Seat Tarraco

Seven-seater is closely related to the Skoda Kodiaq, boding well for its interior, practicality and driving manners On sale March 2019 Price from £28,320

- Max Adams

THERE IS A significant parallel to be drawn between the Wombles of Wimbledon and the new Seat Tarraco. Okay, so one is a group of creatures from a beloved children’s story, whereas the other is a new seven-seat SUV. But both extol the virtues of recycling, with the Tarraco being based on the same platform as the Skoda Kodiaq and Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace. It even borrows some tech from Audi.

Seat reckons the 148bhp 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine that kicks offthe Tarraco range will take the majority of UK sales. It’s a sweet little engine, and it makes a fair amount of low-down torque, so you don’t have to rev it too hard to make decent progress. Once you’re cruising, it can run on just two cylinders to save fuel, although the official average economy figure (NEDC) of 42.8mpg might be a bit of a worry for anyone who does a lot of miles.