Компания STAR - шумоизоляция автомобилей на КМВ

AND the winner is... SEAT’s seven-seater Alhambra.

That was the announcement when the Scottish Car of the Year awards were handed out recently with this model being voted the top MPV.

There’s a fair bit of competition in this sector but the Alhambra stood out from the rest as far as the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers were concerned.

A recent drive in this big MPV was enough to convince me that this Spanish offering thoroughly deserved its award.

The model I tested was the 2.0 TDI CR 138bhp E Ecomotive SE and it was everything you expect from an MPV - and a bit more.

There was lots of space inside for the driver and six passengers with the two third row seats easily popping up or down and easy access to them helped by the sliding middle row and the wide sliding doors. The SE model doesn’t come with the powered sliding rear doors but the £795 option on the test car, which includes the power tailgate as well, would be a must for me.

You can have seven people sitting comfortably in the Alhambra and still have room for luggage.

With its EasyFold system there is great flexibility as well and the load area is always flat.

A man who worked at the Alhambra Theatre as a boy more than 70 years ago has had a seat named after him, to celebrate his 90th birthday.

Back in 1937, Francois – known as Frank – Verdeyen, of Cottingley , worked as a Call Boy at the Alhambra, showing people to their seats and selling chocolates during the interval. He also helped visiting magicians on stage with their equipment.

He worked at the Alhambra when it was managed by Francis Laidler, known as the ‘king of pantomime’, who founded the theatre and its panto Sunbeams.

After spotting a report on the Alhambra’s Name a Seat scheme – enabling people to buy a personalised engraving on a seat, box or row of seats in the auditiorium – Mr Verdeyen’s family decided to surprise him.

His son-in-law, Bryan Rollason, said: “My wife read about it in the Telegraph & Argus and thought it would be a good way of marking Frank’s birthday and supporting the Alhambra.

“He was thrilled to have a seat named after him. He has fond memories of the Alhambra; he used to work at Crofts Engineers in Laisterdyke during the day and spent his evenings working in the theatre.

“He still goes to the theatre, so it will be lovely for him to sit in his seat. We chose seat A29 as his birthday is October 29.