Seat Toledo: In the press material Seat refers on several occasions to the new Toledo "redefining the classical saloon concept". Sounds exciting. What did it do? Put the boot at the front? Add an extra level of seating on the roof?
No, instead it has taken the so-called "saloon concept" and turned it into a hatchback. Amazing. Full credit to the designers in coming up with this enlightening change. The world of the family saloon will never be the same again.
In fairness, while the Seat engineers seem to be losing their minds with outlandish claims about the Toledo, they are doing some fine work in reinvigorating the brand. The new image and styling characteristics are to be commended and should hold them in good stead if they can marry some Spanish flair with engineering and parts from its German parent VW.
The Altea mini-people carrier was the first model to carry Seat's new look and won critical acclaim. It was one of our favourites last year, an enjoyable car to drive and good looking to boot. We were particularly taken by the clean lines and little touches such as the wipers being housed in the a-pillars rather than lying flat.
The Toledo follows the Altea design cues to the letter: so much so that the average passing motorist would be hard pushed to tell the two apart, if it were not for the Toledo's bulbous boot.
So, the logic goes, we should be equally enamoured by the Toledo. In a way we were, for the cars are virtually identical. They have the same wheelbase, are the same width and height, with the Toledo only gaining 178mm in length over the Altea. From front bumpers to interior trim the same parts are used.
But precisely because of that we have to wonder why it's here and why someone would opt for it over its cheaper sibling. From Seat's point of view, the Altea was aimed directly at the five-seater people carrier market, the traditional family hatchbacks that have a bit more space though usually just in the form of added headroom.
However, the Toldeo has traditionally been its fully-fledged family car. For those with long memories, this is the direct descendant of the Malaga, a boxy heap of metal that's best forgotten.
In fact, the Toledo never had any real design panache. Recent saloon editions were rather dull affairs. So this is something of a revolution rather than evolution.
Yet, with the introduction of the Altea, there seems to be very little space between the two. In terms of price, there's a €1,900 difference at the entry level, but this falls to €1,290 at the top of the range.
So, what do you get for your extra money at entry level? Well, the same interior trim, the same engine, the same useful cubbyholes. In fact, the biggest difference seems to be legroom in the rear and an extra 91 litres of bootspace.
Yet, while 500 litres is on a par with the Toyota Avensis and its like, the 409 litres in the Altea would seem sufficient for most families.
Certainly the Toledo will suit those with prams and pushchairs to lug around, and it's far prettier than an estate.
But the question that needs to be answered is - is that extra space worth the extra cost? Only potential owners can answer that.
Inside the car has what is likely to become the standard-look Seat interior: a central console dominated by a digital screen displaying radio information; a chequered dash covering that's supposed to be sporty but looks like a bad pair of 1980s acrylic trousers; and large easy-to-use controls.
The seating position seemed rather low for a car of its size, increasing the feeling of spaciousness, particularly if you're coming out of a traditional family hatchback such as the Mazda3 or the Ford Focus.
The large pillars in all corners (particularly at the back) and the relatively small rear window mean that a park assist system - the bleepers telling you if you're about to reverse over the dog - would seem like an important addition, but we couldn't find it on the options list.
The 2-litre diesel is large enough to hurl the Toledo around at ample pace, but it often seems as if the front wheels are fighting a loosing battle to turn all that power into forward momentum. It's eager to go and the result is a good deal of torque steer and a fair amount of wheelspin on wet and greasy roads.
The upside, of course, is a deeper engine note that combines with good cabin sound proofing to keep any diesel clatter to a minimum. It's also matched to the impressive dual clutch automatic gearbox (DSG) from VW.
So what's the competition for the Toledo? Well, we'd still find it hard not to equate it with the Renault Scenic, the Opel Zafira or the Ford Focus C-Max. Against these it has the looks, the load space, but perhaps not the driving ability of the Ford, nor the flexibility of extra seating in the Grand Scenic and Zafira.
If we have to match it against the normal Ford Focus and the VW Golf, we have to say that at entry level it's more expensive than its German equivalent. While it claws back the difference as we move up the engine range, it should be remembered that one of the strong selling points for the Seat range is that many of its underpinnings are actually VW, but the German brand will carry a better residual.
There are real signs of progress at Seat these days and the new look is well-suited to the brand. Both of these new cars are spacious and stylish, normally a motoring contradiction.
However, the Toledo is slightly lost in the Seat line-up. It seems to be simply a rerun of the Altea with a different boot. Hardly "redefining the classical saloon concept".
