Think of SEAT and you will invariably conjure up images of affordable city cars or youthful sports models.

Maybe you’ll think of stylish people-carriers or hatchbacks.

But try as you might, I doubt you will think of executive models. It’s not a big deal, I guess, for its sister brands Audi, Volkswagen and to a lesser extent Skoda are firmly established in this market.

SEAT, however, has now produced its best executive effort yet, the Exeo. The name has been around since 2008 but it remains a minor figure in the SEAT line-up, overshadowed by Ibiza, Leon, Altea and Alhambra .

But new Exeo is a car to be reckoned with. It has Audi influences, yet is recognisable as a SEAT. It comes well equipped and is sensibly priced, yet has enough class not to look out of place in an executive car park.

In fact, costing from £19,480 it undercuts many of its big name rivals in this sector. If you haven’t seen many Exeos on the road, I imagine you will see a few in the future.

Old Exeo was bland, but the new model has more character. The test model is an SE Tech 2.0 TDI costing £23,695 and is part of a range starting at £19,480 which will see it added to lots of company car option lists.

The enhancements, boosted by smart alloy wheel designs, underline Exeo’s premium look while upgrades to interior materials create a matching premium feel.

Meanwhile, improvements to the 2.0 TDI common rail powerplant see emissions cut to as little as 129g/km, or 146g/km for the test version. Economy is improved, with the saloon now capable of 58.9mpg on a combined route.

The saloon and estate car line-up is the Spanish brand’s third best-seller in the UK behind the popular Ibiza supermini and Leon five-door family hatch. As 2012 unfolds the Exeo family is set for even more upgrades, too, with the arrival of an Ecomotive version.

SEAT’s cleanest, greenest cars all bear the Ecomotive name and are synonymous with efficiency.

Exeo Ecomotive boasts many of the technologies that make its Ecomotive siblings such frugal propositions. SEAT’s effortless Start/Stop technology, for instance, will help deliver even more fuel efficiency.

There are other features in this car’s favour, too. It has a proven chassis, huge boot, cutting-edge engines courtesy of the Volkswagen Group and an impressive amount of kit.

It’s a car designed for one primary purpose: giving company car drivers what they want.

This particular car throws an extra £3,270 of kit into the mix for an £875 premium over the normal SE. It’s hard to decline a deal like that. You get leather upholstery, 17in alloys, stainless steel roof rails, dual-zone climate control, sat-nav, a Bose premium audio system, cruise control, automatic lights and wipers, Bluetooth, rear parking sensors and leather-trimmed contact points.

All of this makes the Exeo very easy to live with.

On the motorway, its anticipated home for much of its driving life, the double-glazed windows go some way to helping cut wind noise to really impressive levels.

It’s no sports car but mid-corner the driving experience has more about it than some of the other options for the price.