Road Test: SEAT Toledo

SEAT's Toledo is the fourth generation of a name which has been around since 1991 and the first model developed fully under Volkswagen's ownership of the former Spanish Government/Fiat joint venture, writes Brian Byrne.

The nameplate was discontinued in 2009 because of slow sales, but now is returned as part of a strategy to steer the brand out of marketing doldrums.

Technically, the older versions fairly well tracked the Golf, directly sharing platforms and powertrains. Now, we're looking at a car closer to the Polo, though on a longer version of that car's platform. So it's a saloon-looking liftback that straddles the supermini and compact family segments. In the Group, it directly matches the Skoda Rapid.

The shape is, well, plain. But clever, because that unexpected liftback format makes it a really easy car in which to load the big stuff that comes with managing very young families, for instance. Front and rear there are some subtly stylish elements, particularly in the lights. The colour chosen is important, because in the review car's deep burgundy it was often possible to see elegancies in the profile sheetmetal.

Inside, we don't get any flash or stylish trim, while instruments and controls are simple and unsophisticated. Not at all a bad thing, especially for that family with small children I have mentioned above. Those growing youngsters provide quite enough distraction without the driver also having to manage complicated displays. On the review car, the radio remote on the steering wheel included phone and voice-activation buttons. The other side had the buttons to navigate through the trip computer readouts. A nice leather finish covered the tidy-sized wheel itself.

I had no problems with comfort during my time with the car. The seats supported, would likely stay that way through a number of years living with the car. No problems banging against a too-sleek door profile either, because the designers weren't trying to make this one a sexy looker.

And no particular issues in driving it. But it wasn't going to be a 'fun, come out and drive for driving's sake' car either. The 1.6 diesel is that very satisfactory VW unit, generating a quite adequate 105hp and propelling the car at a very frugal consumption of 4.4/100km. The CO2 emissions of 114g/km keep the road tax low.

In the 'Style' grade of the car there was quite a respectable level of specification, including 16" alloys, aircon, cruise control, full electric windows and mirrors, and Bluetooth connectivity. Both front seats were height adjustable too, not relevant to this driver but very useful to many not of my tallness.

I'm not one of those 'fancy and fast' cars people, and can well appreciate that the vast majority of buyers are looking for reliability, adequate space for their needs, a decent level of pumps-passing frugality, and not too hard a price. I think, while it's not on its own in this very competitive market position, the Toledo is in with a chance of making its own space.

Prices start at €18,260 in the lower of the two grades. The petrol option is a 1.2 with a significantly lower 85hp and coming in at around €1,600 cheaper than the diesel. The review car was priced at €22,510. In a very tight marketplace, the latest Toledo does represent a good budget opportunity.