The Altea has scored well in official European crash tests, gaining a maximum five-star rating for adult occupant protection and three stars out of four for pedestrian protection. Front, side and curtain airbags are standard on all models plus the front passenger airbag can be disabled when carrying a rear facing child seat. Isofix child seat mounting points are also fitted to the outer rear seats.

Electronic stability control, which can help the driver regain control of the car during a skid, is also standard, and adaptive lighting, which corners with the steering is offered as an option.

The Altea Freetrack 4 offers a minimum of 490 litres of luggage capacity up to window height, and this can be increased to 593 litres with the rear seats slid forward. With the rear seats fully folded, luggage capacity increases to 1,562 litres overall. The boot has two tiers with concealed compartments, a luggage net and lashing hooks for securing loose items.

A partition net is also included to separate the luggage compartment from the passenger compartment when carrying pets. There are trays set in the backs of the front seats and numerous storage compartments in the cabin.