First Look: Seat Exeo Sport Tourer
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Comments (22)
BMWPrince
This is just disguisting. Look at that side.. it's an Audi A4!!!! The way the VW Group share parts is unacceptable. I'm not against Audi but Audi owners take note, what you are buying goes on VW Seat and Skoda, so you might as well just buy a Seat at half the price. At least have some brand identity and not take fans or people in this market as fools... not intending to offend any Audi supporters though.
February 10, 2009 11:14 am
BMWPrince
and they could have changed some of the parts like doors although based on same platform. The BMW X5 and X6 are based on same platform, and the A and C Class from Merc as well. Get my point?
February 10, 2009 11:24 am
BMWPrince
This is not baed on prev A4 platform, it's using the exact machines to make a Seat, just that it is an old A4 Avant model
February 10, 2009 11:28 am
BMWPrince
just to add, this reminds me of the chinese car maker that copied the X5 with some difference. I feel sorry for all those A4 Avant owners, you'll be mistaken for driving a Seat! TOTAL RIP OFF - This is what you get for buying from the VW Group!
February 10, 2009 11:18 am
me7274
There is a car company in South America. It still produces the old vw beetle models. the car's aspect looks like old beetle models but when you look at the production date, you will see that it is produced at 2009.
This Audi (sorry Seat) story is just like the same.
February 10, 2009 11:42 am
Michael
BMWPrince, why don't you use the Edit button? It is not necessary to post several messages on the same topic. You could post only one and then edit it if you have something to add.
Seat Exeo is based on the platform of the previous generation Audi A4, which was launched some seven years ago and is not used by Audi anymore. The current A4 platform is a new modular one, used also by other models like A5 or Q5. My impression is that the recent policy of VAG as far as Seat is concerned is to position this brand closer to Audi. And if former A4 platform was a good one, why should not use it by another brand of the group, for the benefit of the company (lower costs) and of the potential buyers (lower prices).
The new generation Audi A4 is a totally diferent one: another platform, different engines and trannies (including dual-clutch seven speed automatic), improved quattro (torsen), new technologies etc.
February 10, 2009 11:58 am
politz
Yeah, I totally get it, but... I just thought Seat's flagship should sell more of the brand's values, identity, technology and design language. Maybe the flagship should be a 100% Seat, and not some reworked last gen Audi... but hey, that's just my point of view!
February 10, 2009 12:20 pm
BMWPrince
Your argument is flawed. It doesn't matter whether it is the old A4 or new A4. Audi is a premium brand, as a premium brand, you do not allow another cheaper brand to have the same identical look as you. Why do you think BMW was unhappy about the Chinese car maker for copying its X5 - becasue it is called stealing identity.
I don;t know about you, but I am a BMW fan and I take pride in all products that BMW produces. Old or new.... even if the car is old, it is still a BMW...in this case an Audi. To just dump your old product to anotehr cheaper brand and slap a cheaper brand's badge on is rediculous... what must the owners of the old A4Avant think? Why must they buy the new A4 Avant now if in 5 years' time, it will be the same car, just a Seat and at half the price. It is called having a brand that has a unique identity! Clearly the VW Group just thinks about cutting costs and making profits. With this attitude, I have my doubts on whether they can produce anything decent and solid.
As for your statement of Seat trying to move closer to the level of Audi... well, how is taking an older model of a premium brand going to work? To me, it's just cheap. To move up and be more premium, you need to be more yourself. Imagine Smart wanting to move up and uses the old A Class as the new Smart ForFour. Would you like it? As an old A Class owner, would you be happy? Imagine the next Mini being the current 1 Series, exactly the same! This is horror!
It is not about whether the new A4 is totally different or not, if this is the practice of the VW Group, the new A4 will be the new Seat in a few years time! Yes, Seat owners will feel good with an older Audi but the damage to Audi will be tremendous.
If you have pride in your products, you would not do that. But if you are in the same class as C1 and 105, obviously it wouldn't matter because you are selling "economy" cars, not premium!
February 10, 2009 12:55 pm
BMWPrince
This move is a slap in the face for all Audi supporter and owners, even to the public at large. You Audi fans out there should object this terrible identity dilution, it is bad enough to share parts that cannot be seen from exterior across the entire VW range, premium or not! and now the entire exterior!!!
