Just like the Beetle
What is addressed in car model facelifts? The nose, usually or at least the lighting. The bumpers also usually have to believe it. With the Seat Altea, however, everything was different in 2009, and we found the biggest news in a part that has rarely been addressed in an interim update since the Beetle.
In 2004, the Seat Altea was the first Seat of a new design generation. The Leon shortly after is in fact a squashed version of this model and the Altea itself got two notable derivatives in the form of the Altea XL and the Toledo, an Altea with a Renault Vel Satis-esque butt. The Altea itself looked remarkably smooth for a midi MPV and received a facelift in 2009 that was at least as remarkable. Not because it was so rigorous, because you have to look closely even with the sliding plate of the nose below to see the difference.
We note the obvious bumper changes, where the crease under the headlights and grille are particularly noticeable. The grille itself is slightly more angular in shape after 2009 and the layout of the air intakes at the bottom is also different. The headlights also make a somewhat clearer ‘angle’ at the bottom than before 2009, when the bottom of the light units is still nicely rounded.
The big news, however, is at the back. Here we also find slightly more tightly shaped taillights, but it is remarkable, especially the rear window, which is firmly different than before. Bigger too, just like it happened with the Volkswagen Beetle over the years. Instead of a rounded, ‘floating’ example in the middle of a thick rim, a wall-to-wall window will be mounted on the Altea from 2009 onwards. It covers the entire width of the tailgate and connects directly at the bottom to the taillights cut obliquely in that corner. At the top, the new window is assisted by a new, separate roof spoiler. The view is therefore clearly different, but above all it provides a unique facelift. Enjoy, of course, on Facelift Friday.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl