Seat – Driven To Write

Taking the Current When It Serves.

European Car of the Year shortlist 2022: Consumers’ companion or cleverly controlled chauvinism?

The worth of the European Car of the Year contest has often been questioned, but at least it gives a regular snapshot of what’s been happening in the automotive world over the preceding 12 months. 2021 has been surprisingly fecund, despite Covid-19 and the chip crisis, but has not been without casualties.

The earnest ECotY jurors were presented with a provisional list of 65 vehicles, reduced to 39 for the longlist, despite the late inclusion of three Chinese EVs (Aiways U5, MG EHS and Marvel R). Most drop-outs were the result of delayed launches, but for the provisional listed Jaguar XJ and J-Pace it was the end of the road, with both projects terminated and – it would seem – erased from JLR’s corporate memory.

The ECotY shortlist was announced on Monday 29 November: Continue reading “Taking the Current When It Serves.”

Own-Brand Cassoulet

Volkswagen Group’s mass-market brands are losing their individual identities under the dead hand of corporate conformity.

They don’t make them like this anymore: 2009 Škoda Yeti. Image: autocentrum

The automotive colossus that is the Volkswagen Group includes four mass-market brands that might be rather simplistically defined as follows, in descending hierarchical order:

Audi: premium sporting
Volkswagen: semi-premium luxury
SEAT: mainstream sporting
Škoda: mainstream value

I am conscious that such a bald statement might elicit howls of protest from those who Continue reading “Own-Brand Cassoulet”

A Toledo Triumph

This morning I came across two of these on my drive to work. Long forgotten in my mind, once I’d recalled them as being Toledos (should that be Toledi? maybe not), I realised how good they looked in today’s traffic.

10_SEAT_Toledo_Mk3-1 — Seat Toledo Mk2, source: Motoring Research. The Toledo came before the more popular Leon hatch.

The Mk2 Seat Toledo preceded the more popular Mk1 Leon hatch to market in 1998 and remained in its catalogues until 2004. Styling was attributed to Giugiaro and it does look credibly like one of his from that era. It was built on the same PQ34 platform as the Mk4 Golf/ Bora, Audi A3 and Skoda Octavia.

Everyone loves the styling of the Mk4 Golf, and I have to say I was always partial to the original Leon – it having echoes of the Alfasud – but this is a really nice small saloon (4-door notchback, if you want to be precise) with the rear pillar blending smoothly into the rear wing and boot panel. If I could criticise it, I’d say that Continue reading “A Toledo Triumph”

[Badge] Engineering Failure: VW

I realise it’s an old and oft-discussed issue, but I have experienced VW shooting itself in the badge.

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I was recently loaned a brand new VW Golf Estate for the day whilst my Octavia of similar form was in for its 10k oil-change. I have frequently read over the past few years how the differential between VW Group’s brands has blurred, but this is the first time I was presented with an opportunity to witness the phenomenon so directly. And, although I should not have been, I was a bit taken aback at the experience.

I’ve always kept the view that the Golf is a bit special. A cut above. Very cleverly set aside from Continue reading “[Badge] Engineering Failure: VW”