Writing about cars doesn't have to be a male domiated profession. Women may not be too interested in the torque and bhp, but they certainly know what they like in a motor. MARION LANGFORD took to the road in a SEAT Cordoba to see what it could do

My first car was a 1980 Toyota Corolla estate. It was huge, it broke down all the time, the passenger door would fly open whenever I turned right at a roundabout or took a corner a bit too sharply, air conditioning was called winding down all the windows, and the back leaked whenever it rained.

I couldn't have the wipers and the heating on at the same time and whenever I went over a bump back home in Australia, the spare tyre would come loose and drag along the road behind me. But I loved it.

You see, when I looked under the bonnet, I saw an engine not a computer. And though I knew (and know) very little about cars, I connected with it in such a way that I could check the water level in the radiator, jiggle the distributor cap and when I tried to start it up again, it would be fine.

But the grass is always greener, right?

My Corolla was long ago parked in that big multi-storey in the sky and now I am coping with life on foot as one of the few carless residents of sunny Swindon.

But I jumped at the chance of testing out the brand-spanking new Seat Cordoba 1.4S for a week. I could stock up on groceries, get out and about in the countryside and see as many movies as I could fit in without having to rely on taxis, buses or my feet. (Two buses to go to the cinema really takes the fun out of the film.)

And this was a flashy car. None of the constant worry of breaking down. No need to throw a protective arm around my passenger to stop them falling out whenever I did a U-turn. (If ever there was a reason for wearing seatbelts, my Corolla was it.)

It was very dark and bucketing down with rain when I had my first chance to drive the car a highly important outing to Burger King drive-thru. Once I worked out how to unlock the driver's door and the passenger door, I figured the hard bit was over. But I didn't count on the windows.

This, naturally, had electronic windows and electronic everything else. I whirred it down to reverse out of my drive and then found that I couldn't get the window back up. I've never really had this problem in the past so it did concern me a little, especially since cold rain was now coming through the open window, soaking me in the process.

It was as I approached the Magic Roundabout that I realised I needed to pull the button and not push it to raise the window again.

But once the sun was shining the next day and the window situation was resolved, the Cordoba was a pleasure to drive.

With the engine power I had, I could take on other cars at traffic lights, the fantastic steering made manouvering a breeze, the boot was more than big enough to fit all my shopping and the radio was nice and clear.

Once I'd done my chores around town, it was time to hit the open road.

Though tempted to do a Thelma and Louise the following day, and leave Swindon for good, I realised that 24 and X-files was on that night.

Instead, I went in search of my ancestry. My father's family all come from the Cotswolds quite handy as by going there I got to see the house my grandmother was born in, the school my dad went to and the place where he used to go fishing as a boy, and see the beauty of the region at the same time.

On the motorway, the Cordoba cruised beautifully. In fact, there is only one drawback I could find with the Seat. Visibility of the actual car while you are driving was poor for me. I couldn't see all of the front, I couldn't see any of the back. So reversing into a parking bay was really difficult, especially judging what space I have left.

Still, the car returned in one piece, was a pleasure to drive. I can see it as a great family car with plenty of room, built-in attachments for baby seats and also with the zip and power to please.

It comes with twin airbags and ABS as standard, air conditioning, powersteering, electric windows and tinted glass and a host of other things. Prices start at £9,995.