
Transport and practical equipment
●
Stor e he
avy objects in the luggage com-
partment as far from the rear axle as possi-
ble. CAUTION
Hard objects on the rear shelf could chafe
ag ain s
t the wires of the heating element in
the heated rear window and cause damage. Note
The ventilating slits between the heated rear
windo w and the r
ear shelf must not be cov-
ered so that used air can escape from the ve-
hicle. Folding and lifting up the rear seat
benc
h b
ac
krestFig. 132
Rear seat: unlock button A ; red
m ark
in
g B The rear seat backrest can be folded forward
t
o e
xt
end the luggage compartment.
Folding the rear seat backrest forwards
● Push the head restraint down as far as it
wil
l go or remove it if necessary ››› page 47
and store it in a safe place.
● Pull the unlock switch ›››
Fig. 132 A for-
w ar
d
s whilst simultaneously lifting the rear
seat backrest.
● The rear seat backrest is not engaged when
the red mark
ing of the button B is visible.
● If the rear seat backrest is folded, people
(inc ludin
g c
hildren) are not permitted to trav-
el in the rear folded seats.
Folding up the rear seat backrest
● Lift back the backrest of the rear seat and
push it
firmly into the lock until it clicks se-
curely into place ››› .
● The red marking on the unlock button B must not be seen.
●
Make sure that the backrest of the rear seat
i s
sec
urely locked in position so that the seat
belts can provide proper protection in the
rear seats.
● If necessary, reinstall and readjust the head
res
traints ›››
page 108. WARNING
Folding and lifting the backrests of the rear
seat s
carelessly without paying attention
could cause serious injury.
● Never fold or lift the seats while driving.
● Do no trap or damage seat belts when rais-
ing the seat
backrest.
● Keep hands, fingers, feet and other limbs
awa
y from the range of the rear seat backr-
ests when folding and lifting them.
● All seat backrests must engage correctly for
the seat belt
s on the rear seats to work prop-
erly. When the backrest of an occupied seat is
not correctly locked in place, the passenger
can be thrust forward with the rear seat back-
rest in case of sudden braking, sudden ma-
noeuvres or an accident.
● A red signal on the button B warns that
the bac k
rest is not engaged. Always check to
make sure that the red mark is not visible
when the backrest of the rear seat is in the
upright position.
● No seat must be occupied if the backrest of
the rear se
at is folded or not correctly engag-
ed. CAUTION
Before folding the rear seat backrest, adjust
the front se
ats so that neither the head re-
straint or backrest hit them when folded. If
necessary, remove the head restraints
››› page 108 and store them safely. 119
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety

Operation
for the vehicle is not too different to the out-
s ide t
emper
ature. It is a good idea to air the
vehicle before starting your journey and to
drive a short distance with the windows
open. Then you can close the windows and
switch on the air conditioning. Keep windows
closed when travelling at high speeds. Driv-
ing with the windows open increases fuel
consumption.
● Switch off the seat heating when the seats
have w
armed up.
● Switch off the heated rear window when it
is not
moist or covered in ice.
Avoid short journeys
Fuel consumption is much higher when the
engine is cold, immediately after it has been
started. It takes a few kilometres of driving
for the engine to warm up and to normalise
consumption.
The engine and catalytic converter need to
reach their proper working temperature in or-
der to minimise fuel consumption and emis-
sions. The ambient temperature has a deci-
sive influence.
Fig. 147 shows the difference in consump-
tion for the same journey at +20 °C (+68 °F)
and at -10 °C (+14 °F).
Therefore, unnecessary short journeys
should be avoided. Try to combine trips. The vehicle uses more fuel in winter than in
summer, ev
en when other conditions are the
same.
The engine takes a long time to warm up
when it is idling. In addition, mechanical
wear and pollutant emissions are also espe-
cially high during this initial warm-up phase.
It is therefore best to drive off immediately af-
ter starting the engine. Doing this avoids run-
ning the engine at a high speed.
Adjusting type pressures.
Having the correct pressure in your tyres
helps to reduce rolling resistance and, as a
result reduces fuel consumption. Increasing
the tyre pressure slightly (+0.2
bar/+3 psi/+200 kPa) can help to save fuel.
When you buy new tyres, make sure they are
optimised for minimum rolling resistance.
