altea freetrack tsi or tdi

[ray red altea]

i would welcome some reviews of the tsi freetrack please especialy the tsi model and fuel consumption i need extra room and like the idea of the 4 wheel train xl for occasional rough roads as i live in a rural area , i tend to do less than 12k now so am vearing to petrol from my present 1.9tdi baby altea ,also is the dvd system standard in the freetrack? do owners feel this part time 4x4 system works as well thanks

 

[Chris_in_London]

TSI or TDI

When I bought my TDI Freetrack, I asked the sales guy about the fuel consumption and he said that I was lucky not to have chosen the TSI version as he struggled to get better than 25mpg. I'm not convinced that the four wheel drive works (though that statement may be affected by the road tyres I've got), though barring snow I've never got stuck. Knowing that the car has four wheel drive is a comforting thought when the roads are wet and slippery and I passed many two wheel drive cars struggling to get up icy hills, admittedly I used some common sense and approached the hills slowly. The TDI version should give you between 380 and 410 miles between tank fills, lower if you have a heavy right foot.

The car comes with a screen in the roof console but no DVD player as standard - I think it may have been an option. You can just plug in a portable DVD player into the inputs at the back of the centre console which outputs the sound through the stereo and the video through the screen

 

[ray red altea]

thanks for the reply chris may have to go with the diesel then if thats true that is pretty shocking for a modern petrol

 

[Chris_in_London]

Freetrack economy

Ray, you have to bear in mind that the Freetrack is carrying the extra weight of the 4 wheel drive system. The Altea XL's without 4 wheel drive are about 10mpg better than the 4 wheel drive version. Also the TSI version carries the same 200bhp engine (with similar performance) of a Golf GTI, therefore it was never designed to be frugal just quick, the TDI shares the same 170bhp engine as the Golf GTD, so is a little slower and more economic.
You have to decide whether you really need 4 wheel drive as no matter what manufacturer uses this a 4 wheel drive system, the resulting vehicle is never going to be as economic as a 2 wheel drive version - hybrids excluded.

 

[ray red altea]

Thank you Chris will bear that in mind ,am I right in thinking that the diesel is the old pd unit not the new common rail version ,am a little worried by the dpf issues that people have with the engines how have you found yours so far I know from reading the fr posts that there plenty powerfull enough .the tsi looks attractive until you think of filling it up every 250 miles

 

[Chris_in_London]

DPF issues

Ray, I've had my Freetrack for nearly 2 years / 40,000miles and haven't had any problems with the car at all apart from the emission light coming on which resulted in the exhaust gas sensor being replaced under warranty. I too have read the postings about the DPF light coming on but I go on a motorway/dual carriageway at least once a week so 'touch wood' it hasn't been an issue so far. The TDI version has a fair turn of pace and bearing in mind that the Freetrack wasn't a big seller, it's unlikely that you'll see another one and therefore they're easier to find in a car park!!

 

[ray red altea]

Very true Chris you don't see a lot about ,and their is only 2 for sale on autotrader at the moment

 

[twistandgo]

Some pretty decent comments I would say and nice to see how useful a forum can be !!

We had our freetrack for 3 years and 50K miles which was also a TDI. Have to say the fuel economy was never as good as I guess we had hoped... averaging on a commute around 34 to 35. On a run up the motorway we averaged out to about 37 or 38... seen it higher but the average does come down after a while and its a pretty big bus. But does go well !!

To be honest.. if you werent bothered about fuel econonomy or werent bothered about running it EVERY day to work etc... I would say go for the petrol... we loved ours (diesel)and was great in the snow (out in the country through drifts etc) but had to turn off the traction control to make it better and the deeper stuff with momentum required !!

The diesel really is great for what it is... but its not until you drive something else quieter with a diesel engine you realise how bloody noisy it is !! We now have a 2010 Santa Fe and its sooooo much quieter that it truly is really noticable.. you can have a conversation without having to raise your voice etc. Agreed... it doesnt handle or go as well as the freetrack did.... But... it is a bit bigger and better in the snow which is what we were looking for... if they did a newer freetrack.. we might have considered it.

Would have loved to have driven a petrol freetrack unit though... drove an octavia VRS petrol and that engine was a peach... combined with the awesomeness that is the freetrack.. I reckon its a winner... although again the mpg will put many people off.

The freetrack is one belter of a car though... a few choice modern improvements and SEAT would have a market leader without question.

 

[Alibearb]

Tis definitely

I've had my Freetrack Tsi just 2 weeks and am delighted with it. I've come from a Honda CR-V which has been brilliant for the 5 Years I've owned it so was looking for somthing pretty special to replace it and hankered for something with a bit of oomph. As for fuel consumption I've been driving the 10 miles to work and back in the snow and ice and been getting 26mpg easily which is only 2mpg less then my CR-V and considering the Freetrack is better to drive and has loads more power I am very pleased. Bought myself some infra-red Seat headphones off eBay which work very well with the rear screen for the kids today. Looking forward to a long motorway bash up to the Lakes at Christmas. So far really chugged and love the immense power!. 4wd system handled our icy street with ease, seemed better than the Honda.

