Just in case you were not aware Seat, the Spanish manufacturer, is part of the mighty Volkswagen empire, and that means they have been able to dip in to the parts bin of Audi, Volkswagen or Skoda, because they are all part of the same group writes Bob Hickman.

Whilst it is not unusual for marques to share components, it was until now unusual to borrow a complete car and modify it.

Seat with the Exeo has been able to do that, and an incredible piece of engineering has resulted where the whole of an A4 production line was moved from Germany and set up in Spain, thus the ex-Audi A4 has been considerably worked upon by Seat and it has become the Exeo.

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Therefore, when you look at the Exeo you think there are a lot of similarities. This seems a déjà vu vehicle but that to me is an ultimate compliment because the quality of the Audi A4 in its previous guise was superb.

But this is a new car; the Exeo really is a stylish looking vehicle. It has a new bonnet, new boot lid, the front and rear lights are all new as are the bumpers, and the wheel designs also are slightly different.

If you look at the front of the vehicle there is the corporate Seat look, that big grille at the front and that badge tells you without doubt this is now a Seat and lets be aware of this factor.

Seat claim that 30 per cent of the Exeo’s components have been changed or adapted including the fitting of a new generation common rail diesel engine in various forms.

What the Exeo does for Seat is it moves it in to a new segment. Previously Seat owners had been well supplied with Ibiza’s and Leon’s, but now they have a vehicle that has taken them in to the Vauxhall Insignia, Ford Mondeo, Honda Accord marketplace where they were under represented and with the heritage and pedigree of the group behind them I see undoubted success for this new car.

Well-equipped

Seat is continuing its badge exercise and the entry level Exeos are “S” versions. They are extremely well specified, six airbags as standard, and with two additional rear-seat thorax airbags as options across the whole range, occupants will be cocooned in the event of an accident.

“S” derivative also features as standard a dual zone climate control air system, ABS with TCS, ESP and EBA for those who love acronyms, in other words there is an awful lot of technical wizardry to keep the vehicle firmly where it should be on the road. Blue tooth phone connectivity is a standard feature as are 16in alloy wheels.

Bring in to the equation a trip computer, front and rear power windows, electric door mirrors, foglights, remote control central locking, a decent CD player with an MP3 facility and you start to see that even entry-level vehicles within the Seat range are very well equipped.

You can, of course, opt for more opulence by going down the “SE”or “Sport” route if you really want to push the boat out and have everything.

Seat is equipping Exeo’s with a choice of engines. There will be three diesels plus one petrol derivative. The diesels are state-of-the-art common rail and the entire turbo-charged range complies with the EU5 emission regulations.

All models are equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox although a 2-litre TSi engine with a multi-tronic automatic sequential gearbox will be available later.

Engine size

All the engines in the diesel range are two-litre four-cylinder, they deliver a power range of 120PS, 143PS and 170PS.

The most powerful diesel engine which was fitted in to my Sport derivative produces 170bhp, sufficient to give a top speed of 142mph and a 0 -60 gallop in just over eight seconds. Seat claims that the combined fuel figure should be 47.9mpg.

However, during my time with the vehicle and a quite extensive variety of roads betwixt motorway, dual carriage, town and twisty lanes, I only managed to achieve 42mpg.

The driving dynamics of the car were at all times reassuring and positive, I did like the cockpit ambience, as a 6ft-plus driver I was able to get comfortable and more importantly I felt immediately at home in the Exeo.

The reason probably for that is that they have lifted the complete dash assembly from the brilliant A4 cabrio and planted it in to the Exeo and this gives a quality feel and a sporty image to the vehicle.

I even managed to sit in the back without too much discomfort although I really wouldn’t want to go on a long journey due to a lack of headroom. The boot was plenty big enough to take the luggage for four people and, of course, if there are just two of you, you have the option of dropping down the seats and creating a huge amount of luggage space.

The buying economics of the vehicle are really quite good. You get Audi quality at Seat prices, and with Exeos available from £18,600 to £24,080 and coupled in to the excellent three-year, 60,000 mile warranty, I can understand Seat’s optimism in capitalising in the new segment with this vehicle and finding quite a few more happy customers proud and pleased to be driving a Seat.