Seven-seater cars are, more often than not, used for one purpose only - ferrying the family around. But it seems the Seat Alhambra has a slightly different proposition.

While it has great family hauling abilities, this seven-seater Seat provides some good fun behind the wheel, too.

It still looks very familiar...

If the Alhambra gives you a familiar feeling, it's because the car was once offered here as a 2.0-litre turbodiesel. Now, it comes in two turbocharged petrol variants - either the 1.4-litre TSI that you see here on this very page, or a 2.0-litre TSI.


The other reason why it's all too familiar is that it shares the same underpinnings as well as the same clean-cut, family-friendly design cues as the Volkswagen Sharan.

Impressively, it also manages to hide its sizeable footprint despite having longer and wider dimensions compared to the already-biggish seven-seater SUV, the Seat Tarraco.

Maximum space inside

Thus, with its larger dimensions, the Alhambra doesn't disappoint when it comes to cabin space.


Step into the second row, and you will notice how airy the Alhambra is, thanks to its high ceiling and large windows. The fact that this area sports three separated seats also means that passengers will enjoy comfort too.

Two out of the three seats have integrated child seats - no need for removing child seats when you have to ferry friends or colleagues around. Simply pull a lever, and the booster seat rises or collapses - making its family hauling properties immediately apparent.

The third row is easy to access, too, as the second row seats fold forward allowing for adults to ingress and egress easily.


With all seats up, the Alhambra offers 300 litres of boot space. Fold the second and third row down and you have an enormous 2,297 litres of space to boot.

The usual Seat fanfare can be seen from the driver's seat. Its nothing spectacular, but it is a familiar place, with buttons and switches in the right places. Its family-friendly capabilities can be seen here, too, with child locks that can be activated directly from the driver's side.

The Alhambra also offers Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink through its Seat Full Link infotainment system.

Seat has spirit

On the move, the car rides very quietly, and remains to be comfortable whether on expressways or in the city.

When we did push the Alhambra a little more spiritedly, we were pleasantly surprised. The suspension manages to be firm around corners, with minimal body roll.


When overtaking and accelerating are concerned, the Alhambra doesn't falter either. Its six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox is quick to match our right foot, kicking down to the right gear whenever an overtaking manoeuvre is executed.

Its quick shifting is matched perfectly to the 1.4-litre turbocharged lump that sends 148bhp and 250Nm of torque to the front wheels. It sips petrol too. During our time with the car, we managed 11.9km/L - spirited runs included.


Value proposition

If you want to carry seven in complete comfort, there are only a handful of cars that are excellent for the job. There's the Toyota Previa, the Honda Odyssey and the Maxus G10 Executive, to name a few.

But the Toyota Previa just comes a tad too expensive at $166,988 (price as of 22 July 2019), and the Maxus is a little excessive in size. The Honda Odyssey is great, but cannot be compared to the Alhambra's spiritedness behind the wheel.


At $152,400, the Alhambra is one family hauler where its practicality supersedes luxury, which isn't a bad thing at all, considering how well it does the job.

And if you're looking for more grunt, you can have the 2.0-litre turbocharged Alhambra for $8,000 more. At 217bhp and 350Nm of torque, that's Golf GTI rivalling power in a minivan.

Who said the family man can't have some fun?