SEAT Alhambra

Start with what the SEAT Alhambra is: a 5-door MPV with 1.8 L I4 20V Turbo, built from 1996 to 2020, when airbags, anti-lock brakes and Japanese build quality became the world standard. What it meant takes a little longer.

The story

The SEAT Alhambra is a seven-seater minivan that was built from 1996 to 2020. It was manufactured under the SEAT brand from June 1996 onwards at the Volkswagen Group's AutoEuropa plant in Palmela, Portugal. It shares the same platform with the Volkswagen Sharan, and the first generation was also related to the Ford Galaxy. The vehicle is named after the Alhambra of Granada, a famous monument in Spain. It is considered in the motor industry to be a large multi-purpose vehicle (MPV).

What is underneath

The engine is 1.8 L I4 20V Turbo; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. On the scales it comes to 1599 -. Drive goes through a 6-speed manual / 5-speed automatic / 5-speed Tiptronic automatic. The wheelbase is 2835 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.

Its place in the line

In the SEAT line-up the SEAT Alhambra has a clear place: the factory was Palmela (Autoeuropa), Portugal. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Alfa Romeo 156, the Lotus Elise, the Škoda Auto Škoda Octavia. Nearby in the SEAT catalogue sit the SEAT 124 and the SEAT 133.