If you’re going to be sensible in your choice of compact family car, then SEAT’s Toledo has a lot to be said for it, especially in 1.6-litre TDI diesel guise.
If you feel a little baffled by the complexity of modern cars and don’t really want to select one of five suspension modes, a gearshift map, ride height adjustment and the amount of steering assistance you get, you’ll probably like this back-to-basics Toledo.
Old schoolers having a squint under the car will rapidly conclude that there’s nothing radical here. And they’d be correct. There’s a simple strut front suspension and a torsion beam rear end with tried and trusted Volkswagen Group engines plumbed under the bonnet. What’s a little less predictable is the way this car has been created.
The front end is a modified Polo platform, whereas the rear end comes from the Beetle. The result is a car which rides firmly and probably won’t appeal to enthusiast drivers. Still, light steering and excellent all-round visibility make the Toledo an easy car to drive.
The 103bhp 1.6-litre TDI diesel I tried manages rest to 62mph in 10.4s on the way to 118mph and is a powerplant that certainly gives you more pulling power than the petrol options.
The Toledo’s basic proportions take a little getting accustomed to. It’s fairly long and relatively narrow. It’s a hatchback that looks much like a saloon and it’s also a good deal bigger than you first expect and indeed expect at its price point. While it’s not extrovertly styled in any way, this feeling of sparse utility is really rather refreshing in a market rammed with gaudy attention seekers.
Move inside and you’ll find that the cabin is very similar to that of this model’s design stablemate Skoda’s Rapid. In fact, apart from the door handles, dials, upholstery and badging, the two models are identical. Still, that’s probably no bad thing as the overall result is surprisingly smart and elegant for the prices being asked. Certainly, this car seems very well screwed together.
If you’re one of those people who reels whenever you look at the price of today’s cars, this Seat Toledo might offer a little welcome respite. Prices start at just under £13,000 for the 73bhp 1.2 E variant, with the cost of the 1.6 TDI diesel we tried pitching in at around the £17,000 mark, once you’ve allowed for a few well chosen extras.
Though this Toledo isn’t the most efficient contender in the Focus-class family hatchback sector, it probably does just about enough to satisfy most owners. Most effort has been reserved for the eco-orientated ‘Ecomotive’ version of this 1.6-litre TDI diesel, which at launch was the only variant in the range to get a Stop/start system (a set-up subsequently added to the 1.2 TSI petrol unit) able to cut the engine when not needed, say when you’re stopped at the lights or waiting in traffic.
Thanks both to this and features like low rolling resistance tyres and kinetic energy recuperation (which gathers in energy that would otherwise be lost when cruising or braking), fuel savings of between 5 and 8% and a combined cycle fuel figure of 72.4mpg are possible, though CO2 emissions still can’t dip beneath the magic tax-busting 100g/km barrier that some rivals breach – expect 104g/km. An ordinary Toledo 1.6 TDI like the one we tried without the Ecomotive gadgets manages 64.2mpg and 114g/km.
Though this Toledo is certainly not one of those Seat products that screams ‘auto emocion’ at you, it is, nevertheless, an eminently sensible car and buyable car, especially in 1.6-litre TDI diesel form. Those who might have admired this model’s design stablemate, the Skoda Rapid, but remain slightly sceptical of that Czech brand’s badge now have a Plan B.
There is, after all, a lot to be said for pared-back utility. Certainly, this Seat offers plenty of practicality without a myriad of electronic functions that many buyers feel they neither need nor want. With a Toledo you get the important bits – and just the important bits. True, even the priciest model might look a little sparse inside, but the Spanish brand reckons that you’ll find that to be all part of the charm. So there you have it: a car that never feels as if it’s trying too hard. Not a bad thing in my book.
Facts and figures
Model: Seat Toledo 1.6 TDI
Price: Under £13,000
Engine: 1.6-litre TDI diesel
Performance:0-62mph in 10.4seconds, top speed of 118mph.
Economy: 72.4mpg
CO2 rating: 104g/km
