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THE LEON KING

Models Covered: (5 dr family hatch, 1,6, 2.0 petrol, 1.9, 2.0 TDI diesel [Essence, Reference, Stylance, Sport, FR, Cupra])

BY ANDY ENRIGHT

Although the British public hasn’t warmed to this version of the SEAT Leon in quite the way they did its predecessor, there’s little doubt that it’s a very competent car and one that’s well worth tracking down on the used market. Reluctant take up from new often spells used bargains and this Leon is an excellent example of these market forces at work.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the MK1 SEAT Leon, especially in Cupra guise, developed into a cult car in the UK. I can remember that this car was my pat answer for a good few years for any of my colleagues looking to spend around £15k on a new car. Unfortunately, I’ve never come close to that stage with the Leon’s second generation iteration, launched in this country in late 2005. Although there is very little wrong with the car in an objective sense, the styling didn’t cut the mustard for many and the value proposition no longer seemed quite so special with Skoda having upped its game. Cars like the Renaultsport Megane and the Ford Focus ST arrived to rule the hot hatch roost and standard Focus models as well as increasingly aggressively priced Golfs make big numbers among the family hatches at the Leon’s expense. Competition even came from within SEAT with quick and capable Altea models more than justifying their existence. SEAT took their eye off the ball rather by failing to launch a sporty FR model until July 2006 and delaying the launch of the red hot Cupra variant until December 2006. Quite why it took them so long to bring these key models to market (the old Cupra accounted for over half of all UK Leon sales) is down to VW Group internal politics but it robbed the model of crucial momentum and both the FR and Cupra were unfairly overlooked when they did arrive.

It’s worth reminding ourselves what a SEAT Leon actually is. We’ve become very taken with hotter Cupra versions of the Leon over the years, but Britain is a special case, and in mainland Europe, it’s the more prosaic models that plump up SEAT’s profit margins. Therefore, there’s a slight disconnect between how we perceive the Leon and how our European neighbours do. To us, a Leon is a snorting hot hatch that offers terrific value for money and Germanic build quality all wrapped up with a strong sporting pedigree. Think Jason Plato doorhandling Yvan Muller out of the way in his SEAT touring car. That’s only a small segment of what the Leon represents to SEAT. In reality, it must go head to head with some of the class best in the shape of the Ford Focus, the Vauxhall Astra, the Renault Megane and the Honda Civic. Therefore it was with some disappointment that the first pictures of the ‘cooking’ Leon models dropped across my desk sometime in 2005. There had already been quite some controversy at how similar looking the Altea and Toledo models were, and now here was another model that would require serious scrutiny to establish exactly what SEAT we were dealing with. To make things worse, it wasn’t clear exactly what advantage a Leon had over an Altea. All three cars were born from the same Salsa concept car under the aegis of SEAT design chief Steve Lewis and all three, rather unsurprisingly, run on the same platform. Although the tape measure shows that the new Leon is only around an inch taller than its predecessor, the base models have a definite MPV look and feel to them. It’s only with the sportier FR and Cupra models that the Leon begins to look convincingly racy. Perhaps that was the point.

You should be able to pick up a low mileage 1.6 Essence model for less than £8,500 and 1.9-litre TDI Reference models can be found for a bit under £10,000 with the plusher Stylance versions tacking another £1,000 onto these values. The cars that are in the biggest demand remain the 2.0-litre Sport variants. The 2.0-litre FSI Sport retails at around £8,900 for an 04 plate car, while you’ll need £12,300 for a similar vintage 2.0-litre TDI Sport. Insurance ranges from Group 5 through to Group 17.

Tried and tested engines, the VW-standard quality auditing and an inherent feeling of solidity all bode well for the Leon’s reliability. Having been on sale for such a short duration, it’s perhaps inevitable that no major faults have emerged, but watch out for neglected ex-hire cars. The Leon is a car where the price differences between good and bad examples aren’t too great, so be fussy. Look for a fully stamped up service history and reject anything that looks in any way tatty, grubby or vaguely dog-eared. Give FR and Cupra models a particularly detailed inspection and ensure that they’ve been run in quality synthetic oil.

