CLOSE you eyes and you could be driving a Volkswagen or an Audi... or a Skoda, come to that.

There's the same slick precision about the way everything works; the result of sinking billions of euros in development costs in budgets decided long before the VW Group's recent woes raised their expensive heads.

Now open your eyes (best do it soon if the car is moving) and you'll discover the badge reads SEAT, from the Spanish outpost of the world's biggest - or second biggest - car maker.

That means it's supposed to slip into a VW Group portfolio where Audi equals posh, Volkswagen is solidly middle class, Skoda is all about value (not cheap prices any more) and SEAT has a touch of Latin zing.

Take the car driven here. It's the latest and mildly modified version of the popular Ibiza, uniquely offered in cars of this size as a three-door hatch (the SC), a more practical five-door or the ST, for Sports Tourer, or what you and I call an estate.

Prices start at precisely £10,000 and adding a couple of doors costs £450 but the boot space says the same. Opt for the estate and it's a slightly longer car with a much bigger load area and a price hike of £1,150 over the three-door Ibiza.

The refreshed range looks much the same as before, with only LED driving lights on dearer models and a new choice of colours and alloy wheels to give the game away. Inside, there's a new steering wheel and new look dials and trim.

So, not much to talk about there, but the Ibiza always was a bit of a looker in a class where stodgy rules more strongly than smart.

Rather more happens in the bits that matter most, from new steering to refreshed range of eight engines, starting with a 75 horsepower three-cylinder petrol unit and topping out with 192 when the new 146mph Cupra version arrives.

No price for that yet, but the 1.2 litre CONNECT model costs £14,170 as a three-door SC.

Diesels (with only a single 1.4 litre on offer in a class that is wildly tilted towards petrol) cost from £16,885 and come with a company tax efficient 95g/km rating and theoretical 78.5mpg average consumption.

SEAT is pushing the connectivity of this latest Ibiza, meaning that if you choose the right model, or add an upgrade, you can turn your car into a version of your smartphone.

Indeed, go for a CONNECT trim level and there's a Samsung Galaxy A3 mobile phone as part of the package.

The car will talk to Android or Apple operating systems, letting you talk to the world with safety and ease, or listen to your favourite music. It will, with a new SEAT CONNECTApp, let you monitor your heartbeat, but best not check moments after that idiot pulled out in front of you without looking.

The CONNECT version of this Ibiza revamp looks like the sweet spot of the range and comes pretty well loaded with kit. As well as the cleverness outlined above there is satellite navigation, DAB radio and a six speaker sound system with Bluetooth.

A pair of 1.0 litre petrol engines are available, one with a turbo and more power. Next up is the four-cylinder 1.2 litre of the car you see here, with more than useful performance on a mix of country roads, where the 43mpg shown at journey's end seemed about par for the course.

And with every inch covered this latest, mildly tweaked Ibiza displayed the crispness in response from steering, clutch, gearchange and brakes that mark it out as a member of the VW Group family.

Which makes it a bit of a bargain if you choose carefully.