Euro NCAP Find that Dacia Lodgy Dissapoints while 14 Other New Cars Score Five Stars

The safety gurus at the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP), an independent organization that assesses and scores vehicle safety, have released a new round of scores for 15 new models, many of which were presented at the recent Paris Motor Show.

With one exception, the new Dacia Lodgy minivan that Euro NCAP said "budgets on safety" as it was rated with a mediocre three stars out of five, all other cars tested were awarded five stars.

Euro NCAP criticized the Renault Group's decision to not offer the electronic stability control (ESC) as standard equipment on the Lodgy, while also noting that the Dacia model scored poorly for pedestrian and child protection.

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Seat Prices New Toledo from £12,495 in the UK, First Deliveries in December

The fourth generation of the Seat Toledo just made its global debut at the 2012 Paris Auto Show. The Spanish brand’s new compact saloon is a “sister” model to fellow VW Group member Skoda’s Rapid and it promises to offer a spacious interior in spite of the car’s compact dimensions.

Seat has announced that order books are now open in the UK, with first deliveries scheduled to start on December 1. Prices range from £12,495 and top out at £17,840, with insurance group ratings being as low as 8E.

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2013 Seat Toledo: Mega Gallery with 90 Photos and New Videos

The Volkswagen Group's Spanish Seat brand has turned over dozens of fresh photos and new videos of its 2013 Toledo compact saloon, which was first revealed online this past June.

The reincarnated, fourth generation Toledo will received its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show before going on sale first in Spain and Portugal in mid-November, and then in the rest of Europe early next year.

The Toledo is a sister model to the also new Skoda Rapid with the two cars sharing their body, interior and mechanical hardware. The differences mainly concern the styling with each model getting unique front and rear ends, as well as bespoke interior trim, steering wheels and instrument panels.

Like the Rapid, the Toledo sports a handy hatchback tailgate that opens together with the rear window to reveal a capacious luggage compartment with 550 litres of space that can be expanded to 1,490 litres with the optional folding rear seats.

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New 2013 Seat Toledo Compact Sedan Officially Comes Out Into the Light

After showing a thinly disguised concept version at the Geneva Salon in March and following a leaked set of pictures earlier this month, Seat has pulled the wraps of the production version of the new generation Toledo.

Seat's new compact sedan is more of a successor to the first (1991-1998) and second generation (1998-2004) Toledo sedans than to the ill-fated, third generation model of the same name produced from 2004 to 2009, which was essentially an Altea minivan with a prosthetic boot.

However, it is also a sister model to the new Skoda Rapid and even though each brand makes word of a bespoke design language, the fact remains that the styling differences between the two are concentrated in details such as the front end, the tail lights, rear license plate fitment, wheel designs and interior trim.

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First Official Photos of 2012 Seat Toledo Compact Sedan Leaked?

We knew that it was only a matter of time before the Spanish-flavored twin of the Czech Skoda Rapid sedan would make its debut in production trim, but the crew over at the Seat Fans Club speeded the process by dropping what we believe to be the first official photos of the new Toledo.

Not much has changed from the near-production Seat Toledo Concept displayed at the Geneva Salon this past March, with the Spanish brand simply replacing the upscale trim pieces from the study's exterior and interior like the grille surround, large alloy wheels and flat bottom steering wheel with more conventional pieces.

The website that posted the photos says that the production car will launch in Europe with a choice of four petrol engines, including a gutless 1.2-liter three-cylinder unit with 74hp (75PS) and 84hp (85PS), a more peppy 1.2-liter TSI turbo with 104hp (105PS) and a 1.4-liter TSI turbo with 120hp (122PS).

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