SEAT Altea Freetrack 2007-2009 Photos, engines & full specs

When customers started to ask for more crossovers and SUVs, carmakers that didn't have such vehicles in their offers tried to adapt. The Altea Freetrack was one of those.

At other times, the Spanish brand SEAT could have succeeded with this SUV-like minivan. Still, the timing was wrong as the world financial crisis started to bite the automakers worldwide.

The minivans were not that important for Europeans, but carmakers still tried to make them. SEAT managed to create not one but two based on the same platform. The Freetrack version was the longer one. Unlike its regular sibling, it offered a higher ground clearance and plastic molds on the wheel arches, side doors, and rear quarter panels. In theory, these protected the paint from bushes and scratches. In reality, they worked well against shopping carts.

Inside, the five-seat vehicle offered high-bolstered bucket seats at the front and three individual seats for the second row, which could slide, tumble, or be removed. In addition, the driver was spoiled with an unusual sporty-looking dashboard for a people carrier, with three individual clusters where the tachometer took center stage, fronting the steering wheel. Depending on the options, SEAT installed an infotainment unit with a sat-nav system on the center stack. Finally, the rear passengers could enjoy the folding tables, airline-style, mounted on the back of the front seats' seatbacks.

In the beginning, the Freetrack was an all-wheel drive only affair. Its turbocharged gasoline engine was strong enough to provide some fun. At the same time, the oil-burner versions proved to be highly fuel-efficient. Later on, an even more economical version was introduced that was available with front-wheel drive only.