Seat Toledo concept debuts in Geneva

We’ve always liked the simplicity and clean design of the Seat Toledo and it’s nice to find out that the Spanish automaker is preparing the fourth generation of the model. Last week at the Geneva Motor Show they introduced a concept of the Toledo but most likely the production version will be just about the same as the one shown at the event in Switzerland.

Scheduled to go on sale towards the end of this year, the new Toledo adopts a sleek hatchback/sedan design and it will be slotted between the entry-level Ibiza and the more premium Leon. The new model is entirely different than the third generation which was essentially a booted edition of the rather ugly Altea hatchback.

With the new Toledo, Seat is emphasizing on value-for-money and practicality, advertising the new model as a hatchback that offers respectable load-lugging capabilities. Thanks to the larger rear hatch, it enables a considerably easier loading and a folding rear bench. You have more than 500 liters to carry your stuff with the rear seats up.

Measuring 4480mm, this concept is 165mm longer in comparison to the Leon and has a width of 1693mm which is just about the same as the Ibiza has. The wheelbase of the Seat Toledo concept measures 2600mm.

As far as the styling is concerned, we have to say that it looks a little bit like the Skoda MissionL concept that we’ve seen last year at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It comes with a trapezoidal front grille that has a low and wide design, while the aggressive front headlamp shape is part of the company’s new design language which will see on other cars as well. Accessing the back seats should be easy thanks to the large rear doors, while the attractive shallow angle of the rear windscreen makes the car look more like a coupe.

The production version of the 4^th gen Toledo is going to be based on the VW Group’s AO-plus platform which is a more advanced version of the AO-entry platform that VW uses for the cheaper cars like the Volkswagen Vento sold in India. As far as the engines are concerned, these will also be borrowed from the Volkswagen Group. This new model is going to be the sister-model of the upcoming Skoda Rapid which is the production version of 2011’s MissionL we’ve mentioned.

According to various sources within Seat, the fourth generation of the Toledo will have a starting price of 13-14,000 Euros in Spain.

Source: Seat

Post tags: Tags: geneva-motor-show, motor shows, Seat, seat toledo