Test drive Seat Toledo 1999 - 2004 sedan
Spanish bull
Seat is a brand in Belarus is not that completely unknown or exotic, it can rather be called unknown. Yes, cars with a stylized letter S on a false radiator grille no, no, and they flicker in the stream, but, as a rule, it turns out to be models of the eighties, the maximum - the beginning of the nineties of the release. In other words, these are not at all the Seat, which are now with pleasure buying all over the world. And the point is not even in the natural moral aging of models released ten or fifteen years ago, because cars of any brand over time begin to take up positions. The thing is different: the real Seat, whose products are now talking with envy and aspiration, began only after the owner of this brand, as well as the company itself, became the world famous German concern Volkswagen AG. Only with the advent of Volkswagen specialists, the development of the latest technologies, and most importantly, investments from VW Seat could really become a truly manufacturer. But for this, even taking into account guardianship, he needed a lot of time. Only after the maximum unification of VW and Seat models, Spanish cars received worldwide recognition and, accordingly, completely unrealistic sales in the recent past.Seat Toledo, like almost all Volkswagen models, also has a clone that uses its units and nodes, but produced under a different name and with a different type of body. His name is Leon. This is a real hot hatchback not only by name, but also in content: for it the same motors are offered as for the sedan, with the exception of the 170-horsepower V5. But this does not mean at all that the hatchback is assigned a second-plan role, in terms of power supply, it can give the heading to almost all models of its class, because the top version of Leon is equipped with a 204-horsepower V6! The characteristics, as you know, in this case, without exaggeration, can be called outstanding: 235 km/h and 7.3 seconds to hundreds.
And this is quite consistent with proprietary ideology. Obviously, the bet is on the hot hatch, it is enough to recall all the models with the Cupra index. However, something we were distracted from the protagonist of our test - Seat Toledo. The product, so to put it, is genetic engineering, created on the platform and using the Nodes and assemblies of VW Bora, Toledo nevertheless turned out to be quite original. And most importantly, the similarity of both models is not striking. If a person does not know what has become the progenitor of this model, then it will be very difficult for him to determine its genealogy. And this is very good: in our age of unification, when almost all models of the same class (especially for small and golf-class machines) use optimal solutions and ergonomics of solutions, all cars also involuntarily become similar to each other. And although each of the manufacturers tries so that its model is completely and fully consistent with the corporate identity, the similarity of some models is sometimes striking. In this case, despite the use of the common platform and body panels, the designers demonstrated the upper class: the similarity is observed only in general terms, but both cars are not in doubt about their belonging to a certain brand.
For example, if VW instills in all, even small -scale models, its corporate identity, characterized by extreme severity of design, SEAT, on the contrary, pleases fans with incredibly elegant cars with an impulsive appearance. And the most interesting thing, it seems that all the models of this Spanish company in the future will receive an even more exquisite design - it is enough to look at the last concepts of the Seat, exhibited on almost all major auto -extensions, and it immediately becomes clear that the Spaniards have opportunities for growth. And probably it will be a really win -win lottery. It is enough to recall what success in recent years has achieved Peugeot for the most part precisely because of the design. SEAT in this case will have one more advantage: assembly quality and magnificent interior decoration.
If the theater, as you know, begins with a hanger, then I make my opinion about a particular car immediately after I open the door. Only by how clear and with what sound the door opens, can one judge the quality of the car as a whole. Those who are not attentive to such important trifles, as a rule, are not pedanticity in the preparation of the product as a whole.
Naturally, Toledo in this regard turned out to be Okay - a family connection with the most attentive manufacturer to these trifles simply excludes the possibility of flaws on this car.
The salon in its architecture is almost similar to that of Bora, although there are also enough original, typically toleral details here. Quality is appropriate, which is especially noticeable in small details, switches there all kinds of or door handles. Finding something at least medium-sized quality is simply unrealistic: it was as if they were collected by hand, carefully selecting the color and even shade of each detail.
