What is it?
A very glitzy show car highlighting that SEAT has an estate in its Ibiza product plans. Strip away some of the more overt detailing and what you're basically looking at is SEAT's compact load-lugger. The production versions will lose things like the LED lights, but even stripped of the jewels the Ibiza estate looks like it'll be the style leader in a sub-class that's devoid of it.
Why's it here?
Why shouldn't it be? With the supermini market ever growing, both in sales and physical size, the addition of a slightly more versatile estate might prove to be a canny move by the Spanish firm. If SEAT follows its usual path then we'll see a production version at the next big European show (Geneva) with sales following shortly after.
Show stopper or floor filler?
Nobody is going to come to the show to see a supermini estate concept, but it's worth a diversion on the way back from the Ferrari stand into the VW Group hall. It's on the way to Mercedes, too...
Kyle Fortune - 16 Sep 2009