SEAT used to be known for its garish colours and Latin-inspired glamour.

Its cars were affordable, but they had a vigour which endeared them to boy-racers and, no doubt, some girl-racers too.

But SEAT is more than that now. It’s a mainstream players these days with eyes on the corporate world. SEAT, for all its Spanish roots, has some Germanic features too now that it’s part of the Volkswagen empire.

Take Toledo. Was ever a car more German? It’s more solid than stylish and you imagine it would never let you down. There are few reasons to ooh and aah until you realise this car is very, very reliable. Then look at the economy (ooh) and look at the size of the boot (aah) and you realise that with Toledo, beauty is more than skin deep. In fact, the boot holds 550 litres of luggage. The economy is impressive, too, returning 76mpg on a run and 50mpg around town, but for me it’s the comfort which seduced me. I do a lot of miles and if there’s one thing I appreciate it’s good ride and handling.

When Toledo first appeared in December it was decreed by some to be the bargain of the year. Those people have obviously not seen a Dacia, but Toledo is without doubt one of the best cars in its class.

This is the fourth generation Toledo and in some ways follows on from the previous model in that it has the outward appearance of a saloon but actually hides the utility of a hatchback within its silhouette.

If that sounds strange then don't worry. You get to drive a solid and understatedly-handsome, and don't forget that saloons always look classier than hatchbacks. Show me a handsome hatch and I’ll show you five hunkier saloons.

There's an obvious family relationship with the Ibiza that is more than skin deep, but the Toledo is significantly longer than its supermini sister and as well as adding space inside it gives the car a little more presence and purpose.

You'll want to choose one of the higher spec SE models that come with alloy wheel as standard for the best look, but S models and above have the body coloured door handles and mirrors which makes a big difference too.

On the inside the theme of affordable comfort continues. It’s a subtle thing, but the cabin is very easy to live with. Classy? Yes. Will it wow you? No.

There’s a balance to be struck between keeping the sticker price down and the ultimate in luxury, but in the Toledo you feel like that balance has been well-struck. It’s laid out with customary clarity and the precision of the switches, the instrument graphics and the way everything operates is very reassuring. There’s no hint of the bargain about it.

It’s only when you venture out of the driver’s seat that you begin to realise the Toledo’s ace card. The modest stretch in length has freed up some significant room for rear seat passengers, making the Toledo a genuine car you can pile adults into the back of without getting any complaints. Behind that is the boot which, thanks to that hatch-like arrangement offers up 550 litres of space with the seats in place, 1,490 litres with the seats folded. To put that into context, that’s more than the Exeo ST and the Altea XL, only the later beating the Toledo when measured with the seats down. It’s a vast amount of space, well-shaped too and it’s hard to underestimate the value of packing this much space into such a compact car. Once you’ve had it you’ll never want to go back.

The driving experience comes straight out of the standard Seat textbook. With a mechanical legacy from the Ibiza it’s no surprise that the Toledo drives with the same slickness and composure. There’s a broad choice of engines and although the diesel might seem like the sensible default option there is that initial extra outlay to cover. On the other hand, you can have the 1.2-litre TSI unit in two outputs for less.

The ride and handling is impressive. There’s no FR option for the Toledo so you get a more comfort-biased suspension set-up that suits its likely roles. For a car of this size it does a fine job of staying controlled over uneven road surfaces and cabin occupants will only be disturbed by the worst kind of bumps. The Toledo isn’t intended to be a hot hatch but the steering communicates well and there is more than enough grip to cope with what most drivers could ask of it.

There’s a chance that the svelte Ibiza and the larger, more glamorous new Leon could overshadow the Toledo, and that would be a shame. Because it offers so much versatility in a compact shell and does so at a remarkably price. Small estates and larger hatchbacks should watch out – Toledo will steal sales.

l With new Leon having gone on sale in the UK in March, SEAT could have expected a positive effect on sales – but April’s shower of SEAT sales was way beyond expectations. SEAT registered a record-breaking 3,983 sales in April – more than in any other April in the firm’s history of the company. It represents a 33 per cent improvement on the same month in 2012, which comfortably eclipses the 14.8 per cent overall UK market growth in April.

SEAT Toledo SE 1.6 TDI 105ps PRICE: £18,140 on the road. Toledo family starts at £12,500 ENGINE: A 1.6 litre engine generating 105ps via a five-speed gearbox PERFORMANCE: Top speed 118mph and 0 to 60mph in 10.4 seconds COSTS: town 50.4mpg; country 76.3mpg; combined 64.2mpg EMISSIONS: 114g/km WARRANTY: Three years, 60,000 miles