Showing its mettle

If you’re looking for a comfortable, spacious, efficient family hatch, Paul Acres might have just the car Toledo Style Advance 1.6 TDI 115 PS 5-speed manual

Toledo is a city in central Spain on the river Tagus and is the capital the Castilla-la Mancha region. It is fame for its Toledan steel and sword blades.

It also lends its name to a car manufactured by Seat but is the fourth generation model as sharp as one of their famous blades?

Seat’s decision to abandon the Mpv-styling of its predecessor and instead adopt a clever hatchback-concealed-in-asaloon design is welcome one.

It’s a car that treads a fine line somewhere between anonymous and inconspicuous.

It sits on an extended Polo platform with the boot grafted onto the back.

The outcome of all that fettling is a spacious cabin and a boot that’s bigger than either the Ford Mondeo or Vauxhall Insignia. The shape does make accommodating bulkier items a little more difficult, but for your run-of-the-mill weekly shop, you’ll be hard-pressed to find its equal.

Front and rear seat passengers are well looked after, with ample head and legroom.

The ergonomics are faultless while the build quality is excellent and, for that fact alone, the cabin is worthy of some praise but, like the exterior, the styling leaves you with the sense that practicality was the primary concern.

There are three trim levels, SE, Style and Style Advanced, and standard equipment is a little on the sparse side across the range. Entry level models have steel wheels, air conditioning, electric windows, rear parking sensors and Bluetooth connectivity.

Upgrading to the Style adds 16in alloys, climate control, cruise control and Media System Plus 6.5in infotainment touchscreen with DAB radio and sat nav while the Style Advance adds a hint of luxury with 17in alloys, LED rear lights, front parking sensors, keyless entry and leather and Alcantara upholstery.

On the move and the 1.6-litre diesel unit under the bonnet of my Style Advance spec test car proved to be the highlight of my week with the car. It might only have 115PS but that’s married to 250Nm of torque which is available from just 1,500rpm. You’re also promised fuel consumption approaching 72.4mpg.

Performance is respectable too, with the sprint to 62mph £19,680 £21,730 1.6 TDI 5-speed manual 115PS 250Nm @1,500rpm 125mph 61.4mpg 83.1mpg 72.4mpg 101g/km taking 10.4 seconds but it’s the broad spread of torque that really impresses, with enough flexibility to keep the number of gear changes to a minimum.

Sadly the ride fails to live up to the promise of the engine’s peppy character, rather following the theme established by the car’s styling.

The Toledo doesn’t share the sophisticated rear suspension of the Leon and it shows.

The Spanish firm has a 10.4sec

deserved reputation for building fine-handling cars but this particular Seat is the one that got away.

While the suspension does a commendable job of isolating passengers from fractured road surfaces body control is a little loose, meaning that the Toledo leans too much in corners to encourage rapid changes of steering input.

The Seat Toledo tries hard to be liked and, for the most part, it succeeds.

It lacks the visual flair and dynamism of some of its siblings, but its strengths – refinement, excellent diesel engine, build quality, spacious cabin and cavernous boot – are many and will provide it with broad appeal.