A refreshing change on the general market comes from the SEAT fleet with a great new car.

Doing quite nicely after one or two bumps on the sales front, the improved sales mix is thanks to results from Ateca and the Alhambra. But it is the new Alteca, SEAT’s foray into the SUV 4x4 world, which is setting the motoring world alight particularly in Spain, the home of SEAT.

SEAT is the only company which designs, develops, manufactures and markets cars in Spain, and while it is a member of the VW Group, its headquarters is in Martorell (Barcelona) and the company exports more than 80 per cent of its vehicles to more than 75 countries around the world.

Last year the company achieved worldwide sales of more than 400,000 units for the first time since 2007, and the group employs around 14,000 people at three production centres in Spain where it manufactures the highly successful Ibiza and Leon.

Additionally, the company produces the Ateca and the Toledo in the Czech Republic, the Alhambra in Portugal and the Mii in Slovakia.

While the launch of the Ateca had a positive effect on the brand’s deliveries in the third quarter, which went up by 4.5 per cent, it is the Ibiza which is the most popular model in the SEAT range and it is a winner though and through.

The Ibiza is basically a cheaper version of the Volkswagen Polo, with the two cars having much the same kit. For example they both use the same engines.

Apart from the badge snobbery there’s not a great deal of difference between the two cars, apart from the price.

I would certainly go for the Ibiza not just because of the money but because the SEAT has a certain style which the VW doesn’t have.

And after testing the Ibiza I reckon it to be a better drive. How does that happen? I’ve no idea.

You can get an Ibiza hatchback with three doors or five, and there is certainly room for four people, no problem. There’s bags of room inside the vehicle with plenty of compartments.

On the road the Ibiza handles itself well, with a comfortable suspension and even the entry level 75bhp 1.0 litre looks after itself quite nicely. And the turbo charged 95bhp 1.0 litre is a great mover. There is also an automatic choice.

The steering is both light and responsive and there is good grip irrespective of the model you choose.

SEAT markets the Ibiza as a sporty choice and the model I tested was the Ibiza Cupra with a 1.8 TSI 192 PS six speed manual model and that came in just short of £20,000 but you can get an Ibiza for less than £10,000.

There was a bit of road noise kicked up by the Cupra but when you have a car which will do just short of 150mph what do you expect?

The acceleration is 0-62mph in short of seven seconds but the average miles per gallon is well over 40mpg.

There is a little bit of noise from all the diesel units, but the petrol ones are quieter, particularly if you go for one of the 1.0-litre, three-cylinder units.

On the economy front the 1.4-litre Ecomotive diesel is the best, giving you more than 80 miles to the gallon if you try extremely hard, but it will easily give you 60mpg plus on this model.

The one litre petrol model will also give you more than 60mpg making all models cheap to run both on the fuel and the tax front.

Four airbags come as standard and the cheapest model has a four-speaker stereo, electric front windows and remote central locking.

The S model comes with air-conditioning, DAB radio and a rear seat that folds in two separate pieces, while the SE gets you alloy wheels, 5-inch touchscreen, LED daytime running lights and a leather finish to the steering wheel and gear lever.

The FR and FR Edition - the performance models both have sports seats and twin exhaust pipes.

Inside the cabin the controls are all logically positioned and simple to use, while the instruments are easy to read.

SE models and above feature a five inch touchscreen, while upgrading to Connect increases the screen size to 6.5 inches and gives you smartphone connectivity in the form of Apple CarPlay, Android Auto.

The Seat Ibiza is a stylish choice, plus it is well priced and not expensive to run.

Like all new SEATs, the Ibiza comes with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty which is the same offered by Ford, Skoda and Volkswagen.