Avoid SEAT and probably all VAG group cars. While the perceived quality is high, the true quality of engineering is appalling. I've had rattles, paint problems, alarm problems (estimated to take 2 MONTHS to fix). All on a 6 month old car. I don't mind having lesser quality trim in a SEAT due to lower price, but the reliability and build quality is terrible and seems to be common across the VAG range. Skoda only score highly due to peoples low expectations.
Buy a Focus. Well engineered and reliable. Or a 1 series, had my BMW 8 years, thrashed it daily and had absolutely no faults, only visited dealer for routine servicing (which was pretty cheap... cheaper than SEAT).
I intend to sell my FR at a big loss and buy an ST.