SEAT Exeo 2.0 TDI SE Lux review
by David Finlay (14 July 2009)
The introduction of the Exeo represents the first chapter of SEAT's plan to increase sales by being represented in more market sectors than is currently the case. The Spaniards have never built a Mondeo-sized car before, and to have created one from scratch would have been difficult, time-consuming and expensive. Instead, as explained in some detail in our launch report, they did it the easy, quick and cheap way by basing the Exeo on the previous-generation Audi A4.
According to SEAT, 70% of the Exeo is made up of old A4 bits, but there's more to it than that. The remaining 30% includes, in the case of the car tested here, the 2.0 TDI turbo diesel engine introduced at the same time as the new A4, and the dashboard comes, as per the whim of SEAT President Erich Schmitt, from the A4 Cabriolet.
Now, it's true to say that every car SEAT builds is a close relative of some other Volkswagen Group product, but to me there is something philosophically unsatisfying about the Exeo's especially high level of Audiness.
On the other hand, I tend to assume that any philosophical statement is a bucket of pig swill unless proved otherwise (sorry Ludwig, John Stuart and all the rest) and I think I may have fallen into the trap myself. After all, what was so wrong with the old A4 that it couldn't reasonably be brought back to life with another badge?
And it would be fair to say that SEAT's input - even if it doesn't add up to 30% - has been quite successful. I wasn't bowled over by Luc Donckerwolke's slightly angular design when I first saw it, but having had the Exeo parked outside my house for the last week I must admit I'm more relaxed with it now, though the huge gaps between the test car's tyres and its wheelarches did make it look rather odd.
SEAT's re-setting of the Audi suspension has been something of a triumph. The Exeo has fairly good ride quality (it would be better without the very low-profile tyres fitted as standard on 18" wheels to the SE Lux) and handles very sportily; you can have a lot of fun with this car and never feel that it's straying too close to the limit.
But SEAT's greatest achievement in the chassis department has been to deal so effectively with the car's unfortunate weight distribution. The entire engine sits ahead of the front axle line, which is a bit of a disaster dynamically and something that Audi did not fix until it came to design the current A4. Creating a well-balanced car from such a nose-heavy starting point is not an easy matter, and frankly SEAT has done a far better job of it than Audi ever did.
Since we're talking about the engine now, this is the point to mention that the test car had the 141bhp version of the excellent two-litre turbo diesel. The same unit is available with 168bhp in the Exeo SE Lux, but the car seems quick enough to me with the lower output, probably because the handling is so good that you don't have to slow right down on the way into a corner and then dig yourself out of it at the other end.
The 168bhp car is quicker in a straight line, of course, and officially it's only 2.7mpg down on the combined fuel economy cycle, but you can be sure that the difference will be more marked in real life.
With the less powerful engine as fitted here, the SE Lux is the second most expensive car in the range, thanks to equipment such as leather upholstery, adaptive front lighting, daytime running lights and headlight washers which are not available as standard on any other Exeo.
SEAT reckons that the most popular trim level will be SE, which is above the entry-level S but below Sport and a long way south of SE Lux. The SE is sold only with the 141bhp turbo diesel engine (so the remarks above apply to that car too) and with 17" wheels (so the ride will probably be better) and it's nearly £2000 cheaper.
Still, even in the form tested here the Exeo is cheaper than all but the most humble current A4, and it costs more than £2000 less than any with the same engine. And yes, the new A4 is a very fine car, and I don't see many Audi owners being prepared to live with a SEAT badge - but if you're on a budget and you don't define yourself by the branding you display to other people, the Exeo must at the very least be a tempting alternative.
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