(approx based on an Leon 2.0 TDI DSG ex VAT) SEAT spares are reasonably priced, with a replacement Leon headlamp costing £111. A replacement alternator unit retails at around £185 with an exchange starter motor setting you back just under £120. Opt for a new alternator and starter motor and the prices stack up at £370 and £226 respectively, so even if the old one is a steaming basket case, you’ll save by getting an exchange unit. Front brake pads are £50 with rears a tad under £30 per pair. Many parts are a little cheaper for the 1.6-litre petrol models.

Underscoring SEAT’s broad targeting of the Leon, the range includes a number of engine choices. Diesel buyers will get to choose between a 103bhp 1.9-litre unit that’s a little old fashioned and a 138bhp 2.0-litre that most certainly isn’t. The petrol powerplants open with a 101bhp 1.6-litre and a 148bhp 2.0-litre direct injection FSI but, to be frank, if you’re going to opt for these engines, the Altea makes a smarter purchase. Move up the power table and the Leon starts to make all sorts of sense and SEAT wisely earmarked three engines to cope for us British bhp junkies. First up is the 168bhp TDI diesel, while those looking for a seriously sporting drive will opt for the 200bhp FR model with its turbocharged 2.0-litre FSI engine or the 240bhp Cupra which used a tweaked version of that unit. SEAT worked hard at improving the chassis dynamics and benchmarked the best handling cars in the class. Given that the basic underpinnings are shared with the MkV Volkswagen Golf, it’s made of stern stuff. Factor in an additional aluminium subframe for added rigidity and stiffer suspension and you’ve got a package that’s significantly more able in the twisties than the previous generation car with its rather rudimentary torsion beam rear suspension.

The SEAT Leon is an extremely competent vehicle hobbled by rather unusual styling and SEAT’s decision to delay the launch of the much-vaunted hot models. It’s still worth taking a long, hard look at on the used market and the 2.0-litre TDI Sport model remains the pick of the bunch. If you can get along with the looks, a late plate Cupra makes a very smart piece of business in the face of new rivals.

THE LEON KING?
SEAT's Leon Is A Big Step Forward Over The Old Car But Is It Worth Buying A Diesel Model? Andy Enright Tackles This Thorny Issue

Some cars are easy to like despite their countless faults. Others are unswervingly efficient but have a problem justifying their existence. Step out of a SEAT Leon TDI diesel and there isn’t too much you can note in the demerit column. Taken in isolation, it’s a very accomplished vehicle. But buyers don’t choose cars in isolation. They compare and contrast different models, and this is where the Leon diesels may have a struggle. They’re up against the enemy from within. If you can pinpoint what the Leon does materially better than its MPV sibling, the Altea, you may well be a Leon customer – and a very clever one.

There’s no doubt that the Leon and the Altea are very similar both in terms of looks and mechanicals. They ride on the same chassis and share most of their engines. The Altea is more practical, offering greater interior space, but the Leon takes a sportier direction with sleeker lines and more dynamic trim designations. The Leon TDI diesel models we look at here have the dual appeal of being efficient and fun. There are three diesel engines offered, two very good and one rather old. I’d hoped that SEAT would do the decent thing and pension off the rather tired 1.9-litre diesel powerplant, but it’s offered here in budget 105bhp guise. This is an engine from the diesel old school, offering reasonable refinement but rather annoying lag and surge driving characteristics. As long as you’re prepared to use the gear lever a lot, it’s possible to hustle it along at a reasonable clip but drive it back to back with the far more sophisticated 140bhp two-litre TDI unit and you’ll soon see how far diesel engine design has progressed.

"The Leon diesel is a car fighting to carve a small niche for itself"