 

[ray red altea]

thank you for your reply alibearb thats good to know was a bit concerned about the fuel consumption but if i can get near 30mpg to 35 on my country run at 50 every morning would be very happy ,must admit though the engine sounds an absolute beast

 

[Alibearb]

30 - 35mpg should be possible according to the published figures but you'll have to be very gentle with the giggle peddle. Before buying my Tsi I thought about buying a hybrid or the diesel version as twice a year we do a drive down to the south of France on those lovely French motorways. My CR-V had a range of only 300 miles so it was 3 fill ups just to get there and this always seemed a bit of a chore (and cost), but on the other hand it gets the whole family down there and we have our own transport to tour about in once there. I know my Freetrack is going to have a longer fuel range, be quieter at 80mph and with the addition of a shiny black roof box hold everything we need to take. I thought about the diesel version but after reading Honest Johns comments about the abrupt power delivery and besides I never have never been a fan of the sticky smelly stuff that clings to your hands every time you fill up. For me, in the two weeks I've had it I've had a grin on my face every time I start up up, let alone drive it. 11K well spent on an 09 plate in magic black with 24k miles.

 

[ericcat]

Freetrack TDi

I'm probably not qualified to comment, having had a Freetrack for just 2 days, but I say Diesel any day. I don't need the extra acceleration of the petrol, certainly don't need the 10-15MPG less, the insurance and the road tax are cheaper too.

Loving my Crono Yellow beast so far, still not stopped grinning!

 

[Alibearb]

Hi Ericcat, that makes two of us that have only just bought a Freetrack then, I'm just 3 weeks in and loving it so far. Well done on finding a yellow one - seem so rare but all the publicity pics seem to be of the yellow one. Mine's Magic black so it's been christened the Back Beast. Apart from the long jaunts down to the south of Fance I don't do many miles really, so it's looking about £25 a week on petrol so far at 26mpg (mixture of queing in town traffic and country lanes) which is peanuts. I love the way my TSI growls when it's started and the car shakes slightly as it fires up but is then so smooth but growly at the same time as you pull away. Is your diesel noisy?

 

[ericcat]

Hello Alibearb,

My Freetrack is more noisy than the petrol variant, no doubt, but is a fair bit quieter than the Altea 1.9TDi that I just traded in for the Freetrack.

My Freetrack is a bit quieter now that I've removed the engine cover - it was rattling so much I thought I had a blowing exhaust.

 

[Alibearb]

Well just got back from the first ever long run with a jaunt to the Lakes and back (from Leicestershire) in the fully loaded TSi plus a glossy black roof box and we managed 29mpg each way on the run. Less than I was thinking I would get, but I'm presuming the roof box had quite an effect. I could certainly hear it when I got to 80mph so generally stayed at about 75. Points of note; had to fiddle quite a bit with the passenger side mirror as I found out there's quite a blind spot trying to see cars on the inside of you. Heated mirrors not great at evaporating the water droplets off the mirror glass as they did in the Honda, I must check if these are working properly. Auto wipers have a real personality - sometimes worked great, other times not so. Seats brilliant. Radio sound quality a bit poor when turned up. Actually saw another black Freetrack on the road from Ambleside to Windermere - I think we were both a bit shocked - was that you? Had no bother climbing the snow covered 1 in 4 hill to my parents house. Any comments or advice on the points above would be appreciated.

 

[Alibearb]

.....sorry forgot to add the bit about the wife screaming a bit and vowing "never to go driving with me again in the snow" as we went up the snow covered (4 inches) 1 in 4 and slid sideways onto my parents drive. Honest it was fine

 

[CrispDust]

Poor radio? - changes speakers. Standard SEAT paper cones are shite. Do a forum search for suggestions.

 

[bazmac28]

Get Foc al speakers AWSOME . Mine are hooked up to a Pioneer AVH3200 ,well worth it .

 

[Dawesy]

Poor radio? - changes speakers. Standard SEAT paper cones are shite. Do a forum search for suggestions.

Had our diesel Freetrack nearly a week now and the speakers are pretty damn good, well compared to the Saab 9-3 sportwagen with 4 pish speakers....

My economy on 1st cross counry run was about 41mpg!

Heading back up to the north east on the A19 mind at a good blast this dropped to around 36 / 37..still pretty good with a full load (luggage and People) for such a large quick car..

 

[ray red altea]

i take it that must be the 170 diesel dawesy with those figures ? intrestingly how do you find the 4 wheel drive compared to the saab sportwagon which is supposed to be a very good estate any comments on the difference