The European MPV segment was not completely dead in 2004 when the Seat Altea was introduced to the market.
It offered a lot of room and a proven Volkswagen platform.

The Spanish brand Seat was under the Volkswagen umbrella for a few years already when it was decided to take a “family-approach” with the Altea. It was built on the same basis as the second generation of the Seat Leon, which was a compact hatchback built on the same platform as the Volkswagen Golf.

The front fascia looked like the one found on a Seat Leon, with its trapezoidal small grille and curved headlights. On the sides, the Altea featured a sculptured profile, with a wave-like line across the bodywork from the front to the rear fenders. It wasn’t the usual design for that time. The rear though spoiled most of the car design due to its small, up-mounted, taillights.

Inside, there was room for five adult passengers and a decent trunk compartment. Since the car was built taller than other Seat vehicles, it offered a good headroom. The rear seats were folded to expand the trunk-space.

For the engine compartment, Seat installed most of the engines available for the Leon, both gasoline and diesel units. It featured a wide choice of engines between 1.4-liter and 2.0-liter, with naturally aspirated or turbocharged units. It was mated with either manual or automatic gearboxes.