Still, the 1.9-litre makes reasonable figures. It’ll accelerate to 60mph in 12 seconds and return an average fuel consumption of 57mpg. Top speed is pegged at 114mph. Naturally the 140bhp 2.0-litre offers significantly more brio. The manual version will dip under ten seconds for the sprint to 60mph and top out at 125mph. The penalty for this additional zip isn’t punitive either, the fuel consumption average being a creditable 50.7mpg. The range topping engine is well worth paying a premium for. It’s an up-rated version of the 140bhp 2.0-litre TDI that produces a hefty 168bhp. Performance of 135mph and 0-60mph in 8.3 seconds mark it out as pretty nippy and economy of 47mpg will raise a few eyebrows. The 140bhp 2.0-litre model’s ace in the hole is the ability to specify it with the revolutionary DSG twin-clutch sequential manual gearbox. This is a piece of technology that the likes of BMW and Ferrari eye jealously. You’ll have to pay a premium of around £800 for the privilege, but it’s worth it if you mix up your driving between city streets and open roads and want a transmission that can shine in both situations. The trim levels are traditional SEAT stuff. The 1.9-litre engine is offered in Reference and Stylance guises only, whereas the 140bhp 2.0-litre car comes in plusher Reference Sport or Stylance versions. If you want the 168bhp 2.0 TDI model, then you’ll have to shell out for the sporty FR trim. Prices start at £13,412 for the 1.9-litre Reference, with the 2.0-litre Reference Sport pitching in at £15,412 and the FR topping out at £17,512. Its clear SEAT have put a lot of effort into improving the chassis dynamics and have benchmarked the best handling cars in the class. Given that the basic underpinnings are shared with the latest Volkswagen Golf, it’s already off to a flier. Factor in an additional aluminium subframe for added rigidity and stiffer suspension and you’ve got a package that’s significantly more able in the twisties than the old car with its rather rudimentary torsion beam rear suspension. The Leon is a good deal bigger than its predecessor and this extra space is particularly noticeable in the rear. The old car was pretty tight in the back but the addition of 12cm to the latest models’ length is felt particularly in the rear, where there’s now knee room for six-footers. Although there’s no armrest in the back and the bench is a little flat, you wouldn’t feel hard done by undertaking a longer journey here. The rear tailgate opens wide to reveal a load bay that’s a little awkwardly shaped for bulky items but is otherwise perfectly adequate for this class of car. Weight has gone up by a mere 8kg, helped in no small part by innovative panel stamping procedures and an acrylic rear side window that incorporates the door handle. Both the front seat and the steering wheel are multi-adjustable and there’s plenty of headroom up front even for taller drivers. The nose curves rapidly out of view and shorter drivers may want to specify parking sensors. The windscreen pillars are annoyingly chunky which means that you’ll probably be doing a fair bit of see-sawing in your seat as you negotiate roundabouts. One can almost excuse this feature due to the fact that the windscreen wipers park vertically into the pillars – a rather neat trick that helps with the vital showroom wow factor. All-round visibility isn’t a Leon strong point, the three-quarter view being hampered by thick pillars and the rearward view consisting of a number of headrests. The fascia is also rather disappointing for a car with such bold exterior styling. As much as the Leon tries to impress, it’s tough to come up with objective reasons to buy one of the base models over an Altea. I can understand those who wish to upgrade to the seriously sporty models, but the lesser TDI derivatives face a tougher task. That said, taken in isolation the Leon is an accomplished product.

FACTS AT A GLANCE CAR: SEAT Leon TDI range PRICES: £13,412-£17,512 - on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 5-11 CO2 EMISSIONS: 132-151g/km PERFORMANCE: [2.0TDI] Max Speed 125mph / 0-60mph 9.8s FUEL CONSUMPTION: [2.0TDI] (combined) 50.7mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front, side and curtain airbags, ABS WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4315/1768/1458

WELCOME TO THE CHEAP SEATS
The Entry-Level Leon Now Wields A 1.6-Litre Engine. Andy Enright Decides Whether It’s Up To Speed

To some people £1,800 is pretty small beer. It’s the sort of money they’d splash out on an impulse buy for a watch or a laptop computer. For most of us, it’s a meaningful slice of our annual salary. It also represents the difference in price between a SEAT Leon 1.6 Reference and a Volkswagen Golf 1.6 FSI S. Both run on the same underpinnings and both are modern, five door family hatches built by different arms of the same automotive conglomerate. As good as the Golf is, is it really that much better than the rather attractive Leon?

In my book the answer has to be negative. Yes, the Golf uses FSI technology to leverage an 8bhp horsepower advantage from its 1.6-litre engine and the interior feels a little more upmarket, but the price of all that German quality is weight and despite being more powerful, the Golf can’t keep up with the SEAT in a straight line. It can’t brake as well and it won’t corner as sharply. Looking to make money back on the Golf when the time comes to sell. Count your pennies. Predicted residual value for the Golf after three years is 50.5% and for the SEAT 50.2%. Spain looks to be holding the advantage. The £12,422 Reference is the middle model in the Leon 1.6 line up. To really drive home the advantage, you’d need to buy the £11,722 Essence, but there’s also a £13,622 Stylance model for those that aren’t watching the bottom line quite so beadily. This is a car that offers some big-car features for a decidedly compact price. Follow-me-home headlamps, electrically adjustable door mirrors with park function, dual zone climate control and an eight speaker radio/CD system with steering wheel controls is just the start of it. There’s illuminated sun visors, cruise control, electronic stability control and electronic brake assist, locking wheel nuts to protect your 16-inch alloys, trip computer, and height- and lumbar-adjustable front driver’s seat as well.

