SEAT Toledo (2005 - To Date)
BY ANDY ENRIGHT
Fed up with boring family hatches and bland looking mini-MPVs? If thats the case and you dont want to shell out a fortune, the MK3 SEAT Toledo could well be the ticket. If youve never heard of it, youre excused, for the 05-onwards Toledo didnt really create too much of an impact with British customers who saw it as a rather curious oddity sitting between the rather similar looking Altea and Leon models in SEATs product portfolio. Used buyers can take advantage of this perceived lack of image by picking up Toledos for a song.
At 4.50 metres long and 1.77 metres wide, the Toledo is longer but narrower than the crop of proper mini-MPVs but features many of their attributes. A two-level luggage compartment boasts a hefty 500 litre capacity more than enough for a week away.
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SEAT worked hard to make the Toledo as innovative as possible and one such development was the fitment of Bluetooth technology. This allows a wireless connection between a mobile phone and the car itself. The multi-function steering wheel features buttons whereby calls can be accepted or disconnected and voice recognition. When using this function, the driver can verbally place a call to a number or name or save names and numbers to the phone book, all the while keeping both hands on the wheel.
The audio system is fully integrated into the centre console of the dashboard and features a slot for standard or MP3 format discs. The interior is nicely detailed, if not quite so radical as the exterior. The instruments sit in deep cowls and are trimmed in satin aluminium effect material, this trim extending to the high level centre console. Twinned with the three spoke steering wheel and figure-hugging seats, it gives a rather sporting feel that seems at odds with the elevated seating position.
The switches and minor controls feel up to the usual Volkswagen Group standard and its possible to specify a very effective satellite navigation system with colour LCD screen. The dash top is trimmed in a dimpled rubberised material and the whole of the upper dash is supported on Audi TT-style metallic struts that in turn frame a neatly chunky gear stick. The windscreen pillars are a little too chunky for my personal taste but otherwise visibility is good.
Youll be able to pick up a 54-plated 1.6 Reference model for less than £8,800 and 1.9-litre TDI Reference models can be found for around £9,000 with the plusher Stylance versions tacking another £600 onto these values. The cars that are in the biggest demand remain the 2.
0-litre Sport variants. The 2.0-litre FSI Sport retails at around £10,250 while youll need another £1,000 for the most desirable car in the Altea line up, the 2.0-litre TDI Sport.
The trick DSG gearbox adds another £600 again. Insurance ranges from Group 6 through to Group 10.
Tried and tested engines, the VW-standard quality auditing and an inherent feeling of solidity all bode well for the Toledos reliability. No major faults have emerged, but watch out for neglected ex-hire cars. The Toledo is a car where the price differences between good and bad examples arent too great, so be fussy. Look for a fully stamped up service history and reject anything that looks in any way tatty, grubby or vaguely dog-eared.
(approx based on an Toledo 2.0 TDI DSG ex VAT) SEAT spares are reasonably priced, with a replacement Toledo headlamp costing £111. A replacement alternator unit retails at around £185 with an exchange starter motor setting you back just under £120. Opt for a new alternator and starter motor and the prices stack up at £370 and £226 respectively, so even if the old one is a steaming basket case, youll save by getting an exchange unit.
Front brake pads are £50 with rears a tad under £30 per pair. Many parts are a little cheaper for the 1.6-litre petrol models.
As well as offering traction control, emergency brake assist and anti-lock brakes, the Toledo features a Bosch ESP stability control package. Six airbags are fitted as standard, comprising driver and passenger, side and head bags. There are also three-point seatbelts for all five seats with pyrotechnic pretensioners at the front and the ISOFIX child seat fixing system in the back. Electro-mechanical power steering and the SEAT-developed Agile Chassis combine with a multi-link rear axle to offer driving characteristics that are a cut above the usual mini-MPV fare.
Four engines are available. The petrol powerplant is a budget 102bhp 1.6-litre, while diesel buyers can choose from either a 140bhp 2.0-litre TDI or the entry-level 105bhp 1.
9. The 2.0-litre engine is offered with a six-speed manual gearbox or the option of the twin-clutch DSG 6-speed box.
Although its unconventional looks, vague market positioning and lack of image conspired against it first time round, used buyers who are now getting used to the SEAT family look can snap up a bargain. The Toledo is big, safe, good to drive and markedly undervalued. If that sounds what youre looking for, you know what to do.
