SEAT Exeo

SEAT Exeo

Manufacturer	SEAT, S.A.
Production	December 2008–present
Assembly	Martorell, Spain
Predecessor	SEAT 132
Class	Large family car
Body style	4-door saloon 5-door estate
Layout	Longitudinal front engine, front wheel drive
Platform	Volkswagen Group B7
Engine	petrol engines: 1.6 L I4 75kW 1.8 L I4 16v TSI 88kW 1.8 L I4 20v Turbo 110kW 1.8 L I4 16v TSI 118kW 2.0 L I4 16v TSI 147kW 2.0 L I4 16v TSI 155kW diesel engines: 2.0 L I4 16v TDI CR DPF 88kW 2.0 L I4 16v TDI CR DPF 125kW
Transmission	6-speed manual 6- / 7-speed LuK multitronic CVT
Wheelbase	2,642 mm (104.0 in)
Length	4,661 mm (183.5 in)
Width	1,772 mm (69.8 in)
Height	1,430 mm (56.3 in)
Kerb weight	1,310–1,455 kg (2,888–3,208 lb)
Related	Audi A4 (B7)

The SEAT Exeo (pronounced 'ex-AY-o') is a five-seat large family car, and flagship model, built by the Spanish car manufacturer, and Volkswagen Group subsidiary SEAT, S.A., with factory production commencing in December 2008.

Previously codenamed Bolero (though not to be confused with SEAT's earlier concept car bearing the same name) and internally designated Typ 3R, the name Exeo derives from the Latin word exire, meaning "to go beyond", breaking SEAT's recent tradition to name its cars after Spanish cities.

Overview

SEAT Exeo saloon rear 3/4 view

SEAT Exeo interior

The Exeo is a D-segment model which is built on the Volkswagen Group B7 (PL46) platform. It is essentially a rebadged "B7" generation Audi A4, with styling changes to the front and rear by way of unique bonnet, front wings, boot lid, doors and exterior door mirrors. It incorporates interior trim from the A4 Cabriolet, and extensively uses B6/B7 A4 interior equipment and electrical components. To this purpose, the entire Audi B7 A4 production and assembly lines from Ingolstadt were dismantled and installed in Volkswagen Group's related SEAT factory in Martorell, Spain.

The SEAT Exeo was officially revealed at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, and at launch, it was confirmed to be available in just one car body style - as a four-door five-seat saloon/sedan (Typ 3R5). However, from August 2009, it also available as a five-door five-seat estate/wagon called Exeo ST (Typ 3R9) (Sport Tourer).

The Exeo was available for purchase in Western Europe in early 2009, with a model lineup which initially included three petrol engines and two diesel engines, with a third lower-powered 88 kilowatts (120 PS; 118 bhp) diesel engine being added from September 2009.
In 2010 three new petrol engines entered production, these were the 1.8 TFSI 88 kilowatts (120 PS; 118 bhp), the 1.8 TFSI 118 kilowatts (160 PS; 158 bhp) and the 2.0 TFSI 155 kilowatts (211 PS; 208 bhp).

It is available with three different trim levels: Reference, Stylance and Sport.

Awards

• 'Golden Steering Wheel 2009' award in Switzerland in the upper medium sedan category
• 'Company Car 2009' in Germany , for the SEAT Exeo ST
• 'Car of the Year 2010' in Finland, by the Finnish magazine Tuulilasi
• 'Novelty of the Year 2009' in Catalonia

Powertrain

Due to the Exeo being derived from the Audi B7 A4, it shares the same fundamental powertrain layout. It has engines mounted at the front, and they are oriented longitudinally, i.e.: "north-south", rather than the "east-west" transverse engine layout used in the remainder of the SEAT range. The gearboxes are of a transaxle type (containing the gearbox, along with the front final drive and differential), and are also mounted longitudinally at the rear of the engine. For the 1.8 litre 20 valve Turbo petrol engine, one side-mounted intercooler (SMIC) is fitted to the lower front left of the car, below the left headlamp. For the 2.0 TSI petrol, along with the 105 and 125 kilowatts (143 and 170 PS; 141 and 168 bhp) and 2.0 litre Turbocharged Direct Injection diesel engines, these utilise two SMICs, one below the left and right headlamps. All diesel engine variants are common rail (CR) Turbocharged Direct Injection (TDI) engines and includes an exhaust catalytic converter along with a diesel particulate filter (DPF).

Transmission options initially included only a six-speed manual gearbox. Shortly after launch, the LuK-originated multitronic continuously variable transmission (CVT), with selectable six- or seven-speeds, became available on models equipped with the 2.0 TSI petrol and 2.0 TDI diesel engines. Distribution of the engine torque to the driven roadwheels is only via the front wheels, and there is not a four-wheel drive offering - which the Audi A4 utilised as an option in its 'trademark' quattro (four wheel drive system).

Engine specifications

All available Internal combustion engines are inline four cylinder (I4) four-stroke designs and are based on existing units capable to be fitted longitudinally in the Exeo's PL46 platform and have also been used in other marques of the Volkswagen Group. They all comply with the European EU5 emissions standard, and offer the following performance statistics (for the saloon version in standard configuration).

