Verdict ★★★★★

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GIVEN this diesel Stinger is Kia’s a’s first foray into the usable and efficient, but stylish and sporty, rty, executive niche, it’s a relative success. It rides and handles well, while the powertrain delivers enough performance, even if it trails on the efficiency front. The he car is also well equipped, so if you can get your head around a £37,000 diesel Kia you shouldn’t ldn’t be disappointed – even if it’ll be a hard sell against more premium ium brands in this market.

NO class of the new car market is more talked about nowadays than the crossover category. What started out as a niche bodystyle barely a decade ago is now one of the most desirable around, and to keep up with demand new models are being launched at a rate of knots. One of the hottest new arrivals comes from SEAT; the all-new Arona small SUV.

The Barcelona brand’s newest and smallest SUV made its public debut at last month’s Frankfurt Motor Show. Following on from the hugely successful Ateca – SEAT’S first SUV – the Arona is a really important car, bringing high expectations.

Now, away from the bright lights of Europe’s biggest new car event, we’re keen to find out what ordinary members of the public think of SEAT’S newest arrival.

To get a real insight into the views of the people who are making the crossover boom happen, we arranged a secret unveil event, inviting a cross-section of Auto Express readers to tell us what they think about the Arona. The readers were told they were attending an unveil of an all-new SUV, but they weren’t aware which brand of car it was.

As soon as the covers were pulled off the Arona, we swooped in to get the inside line from our readers – and potential SEAT customers.