February 10, 2009 1:02 pm
CH
Yeah I get it, you like BMW. Don't tell me BMW don't share parts that cannot be seen from the exterior, how about the Peugeot engines they use? So every BMW owner should be upset because you can get a Peugeot for half the price with the same engine as in a BMW?
Whatever, as it was stated before, SEAT did have some financial struggles so what good would it do to completely rebuild a new platform if you have a platform that no longer is being used, specially if the basis is proven to be good. Then if the goals are reached they can (and will) build a completely new car with a true identity, I'll give them some 5 to 7 years to come with a model change or even within 2 to 3 years for a greater facelift than usual. Keep the cost low to see if it works and if it does, add your flavor to it.
In the past they messed up completely with the Toledo (in 2008 totally 8 units sold in my country) ducktail and the Cordoba (a little more with 28 units). So they don't want (and I guess Mommy VW doesn't allow them) to build up a complete car, spend tons of money just to fail again. This is a start in a new segment and I know for sure that here in my where, it will be a big seller.
February 10, 2009 2:20 pm
tom43
Sorry, but you will definetly not find any Peugeot-engine in a BMW today. There is only a co-development between BMW and Peugeot. The result is the 4-cylinder engine you find in the Mini and Peugeot 207/308.
February 10, 2009 2:47 pm
BMWPrince
CH, so what you are saying is to prevent Seat from failing with a new model, build an Audi (using the old model, just a new trunk lid) and slap the Seat badge on it.. and we have the new Seat, which will be successful.
2nd point is that not only is it on the platform of the old A4 Avant, which shouldn't be a problem... the problem here is that the car is identical to the A4 Avant from the exterior! only minor detail changes like the light. It can be clearly seen that it is an AUDI, the doors, the windows, the roof rank.. they are all the same!!
For those of you who own the prev generation Avant, you know where to buy your body parts when you need to: e.g., you need a new window or door panel - say you have the new Seat and you'll get the identical stuff at a cheaper price. looking forward to see this!
As for BMW engines: Firstly the engine that you talked about was a joint development engine between BMW and Peugeot, which was only used in the Mini and not BMW. Secondly, this engine is no longer being made, all BMw Group products uses genuine top BMW engines, including the Mini.
Your argument can be compared to this: Merc wants to save Smart, so they make the previous A Class again and slap a smart badge on it!
February 10, 2009 5:28 pm
Michael
BMW sold in 2008 1.2 million cars (a 5.8% decrease compared to 2007), while Audi sold 1 million cars (a 4.1% increase as compared to the previous year). Thus the gap between the two German premium brands was reduced last year with more than 110,000 units (some 10% of their sales). So, BMWPrince, you should not be worried for Audi fans or owners. Better be worried about your favourite brand which losses significant market share in the fight with their rivals from Audi, even though some of their older technologies are now used by other brands from VW group (such as Seat).
February 10, 2009 4:44 pm
BMWPrince
Just a note: check out the January 2009 sales figures: BMW dropped 5.01% and Audi dropped nearly 35% year on year worldwide!! The gap does not seem to be closing anymore. The press have stated that the reason why Audi was doing so well last year was because of the launch of the new A4 and Q5. So how do you explain that???
February 10, 2009 5:35 pm
Uptohere
BMWPrince your figures are wrong and Michael is correct. Your rants against Audi have become pointless and shallow.
February 10, 2009 8:48 pm
BMWPrince
I'm quoting the worldwide sales figures for January 2009, not the complete stats for 2008 sales! Also stating facts does not equal to being against Audi. In fact I am against VW Group's actions in this case, which includes Audi and Seat here!
February 11, 2009 6:58 am
Aygo
B-Segment Thami? So this replaces the Ibiza? I think not, if you said D-Segment that would've be correct...
February 10, 2009 4:54 pm
kalvindale
This is a wonderful opinion. The things mentioned are unanimous and needs to be appreciated by everyone. I appreciate the concern which is been rose. The things need to be sorted out because it is about the individual but it can be with everyone.
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October 10, 2010 10:48 pm
