Seat Exeo - Paris motor show news- 2008

A big surprise on the Seat stand - OK, not a big surprise exactly, more a medium-sized surprise - in the shape of the new Exeo saloon.

Ok, it's possible that we got told about the Exeo before and, er, forgot a little bit, but now that we've seen it up close, it's a decent-enough looking effort from the Spanish manufacturer.

If you're struggling to get a sense of size, think Audi A4. Because that's what the Exeo is - the last-gen A4 with a Seat-ised body on top.

Which means you get a smart, understated interior, a big boot - 460 litres of bigness, to be exact - and a rather exciting-sounding 'solar roof', which provides enough electrical power to run the Exeo's ventilation system, even when the car is switched off.

It should be decent to drive, too - there's trapezoidal link suspension at the back and an independent multilink set-up at the front, along with modified suspension coils and shock absorbers.

The show car is fitted with the (MkV) Golf GTi-spec two-litre turbo petrol engine, putting out 197bhp, though expect common rail diesels to feature heavily when the Exeo reaches the UK early next year.

If you're finding the Exeo a bit VW-Group-lite, we sympathise. But just think - how are you going to pick up a last-gen Audi A4 for cheaper?

A second-hand Audi A4, you say? Fair point...