New Toledo has been put to the test by the UK’s press and the early signs are positive with Auto Express giving the new model a healthy four stars out of five, and The Independent says its one of the most exciting cars of the year.
Auto Express: 
“Huge amounts of space from the saloon body along with a good value price-tag, too. … for buyers looking for sensible family transport there’s very little to criticise about the Toledo. It’s spacious, easy to drive, refined and cheap to run, and those are the things that some buyers will put at the very top of their new car wish list.”
“The Toledo boasts a generous range of engines but the best are the 1.2-litre TSI engine with 104bhp and the 1.6 TDI with 104bhp. They both provide as much performance as you need…”
“The Toledo is extremely practical. The 550-litre boot is over 200 litres larger than a normal family car -and there’s a wide-opening hatchback boot that makes accessing it incredibly easy… the rear seats are more spacious than in an Ibiza and even loading up four tall adults won’t be a problem.””
Read the full review on the Auto Express web site 
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The Honest John road test
“This SEAT has a few tricks up its sleeve. Because while it might look like a saloon, it’s actually a hatchback with a large opening boot and a whopping 550 litre boot. The Toledo is ideal as a family motor.”
“From the front the Toledo looks very much like an Ibiza but inside it’s far more spacious with plenty of shoulder room. It’s even more impressive in the back…. It’s far better than your everyday hatchback.”
“Interior quality is good too while the simple layout of the cabin means it’s easy to work out what all the buttons do. It feels well built and hardwearing, there’s plenty of storage including a big glovebox plus there’s good all round visibility, even with the high boot, so parking isn’t a problem.”
“Thanks to the light weight of the Toledo – the diesel is around 1250kg (1.6 TDI SE) – it never feels underpowered and providing you don’t rev it too hard, it’s quiet and unobtrusive. It suits the Toledo perfectly.”
“The Toledo feels very settled at motorway speeds and it’s impressively refined with very little wind or road noise. Take it onto more demanding roads and it’s still very capable with good steering and nice positive gear changes from both the five and six-speed ‘boxes. … the handling is reassuringly safe.”
“But the best bit is the price. Starting at around £12,500 it looks exceptional value for money… It may not be an obvious choice for many buyers but the Toledo is quite a revelation. It’s certainly a car that offers a lot more than at first meets the eye.”
Read the full review on the Honest John web site .
The Independent
“…a car that is, in its particular way, one of the most exciting to hit the market in 2012.”
“The excitement is not, it has to be said, the sort that grips road testers confronted by cars that are dynamically exceptional or outstandingly stylish; in fact, the new Toledo offers a fairly standard Volkswagen group experience in terms of the way it goes, stops and steers, and is conventionally handsome rather than being a true head-turner.”
“Instead, the Toledo is going to cause a different sort of excitement, the sort that was probably felt by less wealthy car buyers when they started poking around the first Octavias in Skoda showrooms all those years ago and realised that very occasionally, there is such a thing as a free lunch, that sometimes there really isn’t a catch and that every now and then, something that at first looks too good to be true really does turn out to be that good.”
“..every now and then something that at first looks too good to be true really does turn out to be that good.”
“Near-supermini pricing is combined with an enormous rear passenger compartment and a vast 550-litre (seats-up) luggage space that many far bigger and pricier cars would find hard to match. Quality levels, too, appear to be extremely high.”
“Personally, I reckon it should start flying out of the showrooms as soon as recession-hit motorists begin to discover its value-for-money qualities. It’s one of the few cars I’ve driven recently that I would seriously consider buying with my own money – and that’s not something you catch people who review cars for a job saying very often.”
Read the full review on The Independent’s web site .
Autocar
“Compact sedans are notoriously unpopular in the UK, but underneath its orthodox profile the car is actually a hatchback, and thanks to its elongated wheelbase (actually 24mm longer than the current Leon – a model it is supposed to sit below) the Toledo is blessed with generous rear legroom and an impressive 550-litre boot.”
“In terms of the sheer space on offer, the Toledo is at an obvious advantage… its extraordinary saloon length and routine supermini width offer just the right kind of family-friendly space. Adults are easily accommodated in the back, and the boot puts most hatchbacks to shame. It’s also conspicuously easy to navigate and park thanks to its comparative lack of girth.”
“The 1.6-litre TDI is well-mannered and earnestly economical.”
“Thriftiness, resilience and real estate are its appealing features, and those are three compelling commodities at the moment.”
Read the full review on the Autocar web site .
Top Gear
“What does it have going for it? Price. And space. The range starts from about £12,500 and tops out at £17,840, but for this you get an enormous amount of room inside. The wheelbase is longer than most cars from the class above – so rear legroom is very impressive. And the boot is huge as well.””
“The engines have got enough punch so that motorway work isn’t strenous. Coupled with a comfy ride, it’s an easy car to relax in.”
Read the full review on the TopGear web site .