SEAT Alhambra

Our verdict

Remember, the Seat Alhambra used to be a clone of the Ford Galaxy. But then the Galaxy got replaced, so this is an old-generation car. An MPV where all the seats can come out rather than fold into the floor.

Comfort

 Each of the seven seats is pretty comfy, though the very back pair are a bit tight for adults' heads and feet. The ride tends towards the firm, but that's probably a good thing as an antidote to carsickness.

Performance

The petrol is a cheap 2.0 that takes ages to get anywhere. As for diesels, it's the usual 1.9 and 2.0 TDi engines that we see on so many Seats (and other VW group machines). The 1.9 is an auto and takes a lingering 15 seconds to hit 62mph, so that leaves us with the 2.0 TDI, with 0-62 at 12.2 secs. Dull but just about tolerable in the context.

Cool

Everyone will assume you're a minicab off to Terminal Five. In no way cool, not even among fellow cabbies.

Quality

 It's been around long enough to have had the bugs ironed out and the post-facelift dash has a decent air of quality about it. The seats and furniture also have a robustness fitting the likely roles of family knockabout or taxi.

Handling

The Alhambra isn't bad for a tall bus, with nicely weighted steering and predictable handling biased towards safe understeer. You get plenty of road feel and not too much body roll.

Practicality

 The five back seats come out, which is more of a palaver than the sort that fold into the floor. But it also means when they are out they liberate more space. And the middle row can be turned around for wet-weather picnics or nappy changing. Best not to dwell on that.

Running costs

It's cheap so it doesn't have far to depreciate. And the diesels don't perform very vigorously so don't use much fuel. Insurance isn't bad but servicing is every 10,000 miles which could be pretty often for a high-mileage car workhorse this.