Use low friction engine oil
The use of low viscosity totally synthetic oils,
known as low friction engine oil, helps to re-
duce fuel consumption. These oils reduce the
resistance caused by friction in the engine,
they flow around the engine more quickly
and efficiently, particularly in cold starts. The
effect is particularly noticeable in vehicles
frequently used for short journeys.
Always check the engine oil level and ob-
serve service intervals (engine oil change in-
tervals). When purchasing engine oil, always observe
leg
al requirements and ensure that the oil is
approved by SEAT.
Avoid carrying unnecessary loads
The lighter the vehicle, the more economical
and ecological the driving style. For example,
an additional weight of 100 kg will increase
fuel consumption up to 0.3 l/100 km.
Remove any unnecessary objects or loads
from the vehicle.
Remove optional equipment and unnecessa-
ry accessories
The more aerodynamic the vehicle, the lower
the fuel consumption. Optional equipment
and accessories (such as roof racks or bike
carriers) reduce the aerodynamic benefits of
the vehicle.
Therefore, we recommend you remove all op-
tional and unnecessary equipment and racks,
especially if you intend to drive at high
speeds.
Other factors which increase fuel consump-
tion (examples):
● Fault in engine management.
● Driving on hills.
144

Care and maintenance
●
All
repairs and modifications to the vehicle
should only be performed by a specialised
workshop. Repairs and malfunctions in the air-
bag sy
s
tem When performing repairs and technical mod-
ification
s,
SEAT's directives must be ob-
served! ››› Modifications and repairs to the front bump-
er
, door
s, fr
ont seats, and repairs to the roof
or chassis should only be carried out in a
specialised workshop. These components
may contain parts or sensors belonging to
the airbag system.
If work is carried out on the airbag system or
parts have to be removed and fitted on the
system when performing other repair work,
parts of the airbag system may be damaged.
The consequence may be that, in the event of
an accident, the airbag inflates incorrectly or
does not inflate at all.
So that the effectiveness of the airbag is not
reduced and that removed parts do not cause
any injuries or environmental pollution, regu-
lations must be observed. These require-
ments are known to specialised workshops.
Modifications to the vehicle suspension may
affect the operation of the airbag system in
the event of collision. For example, if wheel and tyre combinations not approved by SEAT
are used, or if
the vehicle height is lowered,
the suspension is stiffened or the suspension
springs, telescopic arms, dampers, etc., are
modified, the results received by the airbag
sensors and sent to the control unit may not
be accurate. For example, some modifica-
tions to the suspension could increase the
force measured by the sensors and result in
the triggering of the airbag systems in colli-
sions. Under normal conditions, the meas-
ured values would be lower and the airbag
would not have been triggered. Other modifi-
cations may reduce the forces measured by
the sensors and prevent the airbags from be-
ing triggered when they should. WARNING
Repairs or modifications which are not per-
formed c orr
ectly may result in damage or er-
rors in the vehicle operation, affecting the ef-
fectiveness of the airbag systems. This could
result in serious or fatal accidents.
● All repairs and modifications to the vehicle
should on
ly be performed by a specialised
workshop.
● Airbag modules must never be repaired: if
damag
ed, they must be replaced.
● Never fit recycled or reused airbag compo-
nents in
your vehicle. WARNING
Modifications to the vehicle suspension, in-
cludin g the u
se of unauthorised wheel and
tyre combinations, may affect the perform-
ance of the airbags and increase the risk of
serious or fatal injury in the event of acci-
dent.
● Never fit suspension components which are
not identica
l to the original parts in the vehi-
cle.
● Never use wheel and tyre combinations not
appro
ved by SEAT. Retrofitting of mobile phones
An exterior aerial is required for the use of
tw
o-w
a
y radios in the vehicle.
The retro-fitting of electrical or electronic ap-
pliances in the vehicle is subject to their ap-
proval for use in your vehicle. Under certain
circumstances, this could mean that your ve-
hicle registration documents are no longer
valid.
SEAT has approved your vehicle for use with
two-way radios providing the following condi-
tions are observed:
● The exterior aerial must be mounted pro-
fes
sionally.
● The maximum transmitting power is 10
watts. »
161
Technical data
Advice
Operation
Emergencies
Safety