Seat Toledo (2005-) Review

Overview

• Next: Reliability and Quality

Altea meets Vel Satis

This third-generation, and very different-looking, Toledo replaces the conventional saloon previously offered. It is the second car to arrive from Seat since the Spanish automaker joined Audi and Lamborghini as the sporty brands in the VW group. It shares its underpinnings and powertrains with the Altea, and is essentially identical to the compact MPV, but with a different boot. Indeed, two-thirds of its body panels are the same, with just the rear end beyond the C-pillar unique to the Toledo.

Seat is positioning itself as the sporty alternative to Volkswagen, a sort of Alfa Romeo for VAG. The Toledo, however, isn't actually very sporty, either in its MPV-like design or on the road. Design-wise, it's the work of a Brit, Steve Lewis, who was tasked with making a strong statement and helping to get Seat further away from its old image as a budget maker of re-badged Fiats. It's certainly different, with more than a passing resemblance to the Renaults Vel Satis and Avantime, with similar wraparound rear screen and notchback boot.

Despite Seat's protestations that the Toledo is a 'new concept' saloon, it is plainly a hatchback. Seat argues that the Toledo will compete with the Renault Laguna, Peugeot 407 and Vauxhall Vectra; most buyers, however, will see it as a rival to the Ford Focus C-MAX and Renault Scenic, as it's not too different to the Altea MPV. It costs £500 more than the Altea, model-for-model, to account for that extra boot space; prices range from £13,350-£17,200. As with the Altea, there are two diesel versions, the 1.9 TDI (105bhp) and 2.0 TDI (140bhp), and two petrols, the 1.6 (102bhp) and 2.0 FSI (150bhp), all engines familiar from the Golf and elsewhere in the Volkswagen-Audi group range. Automatic transmission is optional with the 140bhp and 150bhp engines.