© SEAT, S.A.
Martorell — On the Paris Motor Show (4th–19th of October) SEAT presents for the first time the new Exeo to the international public. By this new sporty middle class limousine, the Spanish car manufacturer extends its model range, offering for the first time a limousine in the important B-segment.
Erich Schmitt, the SEAT President affirms, regarding the target group for the new vehicle: “With the Exeo we are offering a car for dynamic and sporty drivers of the B segment. Furthermore now we have a vehicle for our current customers who are ascending from the A segment. The Exeo is also an interesting alternative for quality aware company car drivers who are looking for driving fun but who are cost aware and pay attention to low fuel consumption and low emissions.”
The most important characteristics of this about 4.60 m long sporty limousine are the dynamic and elegant design, a very agile and secure conduction, high comfort and a dynamic and environmental sound engine range. The new EXEO will be launched with three petrol-engines (from 75 kW / 102 CV to 147 kW / 200 CV) and three common rail Diesel engines of latest generation (from 88 kW / 120 CV to 125 kW / 170 CV). Five of these six engines are turbo engines. This means: more performance but less fuel consumption and less emission. All six EXEO engines fulfill the future Euro 5 standard.
Concerning the vehicle features the Exeo offers a latest generation navigation system, a new infotainment system with multiple functions and connections (MP3, MPEG4, IPOD, USB, Bluetooth), as well as for the first time a sun roof with solar cells powering a ventilation system.
The four-link front suspension as well as a trapezoidal link rear suspension assures sporty driving dynamics and agile handling.
The new Exeo offers top technology and top quality. The vehicle will be manufactured in Martorell (near Barcelona, Spain) with the same quality assurance processes due to which the Ibiza is in leading position in its segment.
The new SEAT Exeo will be available as of spring 2009 in three versions: Reference, Stylance and Sport with an entry price of about 22.000 Euros.
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- © SEAT, S.A.
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- © SEAT, S.A.
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- © SEAT, S.A.
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- © SEAT, S.A.
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- © SEAT, S.A.
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- © SEAT, S.A.
Tags: A4, Audi, D-segment, EXEO, midsize, Paris, SE461, SEAT, sedan
Another fine example of badge engineering from VW. After months of waiting, SEAT's “new” midsize sedan turns out to be nothing more than the “old” Audi A4 with a minor facelift to disguise its identity. It's not much of a step up from a Léon or Toledo, and has little visual connection to the rest of the SEAT range. Come on VAG, surely you can do better than this?
By “B segment”, SEAT refers to VW's own internal code system, where the Golf and related cars are the “A segment”, the Passat, A4 and related cars are the “B segment”, and the Ibiza and Polo become the “A0 segment”. Outside VW the Exeo would be classed in he C/D-segment—lower midsize, if not compact. Indeed in many key domensions, the Exeo is smaller than most late-model compact sedans such as the Mégane, Astra and new Chevrolet Cruze.
This is not the first seat in the VW B segment, D segment for the rest. The previous Toledo was just a tiny bit shorter. And before that, Seat produced the Malaga, the 131,132, 1500. If Toledo/Malaga don’t qualify (more like C segment), the 80s 132 and 70s 1500 sure do. Andrew, the Exeo is more like a Mondeo or do you consider the Audi A4 the size of a Megane, Astra?
The A4 this car is based on was indeed closer to the size of an Astra or Mégane sedan. As to the Mondeo, while early Mondeos were of comparable size, the new one is substantially larger—like most new midsize sedans it strays out of the D-segment, while the original Mondeo was not merely nominally in the C/D segment, it was by modern standards a true compact (even the contemporary Mazda 323 had more legroom). The Exeo may be longer than the A4 it’s based on, but then so is the Brazilian version of the A3310 Astra sedan. As if to highlight how far things have changed, the Brazilian model is marketed as a Vectra, and why not? It’s bigger than the Vectra it replaces in every dimension, and in most dimensions is bigger than the late European Vectra as well. Getting accurate dimensions for the older models you mention can be tricky, but even if they were midsize at the time, it’s still possible the Exeo is the largest SEAT ever built, and is certainly the only one based a VWs B-segment platform. So what if they span a size range all the way from the C- to the top of the E-segment. As far as VW is concerned they’re all the same size. The late Toledo may have been almost as big, but it was still based on the “A-segment” Golf, not the Passat.