Maybe I exaggerate, but after other equivalent cars, especially if they are not German or Japanese origin, the Toledo salon really seems very expensive, as if it was borrowed from the model higher. About the same way the car is felt on the go: no extraneous noise, creaks or other sounds not provided by designers. Drinking on VW of this class, they will understand me, especially if they have something to compare. Any Korean, with all my respect for the South Korean auto industry, is felt completely different. Of course, sound accompaniment during movement is not the most important criterion when choosing a car, but you must admit that it is very pleasant when your car looks and drives in an adult way, especially if you don’t need to pay extra for this. In addition, the almost perfect platform on which TOLEDO is created guarantees the lack of childhood diseases and some other problems. For example, problems with passive safety. The developments of VW specialists helped the Spaniards when creating a model. And although the buyers may not care at all before, they saved the funds allocated for the preparation of Toledo for production.
You can judge the appearance yourself by the photographs, since the weather on the dough day was quite good. Yes, and Toledo was surprisingly photogenic: at any perspective, it looked excellent. The most interesting thing is that even in photographs there is no similarity to the ancestor. And it seems that this is one of the few modern cars, not counting, of course, Ferrari, which is quite a bright red color. Even the cheapest smaller ones have recently become some kind of too serious and frightened, sometimes flaunting completely awkward metallics of prestigious shades. And for Toledo, a bright color is as if natural: the image of the company simply obliges to have such aggressive colors in the range (I especially liked the lemon-acid Ibiza Cupra). Although the design itself is not to say that it is very defiant or impudent, the car is quite organic and pleasant.
As for the running qualities, the concept dominates a little: Toledo is a little sharper, slightly more dynamic than VW Bora, a little more aggressive. Ultimately, this slightly seriously transforms a modest sedan, turning it from a favorite car of clerk into a very fashionable and attractive sports car. For example, take a false radiator lattice on Toledo: the fierce squint of the narrow headlights and a huge, vertically located emblem leave an indelible impression among the neighbors in the stream. Also, there should not be indifferent to anyone and the dynamic indicators of Toledo: even the basic version equipped with a 1.6-liter engine accelerates from a place to hundreds in just 10.9 seconds, and what can we say about more powerful 1.8- and even 2 , 3-liter modifications! By the way, since we touched the power and speakers in general, I would like to notice that the products of this Spanish company seem to be the most optimal choice of price/power criterion. The most powerful 2.3-liter 170-horsepower version costs about the same amount as 1.8-2.0-liter versions of competitors. And about the freshness of the brand, the products of which have not yet become familiar on our roads, you should not forget either. Surely many will prefer the car precisely because exactly the same models will not meet every half hour.
So when choosing a new SEAT TOLEDO car, a couple of competitors will surely plug up a couple of competitors, and with its appearance in our market, the number of attractive options increases significantly. After all, the car enthusiast always wants his purchase to be simultaneously beautiful, powerful, but relatively inexpensive. It can be understood: if you look for a car, then you need to choose it like this, we will paraphrase the classic, so that later it does not painfully hurt (and ashamed) for the aimlessly spent money. There is probably nothing more humiliating than, having arrived to demonstrate his new car to his friends, to find out what he overpayed for an almost empty car, while someone else grabbed a very interesting car for quite real money.
SEAT TOLEDO is a very strong player on the golf field, and good sales indicators in different countries only confirm this. He could well succeed with us, but so far there is no official dealer of this brand in Belarus. Yes, what is official, there are not even gray dealers, at least just selling Seat in our market. And it’s a pity - for many motorists who look after themselves relatively inexpensive, but at the same time the most high -quality and attractive outwardly the car, it was Toledo that could become the best choice. No, there is no need to expect low prices here, because a good car is simply obliged to cost good money, but here's the matter in another: already in the database you get a 1.6-liter gasoline engine with a capacity of a hundred horses and a very good configuration, while most The golf class models presented in our market in the basic version have only 1.4-liter engines and a completely empty salon. Although if you wish, you can buy Seat, but again the question arises regarding service: we already do not have an official dealer, as you already, we do not have it yet. But now, it seems, the situation is changing for the better, and there are rumors that in the near future the Seat brand will be officially presented. Perhaps this significant event will occur even to the 2002 motor show, but this is forced to repeat, so far not confirmed information. We can only hope that these plans will be destined to be realized, and in the very near future our buyers will be able to purchase SEAT brand cars from an official dealer with all the appropriate guarantees and advantages that the civilized market gives.
Subelective opinion:
(+) Good build quality, fresh design, acceptable price.
(-) crowded rear seats.
Text: Pavel Kozlovsky
