Just check before you order that it is not being scrapped due to extremely poor sales in europe or fased out.

But not the Exeo and according to the european car production figures Seat are well down -48% on some models and the best being -16%

over year ending October 2010 compared to year ending October 2009 (source Autobild Nr 45 12/11/2010 )and are also loosing money hand over fist.The reason I suggested that the EXEO may be quietly dropped is that a company in Germany called Autoland has just bought what looks like every available Exeo and are now selling them at a very reasonable price,this company seems to specialise in buying end of line models.

This car has absolutely no image and a difficult market position but despite this it is still quite expensive (list prices anyway). A bland looking version of the last generation A4. The equipment levels are high but the reason for that is that demand is low. They can't even be bothered to sell and automatic/DSG as demand is even lower.

Providing you are prepared for monumental depreciation it shouldn't be a problem, but decent fuel consumption will be massively outweighed by this cost.

I've just bought an Exeo ST TDI 140, and am happy so far, but engine needs to loosen up only done 300 miles.

Here's the rationale behind my choice.... When needing to change from previous car (first Gen Mazda 6), I found the standard competitors ( current Mondeo, Insignia, Mazda6) have become larger externally than previous generation, so are now huge. This disqualifies them. The best practical proposition is the Skoda Octavia, but it's somehow difficult to want one even though it's good to drive!, plus no dealers within 20 miles of my home or work. BMW and AUDI are expensive and I'm not fooled by lower % depreciation - often amounts to the same actual £depreciation.

So tried Exeo, as Audi A4 underneath, and have had Seat Leons before. These have proven to be great, driving like new after 70k miles. Same can't be said for other cars I've owned (Mondeo, Mazda6, Saab93). So tried Exeo and liked it. There is a genuine feeling of quality and solidity, and the drive train is fluid. Roadholding and handling are good. Lots of kit as standard and the VW group diesels are streets ahead of the ford and mazda ones I've owned. CR version is smoother and less peaky than the 2.0 PD 140. (Old 130PD engine was actually better)

The Exeo estate (ST) is no huge estate, but I only need it for the ocasional DIY load. Chose it over the saloon, because it's large boot size is spoiled by the apperture.

If you are brand driven, you won't be able to overlook the Seat badge. I'm not so in my opinion - good car.

Any feedback on the Passat? Did you have "fun" with the automatic handbrake? I recently had an Exeo estate courtesy car and was duly impressed. Although seemingly huge, it is in fact it is only 11 cm longer than my current Focus 1.6 TDCi estate. The boot space was less deep owing to the false floor/spare wheel well and I could not fit in the usual payload of 6 large Curver plastic storage cases (with six smaller ones on top) full of my stock-in-trade of books!
The load area roller blind was fiddly (no manufacturer I know of has yet designed the perfect one, flexible enough to fit over bulky items, a 100% reliable system to engage and disengage one handed, etc.) but did have a retractible mesh screen to keep objects behind passengers rather than risking decapitating them - always appreciated - and lots of load-lashing eyelets.
Performance and cornering was superb and even with 17" alloys, very smooth over road humps and the odd pothole. I averaged 7.0 l/100 kms (roughly 40 mpg) in 2 days and 300 miles.
Lots of gadgets, clear instruments, intuitive cruise control, hands free/bluetooth, voice control, parking sensors. The rare luxury of a locking glovebox and a customisable mount for a mobile phone and USB charging point inside it but the icing on the cake was the instruction manual tucked into a recess at the top of the glovebox, which took some finding. INSIDE the instruction manual was an illustration of where to find the instruction manual - very logical and German!