"Ever wanted to know where the smart money goes? Let me buy you a clue."

The 1.6-litre engine is a little less sophisticated than the unit found in the Golf and is just about enough for this 1,320kg car. The old Leon was offered with a 1.4-litre engine but unless SEAT can wheedle the 1.4-litre Twincharge engine out of Volkswagen, it’s doubtful we’ll see a smaller capacity unit in a current Leon. With 109lb/ft of torque available, you may need to use the gearbox on longer inclines, especially if you’re fuilly loaded. Throttle response is a little unusual, commands to the engine feeling as if there’s a small capacity turbocharged unit on the other end of the bitstream, a slight lag in reply to your bidding being a rather odd characteristic for such a normally-aspirated powerplant. The Leon will get to 60mph in 10.2 seconds and keep going until the whiteflag is waved at 114mph. A combined fuel economy figure of 38.1mpg is reasonably good although when we tried to replicate this in real life, we found the Leon to be consuming fuel at a rate of around 31mpg. A six-speed gearbox would help increase economy while cruising on motorways but the Leon 1.6 gets a five-speeder. If you want an extra cog, you’ll need to trade up to a 2.0-litre model. It’s worth reminding ourselves what a SEAT Leon actually is. We’ve become very taken with hotter Cupra versions of the Leon over the past few years, but Britain is a special case, and in mainland Europe, it’s the more prosaic models that plump up SEAT’s profit margins. Therefore there’s a slight disconnect between how we perceive the Leon and how our European neighbours do. To us, a Leon is a snorting hot hatch that offers terrific value for money and Germanic build quality all wrapped up with a strong sporting pedigree. Think Jason Plato doorhandling Yvan Muller out of the way in his SEAT touring car. That’s only a small segment of what the Leon represents to SEAT. Instead it must go head to head with some of the class best in the shape of the Ford Focus, the Vauxhall Astra, the Renault Megane and the Citroen C4. The Leon is a good deal bigger than its predecessor and this extra space is particularly noticeable in the rear. The old car was pretty tight in the back but the addition of 12cm to the latest models’ length is felt particularly in the rear, where there’s now knee room for six-footers. Although there’s no armrest in the back and the bench is a little flat, you wouldn’t feel hard done by undertaking a longer journey here. The rear tailgate opens wide to reveal a load bay that’s a little awkwardly shaped for bulky items but is otherwise perfectly adequate for this class of car. Weight has gone up by a mere 8kg, helped in no small part to innovative panel stamping procedures and an acrylic rear side window that incorporates the door handle. Both the front seat and the steering wheel are multi-adjustable and there’s plenty of headroom up front even for taller drivers. The nose curves rapidly out of view and shorter drivers may want to specify parking sensors. The windscreen pillars are annoyingly chunky which means that you’ll probably be doing a fair bit of see-sawing in your seat as you negotiate roundabouts. One can almost excuse this feature due to the fact that the windscreen wipers park vertically into the pillars – a rather neat trick that helps with the vital showroom wow factor. All-round visibility isn’t a Leon strong point, the three-quarter view being hampered by thick pillars and the rearward view consisting of a number of headrests. The Leon 1.6-litre models acquit themselves very well in a tough marketplace, offering a top value alternative to the likes of the Ford Focus and the Volkswagen Golf. The interior may be disappointingly barren given the stylistic flourishes of the exterior styling but that’s a small grumble. If you want to make the view look a little better, think of the money you’ve saved over a Golf. An Omega Constellation would probably look pretty good on your wrist…

FACTS AT A GLANCE CAR: SEAT Leon 1.6 range PRICES: £11,722-£13,622 - on the road INSURANCE GROUP: 6 CO2 EMISSIONS: 183g/km PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 114mph / 0-60mph 10.2s FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 38.1mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: six airbags, 3-point seatbelts with pre-tensioners, ESP, EBA and DSR. WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4315/1768/1458

THE HOT SEAT
SEAT is looking to move the game on with the latest Leon Cupra. Can it match up to its big-selling predecessor? Andy Enright reports

Perhaps I could claim some sort of referral bonus from SEAT. For a spell back in 2000/2001, I must have shifted a decent number of Leon Cupras from recommendation alone. A few friends are still driving them, their word of mouth shifting yet more. For some time, there really was very little that could get near it from a price/performance/practicality perspective. That was back then, however, and these days there are some very talented rivals that SEAT needs to knock down before garnering another recommendation. Is the 2006 vintage up to scratch?