engine designation	displacement, valvetrain, fuel system	ID code (family)	max. motive power at rpm	max. torque at rpm	0–100 km/h (0–62 mph)	top speed	CO2 (g/100 km)	prod. dates	trim level (saloon)
									Reference	Stylance	Sport
petrol engines
1.6 SRE	1595 cc, 8v SOHC multi-point fuel injection	ALZ (EA113)	75 kW (102 PS; 101 bhp) @ 5,600 rpm	148 N·m (109 lbf·ft) @ 3,800 rpm	12.6 sec.	190 km/h (118.1 mph)	179	03/09– present	Y	Y	N
1.8 SRE T	1781 cc, 20v DOHC Turbocharged multi-point fuel injection	CFMA (EA113)	110 kW (150 PS; 148 bhp) @ 5,700 rpm	220 N·m (162 lbf·ft) @ 1,800 rpm	9.3 sec.	217 km/h (134.8 mph)	184	12/08–05/10	Y	Y	Y
1.8 TSI	1798 cc, 16v DOHC Turbocharged Fuel Stratified Injection	CDH (EA888)	88 kW (120 PS; 118 bhp) @ 4,000-6,200 rpm	230 N·m (170 lbf·ft) @ 1,500-3,650 rpm	10.7 sec.	202 km/h (125.5 mph)	166	09/10– present	Y	Y	N
1.8 TSI	1798 cc, 16v DOHC Turbocharged Fuel Stratified Injection	CDH (EA888)	118 kW (160 PS; 158 bhp) @ 4,500-6,200 rpm	250 N·m (184 lbf·ft) @ 1,500-4,500 rpm	8.6 sec.	225 km/h (139.8 mph)	166	05/10– present	Y	Y	Y
2.0 TSI	1984 cc, 16v DOHC Turbocharged Fuel Stratified Injection	BWE (EA113)	147 kW (200 PS; 197 bhp) @ 6,000 rpm	280 N·m (207 lbf·ft) @ 1,800-5,000 rpm	7.3 sec.	241 km/h (149.8 mph)	179	03/09– present	N	Y	Y
2.0 TSI	1984 cc, 16v DOHC Turbocharged Fuel Stratified Injection	CDN (EA888)	155 kW (211 PS; 208 bhp) @ 4,300-6,000 rpm	320 N·m (236 lbf·ft) @ 1,500-4,600 rpm	7.1 sec.	244 km/h (151.6 mph)	159	05/10– present	N	Y	Y
diesel engines
2.0 TDI CR + DPF	1968 cc, 16v DOHC common rail	CAGC (EA827)	88 kW (120 PS; 118 bhp) @ 4,000 rpm	290 N·m (214 lbf·ft) @ 1,750-2,500 rpm	10.5 sec.	204 km/h (126.8 mph)	139	09/09– present	Y	Y	N
2.0 TDI CR + DPF	1968 cc, 16v DOHC common rail	CAGA (EA827)	105 kW (143 PS; 141 bhp) @ 4,200 rpm	320 N·m (236 lbf·ft) @ 1,750-2,500 rpm	9.2 sec.	214 km/h (133.0 mph)	143	12/08– present	Y	Y	Y
2.0 TDI CR + DPF	1968 cc, 16v DOHC common rail	CAHA (EA827)	125 kW (170 PS; 168 bhp) @ 4,200 rpm	350 N·m (258 lbf·ft) @ 1,750-2,500 rpm	8.4 sec.	229 km/h (142.3 mph)	153	02/09– present	N	Y	Y

Other features

SEAT Exeo ST, front view

The Exeo also features the same multi-link fully independent front and rear suspension as used on the Audi A4, again with light-weight cast aluminium alloy front suspension arms and virtual steering-axis uprights. All models are equipped with ZF-supplied power steering, with some models having speed-sensitive 'servotronic' variable assistance.

Disc brakes are fitted front and rear, with the radially ventilated fronts ranging in diameter from 280 millimetres (11.0 in) by 22 millimetres (0.87 in) thick, to 320 millimetres (12.6 in) by 30 millimetres (1.18 in). At the rear are solid (un-ventilated) discs ranging from 245 millimetres (9.6 in) by 10 millimetres (0.39 in) to 288 millimetres (11.3 in) by 12 millimetres (0.47 in). All discs, front and rear, utilise a single-piston sliding brake caliper.

Chassis electronics feature as standard the Bosch ESP 8.0 Electronic Stability Programme, which also includes Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), and emergency Brake Assist (BA). This ESP system also includes Anti Slip Regulation (ASR - or traction control), and Electronic Differential Lock (EDL) traction aids.

Roadwheel options vary from a basic 7Jx16 steel wheel with plastic wheel covers, to a number of variants of alloy wheels, from 16" to 18" in diameter.

Conventional halogen dual-bulb (H7 dip and H1 main) headlamps are standard, with self-leveling single-source Bi-Xenon high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights available as an option.

Luggage capacity in the saloon variant, measured according to the VDA 'block' method, is 460 litres (16.2 cu ft). On the other hand in the estate Exeo ST variant the boot size starts from 442 litres (15.6 cu ft) (or 564 litres (19.9 cu ft) when loaded up to roof) and after folding rear seats it rises to 882 litres (31.1 cu ft) (or 1,354 litres (47.8 cu ft) when loaded up to roof with rear seats down).

Sales and production figures

SEAT Exeo ST, rear view

In the year 2009, the total annual retail sales number of SEAT Exeo cars was 21,013 vehicles (12,837 units for the Exeo and 8,176 for the Exeo ST version), while the annual production came up to 22,981 cars made in SEAT's Martorell plant.

The total production per year of SEAT Exeo and Exeo ST cars is shown in the following table :

model	2008	2009	2010
SEAT Exeo	348	13,952
SEAT Exeo ST	21	9,029
Total annual production	369	22,981	23,108

Replacement

According to SEAT's CEO James Muir, the future replacement for the first generation of the SEAT Exeo - which is based on the Audi A4 - is expected to be an original SEAT design.

See also

• Audi A4
• SEAT Bolero - a design study concept car for a large four-door saloon

External links

• SEAT.com official corporate website
• Official SEAT Exeo site
• SEAT Exeo review