The various models have some excruciating names, like Reference and Stylance (oh, for a good old GL) but this one is called Sport, which I guess is why it's in evo. It is also, you will have noted, a diesel. It's the familiar 2-litre 140PS (138bhp) unit that's also found in the Golf. As usual, the torque's the thing, and this one has 236lb ft, making it quicker than the 2-litre petrol model both in the gears and from a standing start. You can even get it with VAG's super-trick DSG gearbox, though this one has a regular six-speed manual.

Inside is as bold as out, everything feels chunkily solid, and the sportily-bolstered seats are excellent. All the major controls have an easy action. First bum note is sounded by the engine, which sounds like any old delivery van. Even at speed it never gets better than a dull thrum. But boy, does it pull. Keep it between 1750 and 3500, and you'll make stirring progress. It feels considerably quicker than a 0-62 of 9.9sec would suggest. Highlight for me was chasing a new 525i out of a roundabout onto a dual-carriageway. Eventually he got fed up with the Altea gawping in his mirror, pulled over and watched the little bus thump past. What he thought when he clocked the Tdi badge on the wing I can only imagine.

There's a new multi-link rear suspension, and SEAT says it's tuned the chassis along the same lines as the Leon Cupra R. It rides well and corners tidily; it leans like a good 'un but grips astonishingly well, considering. But there's little real interaction and even less feel through the electro-mechanical power steering. So if you need five doors and five seats, the Altea is a reasonably swift and able option. And if a performance car to you means going fast in a straight line and going round corners quickly, this'll suit you just fine. The rest of us will be left wanting more.