The formula is quite simple, although the Spanish company has rather dragged its espadrilles in getting this model to market. Still, at least these days there’s the option of a slightly more affordable FR version backing up this hot Cupra model, with the tantalising possibility of an even more focused Cupra R variant waiting in the wings. The problem with this approach is that while it spreads launch activity over an ongoing period, it also means that those who want the latest thing can see the subsequent sporting models as rather old hat. The original 20VT model (that became the MK1 Cupra) was, after all, part of the Leon range rolled out to the public on the first generation car’s launch in 2000. This time round, there’s been a gestation period of well over a year between this second generation Leon hitting the dealers and the Cupra model appearing. It’s not all SEAT’s fault. The company has to operate in close formation with Volkswagen, Audi, and Skoda and the last thing this group needs is SEAT stealing sales from, say, the potentially more profitable Volkswagen Golf GTI. That’s why the Golf gets a clear run at the market for a year or so and then first the Skoda Octavia vRS and then the SEAT Leon Cupra appear. But does the Cupra really have the mettle to make customers defect from the tempting cabin of a Golf?

"The Leon Cupra proves that a 150mph+ performance car can double as everyday family transport for less than £20k"

It depends very much on your priorities. Put bluntly, you get more engine but less feel good factor with this car. The cabin of the Golf GTI is beautifully detailed and it’s easy to appreciate this as a premium piece of design. The SEAT, on the other hand, feels as if it has consciously been de-contented, the plastics a grade or two cheaper, the depth of engineering that has gone into the control surfaces that tangible bit shallower. If this means very little to you, the Leon could well be your thing. It certainly doesn’t want for performance. It’ll catapult itself from standstill to 60mph in just 6.1 seconds and keep going to 153mph. The 237bhp engine is based around the 197bhp unit used by both the Golf GTI and the Leon FR 2.0TFSI. However, in this form, the Cupra’s powerplant offers a heftier turbocharger, bigger capacity injectors, reinforced conrods and pistons and a revised cylinder head. Adding just over 30bhp gives the unit a notably different character. Although it’s still very competent for a turbocharged four, you’re now aware that there is a turbocharger at work under the bonnet whereas the 197bhp installation merely feels like a larger capacity six-cylinder engine. There have been some small modifications to the suspension as well, with revised spring and damper rates. Cupra buyers can also expect an upgrade from the FR’s 17-inch rims to 18-inch ten-spoke alloys, as well as the fitment of some weight-saving aluminium parts that go some way to countering the increased unsprung weight of the wheels. Ride quality is extremely good and power deployment is a good deal more civilised than you might expect. Drive the Leon Cupra back to back with an Astra VXR and you’ll appreciate that it’s a far more competently engineered car. What it isn’t, however, is a more exciting car. Where the Astra will possibly be a little slower on a given cross country route, it’ll leave you thrilled, dry-mouthed and possibly a little sweaty palmed. The Leon, on the other hand, will have demolished the Vauxhall without a great deal of drama. In building a car that only gets exciting when frankly horrifying figures are showing on the speedo, perhaps SEAT has been a little too clever for its own good. I could be wrong but I’m certain the Golf GTI is a few degrees more communicative and ‘live’. This generation Leon is a good deal bigger than its predecessor and this extra space is particularly noticeable in the rear. The old car was pretty tight in the back but the addition of 12cm to the latest models’ length is felt particularly in the rear, where there’s now knee room for six-footers. Although there’s no armrest in the back and the bench is a little flat, you wouldn’t feel hard done by undertaking a longer journey here. The rear tailgate opens wide to reveal a load bay that’s a little awkwardly shaped for bulky items but is otherwise perfectly adequate for this class of car. Weight has gone up by a mere 8kg, helped in no small part to innovative panel stamping procedures and an acrylic rear side window that incorporates the door handle. Both the front seat and the steering wheel are multi-adjustable and there’s plenty of headroom up front even for taller drivers. The nose curves rapidly out of view and shorter drivers may want to specify parking sensors. The windscreen pillars are annoyingly chunky which means that you’ll probably be doing a fair bit of see-sawing in your seat as you negotiate roundabouts. One can almost excuse this feature due to the fact that the windscreen wipers park vertically into the pillars – a rather neat trick that helps with the vital showroom wow factor. All-round visibility isn’t a Leon strong point, the three-quarter view being hampered by thick pillars and the rearward view consisting of a number of headrests. The MK2 Leon Cupra improves on its practicality and, on most objective scorecards, offers a bigger bang and equivalent value for money as its forebear. However, much has changed since I first raved about the MK1 version of this model in 2000. While it’s a car that still comes with a big thumbs up, there are many talented rivals. Is this Leon really any better than a Ford Focus ST, a Renaultsport Clio 197 or a Honda Civic Type-R? I have my doubts. SEAT has built a fine car but I don’t think I’ll be getting rich on any referral fees.

