SEAT'S ST estate stylish and enjoyable estate

Load-lugging capabilities without the stigma, spongy ride and antisocial drinking habits of a 4x4 have long appealed to our tight-fisted sensibilities.

Now hatchback-based estates like Peugeot’s 207 SW and Skoda's Fabia Estate are further improving the estate’s budget credentials and Seat’s Ibiza ST could become to the small estate market what Audi’s A4 Avante became to the larger segment a decade ago—bringing a dose of style and sporty dynamics.

With styling cues from SEAT’s larger, Audi A4-based, Exeo ST the similarities are obvious.

Improved handling.

Prices start at £12,070 with choice of S, SE and Sport specifications, two petrol engines and two diesel engines.

The range-topping 104bhp 1.6 TDI Sport tested here is £14,730—£800 more than the equivalent five-door Ibiza hatchback—but leather seats (£825), a bold blue hue (£550) and adaptive bi-xenon headlights (£650) took my test car's price close to £17,000.

A panoramic sunroof (£455), TomTom sat-nav harness (£35) and Volkswagen Audi Group's seven-speed DSG gearbox (1.2-litre TSI only) can further add to the ST’s premium feel...and price.

In its basic form it is competitively priced and in its Sport guise comes with sports seats, 16-inch alloys and stiffer suspension bringing improved handling.

The driver sits low in a nicely detailed interior which suffers only slightly from a lack of soft-touch surfaces.

Aside from the useful 430 litre boot—1,164 litres with the rear seats folded—there's no more passenger space than in the Ibiza hatchback, however.

Sharing a VAG-sourced chassis, the ST Sport is a similar steer to the Fabia VRS Estate.

The TDI engine couldn’t be more different to the VRS's manic twin-charged engine, though, pulling determinedly through low-rev torque without genuine vigour.

Seat’s claims of 67mpg and 109g/km CO2 emissions but a 10.9 second sprint to 62mph don’t really match an otherwise sporty billing.

The Ibiza ST does handle like a sporty hatchback although, the sports suspension did compromise refinement with a hum of road noise occasionally reverberating around the interior.

It's a minor drawback, however, in a stylish and enjoyable car.

The handling of a warm hatchback, low running costs and the best looks of any small estate makes the Ibiza ST a compelling jack-of-all trades...just how we Brits like 'em.