Faults:

Front disc brakes pitted, which caused some problems when braking hard. Front disks changed under warranty by excellent dealer service.

Faulty wiper arm on passenger side. Replaced by dealer.

Roof rack locating cover replaced by dealer.

General Comments:

The 1.8 litre - 20 valve engine combined with the 4 speed automatic gearbox gives very good fuel consumption over longer distances.

Handles very well in all conditions.

Unlike the previous automatic Toledo model, the new model is in 4th gear at 30 MPH, where the older model did not change up until 40 MPH was achieved.

The new model is very quiet on most road surfaces, with only a small amount of gearbox noise during heavy acceleration.

The air conditioning works very well.

Faults:

Alarm sounds for no apparent reason.

The air-conditioning vent for the windscreen makes a rattling noise when set to 'high' on the 'auto' setting.

On occasions, the folding electric wing-mirror have failed to return to the normal position on first attempt.

General Comments:

Despite the 'snagging' faults (which I am sure the dealer will soon fix under warranty) I am very impressed with the car.

The acceleration is very fast yet smooth. The handling is solid and sticks to the road like glue. Each journey made is an enjoyable drive.

The half-leather interior and driver-orientated dash makes driving comfortable and relaxing.

Cruise-control is responsive and when applied seems to increase fuel-economy.

Useful features are the low fuel warning light/sound; light-reactive rear view mirror; passenger wing-mirror adjusts automatically to a user-preset position when reverse gear is engaged; front and side airbags for both front-seat passengers.

The boot is huge, but SEAT may have considered reducing it slightly to ensure more leg-room for taller rear passengers. Both front seats are very comfortable.

Overall the car seems a brilliant buy. I looked at BMW, Audi, and a few others, but the SEAT Toledo appeared better all round. I have seen some of the components in the engine bay stamped with the Audi and Volkswagen logos and the engineering certainly delivers high-performance. I spent my money very well I think.

Faults:

I have only had it one month, so nothing has gone wrong yet.

General Comments:

I like this car because it goes well, looks fine and has great build quality.

It has a huge boot, a high specification and a great deal of comfort.

It can be a very quiet cruiser or a sporty racing car, it is up to your own mood.

Faults:

The second day after receiving my car. The front wheel bearing was either faulty or not installed properly.

I found that when travelling at around 60-80km/h, there was a loud buzzing sound. Got it fixed on the next working day.

I noticed that there are several air-con pipes, which condense and droplets of water will fall onto other parts below.

According to the mechanic, this is normal?

General Comments:

The pickup is pretty impressive, because of the torque.

The interior finishing is reasonable.

What's impressive is the feature rich interior, at such a low price. Things like cruise control, on-board computer, lights on both vanity mirrors, climate control, 12V socket in the rear boot, electric mirrors, volumetric alarm and car immobilizer were included in the package. My former BMW 318is costs almost twice as much, with not even half of the above features.

The boot is pretty impressive too, at 500 litres, which is as large as the Ford Mondeo. Great when you go on a golfing holiday!