FACTS AT A GLANCE CAR: SEAT Leon Cupra PRICE: £19,622 - on the road INSURANCE GROUP: 17 CO2 EMISSIONS: 199g/km PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 153mph / 0-60mph 6.1s FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 34mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: six airbags, 3-point seatbelts with pre-tensioners, ESP, EBA and DSR. WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4323/1768/1458

PUNCHING ABOVE ITS WEIGHT
If The Idea Of One Car That Does Almost Everything Appeals, The 170bhp SEAT Leon 2.0 TDI FR Makes A Decent Fist Of The Job. Andy Enright Reports

Only a fortunate few of us have the budget for a sensible family car and a self-indulgent weekend plaything. Although a family hatch and a lightweight sports roadster would make an ideal pair, pressures on space, the costs of running two cars and the inevitable arguments as to who gets what often mean that one car is a more practical solution. Sadly the list of cars that can entertain and work for their corn while at the same time being economical to buy and run is rather short. The SEAT Leon 2.0 TDI FR, however, might just be the best of the lot.

For a start, you get a car that looks the part. With all the racy FR body styling and mean-looking alloy wheels, this Leon is no apologetic Q-car. Couple that swagger with a sports suspension set up that encourages sporty driving, a 170bhp diesel engine of genuine muscularity and the ability to turn in a scarcely credible 56.5mpg at the pumps and you have a car that has an awful lot going for it. Did I mention that it only costs £17,512, has five doors, a whole heap of equipment and is cheaper to insure than a Kia Magentis? Perhaps now you can see why this car is so eminently buyable. Although the on-paper performance figures are respectable enough, as with all powerful diesel cars the subjective ‘seat of the pants’ feel makes the Leon seem a whole lot quicker than its sprint to 60mph of 8.2 seconds would suggest. It’ll top out at 135mph but the huge amount of torque in the midrange is perfect for putting a lesson on tailgating reps in their Mondeos. With 258 lb/ft of torque available, this Leon has an engine a good deal brawnier than that of a Mercedes E350, a BMW 530i, a Porsche Boxster S or even a 4.0-litre Jeep Grand Cherokee. With this amount of muscle available to aid overtaking manoeuvres, the Leon 2.0 TDI FR just sails past dawdlers without having to unduly worry the six-speed gearbox which is, should you decide to use it, one of the better units of its type. Accelerate the car away from rest and when the turbocharger comes on stream, the Leon feels almost alarmingly quick. The power delivery is certainly a good deal more dramatic than many more powerful cars and in the wet you’ll be glad of the standard fit traction control system as the front tyres would otherwise have a tough task of transmitting that maelstrom of torque to the tarmac.

"The power delivery is a good deal more dramatic than in many more powerful cars "

