SEAT Exeo

If you're after a roomy estate - say, to transport your extendible ladder collection - then this new Exeo Sport Tourer is not the car for you. If space is what you're after, buy a Mondeo or a Mazda6 in station wagon guise.

The Exeo (or ‘ex-ay-oh' as the people at ‘say-at' pronounce it) is more stylish, so unlike the cuboid load-luggers out there, it opts for a narrow waist and pert rear. The resultant 1,354 litres won't trouble the best in class, but looks great.

Underneath, the Exeo is a last-gen Audi A4 with new bodywork and reworked suspension. This is the Sport version, which isn't just marketingspeak for big wheels and chunky bumpers, because they've actually made it sporty. Maybe too sporty. The ride is coccyx-crunchingly firm, though somehow avoids feeling crashy. Best to avoid the hard suspension and still keep the 18-inch alloys and bodywork, which would make more sense and keep you safely on the organ donor list.

And for once, Seat gets one of the latest Audi diesels (internal VW Group politics often denies them). This 2.0-litre TDI has a meaty 258lb ft from 1,750rpm and 167bhp. It's a great engine: strong and burly and acceptably muted.

All of that for £21,840, which - when you consider an equivalent ‘old' A4 cost at least £25,000 - means you'll have enough change to buy a roof rack for those ladders.

Dan Read