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Car #1
Make
Model
Variant
Engine
Car #2
Make
Model
Variant
Engine

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2004. - 2009.
M - MPV
MPV, 5 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2006. - 2010.
M - MPV
MPV, 5 door
rear

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4493 mm
1788 mm
1622 mm
532 liters
1604 liters
55 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4922 mm
1922 mm
1659 mm
244 liters
1950 liters
80 liters
2004 Seat Altea FreeTrack
2006 Mercedes Benz R

Engine

Volkswagen
2.0 TDI BMM
Diesel
4 - Inline, 2 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1968 cc
140 hp
320 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Mercedes Benz
3.0 OM642 LO
Diesel
6 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
2987 cc
190 hp
440 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1479 kg
10.2 s
196 km/h
7.7 l/100km
5.1 l/100km
6.1 l/100km
162 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 7 gears
2095 kg
9.7 s
210 km/h
11.6 l/100km
7.5 l/100km
9.0 l/100km
238 g/km

Expenses

2100 EUR
Price from
6400 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

Overview

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 (front for the Seat and rear in the case of the Mercedes Benz). The first one has a Volkswagen-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 8-valves 140hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 190hp engine designed by Mercedes Benz.

Safety

The 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. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the mpv segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. On the other hand, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, the German car offers a potentially life-saving difference of 42% more metal.

Reliability

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Seat does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Seat, as well as Mercedes Benz, with the same average rating of 4.4 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed Altea as average reliability-wise, and R is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the Spanish car rank it on average as 4.4 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Performance & Fuel economy

Mercedes Benz is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.5 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 210 kilometers per hour, 14km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be the Spanish car, averaging around 6.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (46 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 48% 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. From there things take a different direction, with Mercedes Benz offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... 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. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.

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