The £17,512 sticker price looks like a reasonable piece of business, especially as the less powerful and much less low-key TDI 140bhp model retails at just £1,000 less. The FR styling kit is worth that premium alone, comprising exclusive bumpers front and rear, racy 17" alloy wheels (with 18" versions as an option), sports seats, white instrumentation, twin stainless steel exhaust pipes, an FR-specific steering wheel and gearlever, plus a number of further FR logos inside and out. The on-board computer is fun to play with whilst sitting in traffic and will give you the opportunity to note quite how little fuel you’re consuming compared to the guy in the bland econobox sitting in front of you. Climate control and a six-CD multichanger also ease the tedium of those moments when the road isn’t exactly something out of a SEAT brochure. Standard safety equipment includes anti lock brakes, traction control, front and side airbags and ISOFIX child seat mounts. The whole package is then protected by remote central locking with deadlocks, an immobiliser and a volumetric alarm. The handling is sharpened up considerably over lesser diesel Leons, but the fact remains that the Leon chassis isn’t the sharpest on the block and that diesel engine is a very weighty thing to have up front. Drive at ten tenths and you’ll find the Leon a safe understeerer but few should pilot their car in this fashion on the road and at sensibly brisk speeds, the Leon feels nicely all of a piece, the uprated suspension suppressing body roll well and the steering offering decent feedback. The only real gripe comes when trundling through pot holed city streets where the firm ride and low profile tyres offer little in the way of cosseting. Compared to a Ford Focus, there's a decent amount of space in the back, and with five doors access is always good - coupe roofline notwithstanding. The luggage bay is also of very decent dimensions and the split folding rear seat only adds to the Leon’s practicality. Sheer space apart however, that interior should be seen as one of the SEAT's strongest suits. Like all VW-sourced products, you feel behind the wheel that you're in something much more expensive, thanks to the choice of trim materials and the way the switches and stalks snap into place with an expensive click. There are lovely touches everywhere, including a steering wheel adjustable for rake and reach. The after sales package is strong too, with a years road tax included as well as a 24-month unlimited mileage warranty, a 3 year/60,000 mile warranty as backup and five years SEAT roadside assistance including cover in 33 countries in and bordering Europe. The SEAT Leon 2.0 TDI FR is a supremely talented all rounder. Few affordable cars combine this level of practicality, performance, parsimony and panache. It’s one of those deals that has you repeatedly looking for the catch but there isn’t one. Products this strong aren’t too thick on the ground.

FACTS AT A GLANCE CAR: SEAT Leon FR 2.0 TDI PRICE: £17,512 - on the road INSURANCE GROUP: 14 CO2 EMISSIONS: 161g/km PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 135mph / 0-60mph 8.2s FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 36.2mpg / (extra urban) 56.5mpg / (combined) 47.1mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Driver, passenger & side airbags, ABS, TCS, EDS WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4184/1742/1457mm

PRIDE OF LEONS
SEAT's Leon bears virtually no resemblance to its popular predecessor. Is this a step too far or a bold revolution? Andy Enright reports

First reactions to early spy shots of the latest SEAT Leon were not promising. "They’re not going to turn the Leon into THAT, are they?" asked one incredulous colleague. Thankfully, SEAT didn’t release the Leon looking quite as MPV-like as the hastily grabbed photos suggested. In fact, the prototype, first shown at the 2005 Geneva Show, actually looked very special indeed. True, it was wearing the glittering chrome and huge wheels of a show car, but there was something very well sorted about the basic proportions. SEAT seemed to be onto something.

It’s worth reminding ourselves what a SEAT Leon actually is. We’ve become very taken with hotter Cupra versions of the Leon over the past few years, but Britain is a special case, and in mainland Europe, it’s the more prosaic models that plump up SEAT’s profit margins. Therefore, there’s a slight disconnect between how we perceive the Leon and how our European neighbours do. To us, a Leon is a snorting hot hatch that offers terrific value for money and Germanic build quality all wrapped up with a strong sporting pedigree. Think Jason Plato doorhandling Yvan Muller out of the way in his SEAT touring car. That’s only a small segment of what the Leon represents to SEAT. Instead it must go head to head with some of the class best in the shape of the Ford Focus, the Vauxhall Astra, the Renault Megane and the Honda Civic. Therefore it was with some disappointment that the first pictures of the ‘cooking’ Leon models dropped across my desk. There had already been quite some controversy at how similar looking the Altea and Toledo models were, and now here was another model that would require serious scrutiny to establish exactly what SEAT we were dealing with. To make things worse, it wasn’t clear exactly what advantage a Leon had over an Altea. All three cars were born from the same Salsa concept car under the aegis of SEAT design chief Steve Lewis and all three, rather unsurprisingly, run on the same platform. Although the tape measure shows that the new Leon is only around an inch taller than its predecessor, the base models have a definite MPV look and feel to them. It’s only when you opt for the sportier FR and Cupra models that the Leon begins to look convincingly racy. Perhaps that’s the point.

