Seat

Seat S.A. is a Spanish automobile manufacturer, founded over 65 years ago in 1950.

In 1986, the German Volkswagen Group bought Seat from the Spanish government to become the owner and operator of this established marque.

How popular is Seat in the United Kingdom?

Since the VW takeover, the number of Seat cars on the roads in the UK has grown steadily to over 500k.

Marketing similar cars to different markets

Although the structure and engineering behind all of the Volkswagen Group’s cars are closely related, based on very similar systems and practices, VW has aimed Seat at a market that offers something a bit different to Audi and VW.

Seat: Affordable, youthful versions of established models

Given that the brands under the VW umbrella (not forgetting Skoda too) all carry similar architecture, what sets the Seat models apart from their counterparts is their character, price-point and their ability to deliver slightly sportier handling due to their tuning. When you think of Seat, you think fun. VW: solid. Skoda: value. And Audi is for the executive.

So despite all being very similar machines under the hood, VW has created each of them to sit in quite different marketplaces. The Leon, for example, will appeal to a different type of driver to the Octavia or the Golf (and the Audi A3) despite being almost the same car. The same goes for the Ibiza, the Arona and the rest of the models in the Seat range.

Seat’s reliability and reputation

Seat ranked 10th place out of 30 car brands in the What Car? Reliability Survey in 2018.

Pitted against the other makes under the VW umbrella, it was Skoda who ranked highest in 7th place, with VW and Audi performing less admirably at 17th and 20th respectively.

Recent Seat recalls and reliability issues

Various recalls have been made on Seat models throughout their motoring history. The following are a list of the most recent in the UK and Europe.

26/04/2019 – Seat Ateca (2018)

The locking pin for securing the head restraints may be missing from the central rear seat

13/04/2019 – Seat Ibiza and Seat Arona (2016–2018)

Due to an incorrect setting, the handbrake may have to travel further to ensure immobilisation

17/02/2019 – Seat Ateca (2018)

The fitting of the headrest in the rear seat’s backrest may be defective

24/08/2018 – Seat Ibiza TGI-CNG (2018)

The nuts of the gas pipes may not be sufficiently tightened, causing a leak of gas

27/07/2018 – Seat Ibiza and Seat Arona (2018)

The seat-belt buckles may open unexpectedly

23/03/2018 – Seat Alhambra, Seat Ibiza, Seat Leon and Seat Altea (2011)

The spring on the starter relay may remain in the wrong position

04/03/2018 – Seat Alhambra (2016–2017)

The passenger airbag module may have been produced with an inadequate welded connection

04/03/2018 – Seat Leon (2014–2015)

In the event of deployment of the passenger airbag, the casing of the gas generator could be damaged

All recall information sourced from gov.co.uk data.