No knob left untouched

Mostly good. By

THE GEARBOX

The manual over-ride is getting a lot of use. Considering what a torquey engine this is, it’s odd how frequently it struggles. There’s an emissions-minded hesitancy about it at low revs, and a tendency to be in too high a gear. So to overcome it you change gear yourself.

THE SAT NAV

I like to think I ‘get’ VW Group GPS, but I’ve just returned from a particularly irksome journey to Birmingham in which I was anything but attuned to the Tarraco’s sat-nav. It kept on telling me where I was, but only at the last moment telling me where to go. Infuriating.

THE CRUISE CONTROL

It’s fine. Except these days anything that doesn’t co-ordinate sat-nav and cruise control seems like half a job. I’ve been spoilt by fancy Mercs that know I’m about to turn left, and encourage appropriate deceleration. It’s not the car, it’s me. I’ve changed.

THE TYPOGRAPHY

The Seat Alhambra is a rarity: a surviving MPV that feels as though it belongs in 2020. One of the many things I admire about it is the typography on the Alhambra badge. The first two As curve one way; the third curves the other. The Tarraco does much the same. Lovely.

Seat Tarraco Month 5

The story so far

Seat’s seven-seat SUV in top spec, with the more powerful of the diesel engines and all-wheel drive + Practical, well equipped and comfortable Hard ride; laggy throttle; dawdling nav

Logbook

Price £38,055 Performance 1968cc turbodiesel four-cylinder, 188bhp, 8.0sec 0-62mph, 130mph E ciency 37.2-38.2mpg (o cial), 37.8mpg (tested), 147g/km CO2 Energy cost 15.7p per mile Miles this

month 1187 Total miles 6177