Compare two cars
Compare any two cars and get our Virtual Adviser™ opinion
Marketing
Dimensons & Outlines
Engine
Performance (manual gearbox)
Performance (automatic gearbox)
Expenses
Virtual Adviser's™ opinion
Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by diesel engines and utilizing the 5-door MPV body style within the same 'MPV' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (rear for the Mercedes Benz and front in the case of the Seat). The first one has a Mercedes Benz-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 190hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 170hp engine designed by Volkswagen.
SafetyThe fact that the Seat got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, puts it sky-high safety-wise, in my eyes at least. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the mpv segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. Furthermore, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, the German car offers a potentially life-saving difference of 45% more metal.
ReliabilityManufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Seat does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Mercedes Benz, as well as Seat, with the same average rating of 4.4 out of 5. Independent research findings rank R as average reliability-wise, and Altea is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the German car rank it on average as 4.4, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.2 out of 5.
Performance & Fuel economySeat is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.1 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 208 kilometers per hour, 2km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be the Spanish car, averaging around 6.2 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (46 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 45% difference compared to the German car!
Verdict
Seat appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the Spanish car offers much better overall protection, which launches it ahead of the other contender. It all continues in the same direction, with Seat being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Seat. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser™, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.