

Staplor

I've had the pleasure of having most large MPV's that the rental companies have in Ireland. The Alhambra was the pick of the bunch, the Galaxy just felt much bigger and more like a boat on the road. Had the seats down in the Alhambra one day, its enormous. I'd got for the Seat over the Ford all day long.

Shefwedfan

As above, I have driven them all over the years. We wanted to buy a Alhambra and missed the one my wife had her eye on. Made the mistake of buying the Galaxy. It was replacing a SMAX. Best description was Transit with windows. It just felt huge, the Alhmabra was more like driving a car which was the huge benefit of the SMAX

I wouldnt care it has gone end of life. The engine is in all VW's so part will be easy available. If anything it will increase the second hand value as they are harder to get

The sliding door are a must after driving the Galaxy, we ended up selling the Galaxy and down sizing with the long term view of buying a Alhambra or similar

FrankGrimes

Shefwedfan wrote: »

As above, I have driven them all over the years. We wanted to buy a Alhambra and missed the one my wife had her eye on. Made the mistake of buying the Galaxy. It was replacing a SMAX. Best description was Transit with windows. It just felt huge, the Alhmabra was more like driving a car which was the huge benefit of the SMAX

I wouldnt care it has gone end of life. The engine is in all VW's so part will be easy available. If anything it will increase the second hand value as they are harder to get

The sliding door are a must after driving the Galaxy, we ended up selling the Galaxy and down sizing with the long term view of buying a Alhambra or similar

Thanks, drove the Alhambra again today and really liked it again. Yes, Urano Grey and in the sunshine today it grew on me and the chrome popped nicely, alloys much nicer than those on the Sharan. Still a box on wheels but one we’re very happy with and didn’t look as oversized on our driveway as anticipated.

As it’s a 201 and no longer current, dealer was willing to work with me and we agreed a price I was happy with (given it’s got 40Km on clock) that tempted us to go for it rather than wait, so we’re closing shortly.

Got the life sheen or whatever they call it (paint, glass, upholstery coating) thrown in, is that any use? I got my Superb ceramic coated (by Mac led detailing, brilliant service) years back and it was best decision ever as I rarely ever washed it but people would ask all the time where I found the time to keep waxing it so often. Not expecting similar but are those coatings from dealers any good?

It’s got two of the integrated booster seats which is very handy. Also found the blind spot detection very useful. The leather seats give a lovely finish throughout. Doors slide so easy I found myself today saying we’re not missing anything not having electric sliding doors. The tiptronic paddle shifters on the steering wheel are a pleasant surprise, love those!

Think electric tailgate might have been a nice add-on but not exactly a biggie, so I was thinking sunroof is the only thing we’re really missing. Then my OH reminded me most of the long trips the kids would just be staring at the underside of a roof box anyway!

Any tips on roof bars to go for? Have a roof box I’ll probably reuse. Will get onto Malcolms in Rathmines and see if they can put on a quick release towbar like they did on my Superb. Brilliant for quickly adding a towbar bike rack, though I’d imagine causes havoc with the parking sensors.

Thanks all for the advice, confident this car will serve our family well.