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Virtual Adviser's™ opinion
Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Considering they both belong to the small family car segment and utilize the same 5-door hatchback body style and the front wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific petrol engine choice they offer. The first one has a Volkswagen-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 85hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 105hp engine designed by Alfa Romeo.
SafetyThe first thing to look into here would be the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests performed on the two cars. Good thing is that both vehicles got tested, with the Seat being a slightly better choice apparently. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the small family car segment, which is generally classifying them somewhere in the middle safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. On the other hand, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, the Italian car offers a marginal difference of 3% more metal.
ReliabilityManufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Seat as a brand displays somewhat better results, at least on all of the models level. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Seat with an average rating of 4.4, and models under the Alfa Romeo badge with 4.2 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed Leon as average reliability-wise, and 147 is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as the Spanish car rank it on average as 3.6, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.4 out of 5.
Performance & Fuel economyAlfa Romeo is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 2.4 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 185 kilometers per hour, 13km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the Spanish car, averaging around 7.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (40 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 15% difference compared to the Italian 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 slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. From there things take a different direction, with Alfa Romeo being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... I believe that, when we take all into account, we have only one winner here - the Seat. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser™, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.