My father used to own a Volkswagen Passat V6 Turbo-diesel estate, with Tiptronic gearbox.  While the car was not as stylish as my Toledo (to my eyes), you only had to step into the car to see how much more classy a Volkswagen is, compared with a SEAT.  The car had leather upholstery, and was a much nicer place in which to travel.  The quality of the plastics was lower in the SEAT, as was the general quality of the upholstery, switchgear and controls. The Tiptronic gearbox was great fun - it functions in one of two modes.  In the first mode, it works as a conventional automatic, shifting gears by itself.  In Tiptronic mode, the driver shifts gears manually by pulling the gear lever backwards (to change down) or forwards (to change up).  My Vectra now has similar gearbox.

The Passat had a wonderful V6 diesel engine.  The capacity was 2500 cc, and it developed 150 BHP at 4000 RPM and a maximum torque of 229 lb-ft at 1500 RPM.  It is interesting to note that 150 BHP equates to 197 lb-ft of torque at 4000 RPM, so the torque curve is pretty flat between 1500 and 4000 RPM.  The noise made by the engine was much more pleasant than that made by my diesel - get the revs up somewhere near 4000 RPM and the car sounded like a petrol V6.  Even with the automatic transmission, performance was quite lively - it felt much quicker than the claimed 0-60 time of 10 seconds would suggest.  My father had a petrol 1.8 turbo Passat estate before this car, and he feels that the petrol Passat is a much better car.  The big diesel Passat gave about 40 MPG when driven gently..

I drove the car a few times, and found it to be very different in character to my Toledo.  The Toledo clearly had aspirations to be some sort of sports saloon, which it achieved to a certain extent.  The Passat, by contrast, felt like a big cruiser, designed to travel hundreds of miles in one go on the motorway (or autobahn).  My Vectra now gives the same impression.  The biggest difference between the cars in the way they handled was the steering.  My Toledo provided a reasonable amount of feel, so that you get an impression of what the road surface is like.  The Passat, on the other hand, seemed totally devoid of feel - it was quite strange, the first time I drove it.  Having said that, the Passat could be driven VERY quickly if you wanted to do so!!.