"The Leon tries to be all things to all people. Only time will tell if this strategy will prove a success"

Underscoring SEAT’s broad targeting of the Leon, the range includes a number of engine choices. Diesel buyers will get to choose between a 103bhp 1.9-litre unit that’s a little old fashioned and a 138bhp 2.0-litre that most certainly isn’t. The petrol powerplants open with a 101bhp 1.6-litre and a 148bhp 2.0-litre direct injection FSI but, to be frank, if you’re going to opt for these engines, the Altea makes a smarter purchase. Move up the power table and the Leon starts to make all sorts of sense and SEAT have wisely earmarked three engines to cope for us British bhp junkies. First up is the 168bhp TDI diesel, while those looking for a seriously sporting drive will opt for the 200bhp FR model with its turbocharged 2.0-litre FSI engine or the 240bhp Cupra which used a tweaked version of that unit. SEAT worked hard at improving the chassis dynamics and benchmarked the best handling cars in the class. Given that the basic underpinnings are shared with the latest Volkswagen Golf, it got off to a flier. Factor in an additional aluminium subframe for added rigidity and stiffer suspension and you’ve got a package that’s significantly more able in the twisties than the old car with its rather rudimentary torsion beam rear suspension. The Leon is a good deal bigger than its predecessor and this extra space is particularly noticeable in the rear. The old car was pretty tight in the back but the addition of 12cm to the latest models’ length is felt particularly in the rear, where there’s now knee room for six-footers. Although there’s no armrest in the back and the bench is a little flat, you wouldn’t feel hard done by undertaking a longer journey here. The rear tailgate opens wide to reveal a load bay that’s a little awkwardly shaped for bulky items but is otherwise perfectly adequate for this class of car. Weight has gone up by a mere 8kg, helped in no small part to innovative panel stamping procedures and an acrylic rear side window that incorporates the door handle. Both the front seat and the steering wheel are multi-adjustable and there’s plenty of headroom up front even for taller drivers. The nose curves rapidly out of view and shorter drivers may want to specify parking sensors. The windscreen pillars are annoyingly chunky which means that you’ll probably be doing a fair bit of see-sawing in your seat as you negotiate roundabouts. One can almost excuse this feature due to the fact that the windscreen wipers park vertically into the pillars – a rather neat trick that helps with the vital showroom wow factor. All-round visibility isn’t a Leon strong point, the three-quarter view being hampered by thick pillars and the rearward view consisting of a number of headrests. For the first time there’s the option of a Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) offered with the Leon. This unit is the very best of its ilk, better than the sequential manuals used by the likes of Ferrari, BMW and Aston Martin, offering shifts that are at the same time lightning quick and butter smooth. There’s a lot to like about the Leon, but the essential similarity at the bottom of the range to cars like the Altea and Toledo somewhat bring into question the wisdom of importing them. Perhaps SEAT should have built the brand by merely importing the hotter Leons and leaving the others for our European colleagues. I’m just wondering what a Cupra R is going to be like…

FACTS AT A GLANCE CAR: SEAT Leon range PRICES: £11,722-£19,622 - on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 4-17 CO2 EMISSIONS: 141-197g/km PERFORMANCE: [2.0T FSI] Max Speed 137mph / 0-60mph 7.8s FUEL CONSUMPTION: [2.0T FSI] (combined) 34.4mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: six airbags, 3-point seatbelts with pre-tensioners, ESP, EBA and DSR. WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4315/1768/1458

PEAK PERFORMANCE
A Trip To The Staffordshire Peak District Told Us Plenty About SEAT’s Leon. Steve Walker Reports…

A lengthy motorway journey followed by a close encounter with some twisty, undulating B-roads. It was a trip with all the ingredients to provide an accurate impression of any car’s true abilities. The Peak District was the destination and SEAT’s Leon was the car.

The general consensus of opinion pre-trip was that the smartly styled SEAT would devour the motorway mileage with a flourish and barely a flicker of its fuel gauge. The Peak District’s serpentine back roads, it was thought, would present more of a test - putting the cat firmly amongst the pigeons. In the end, that’s just about how things panned out but there were more than a few surprises along the way. Like most cars of its ilk, the SEAT Leon is well equipped to soften the hard edges of long distance motorway travel. The interior is of much better quality than you might expect for a SEAT – and surprisingly well equipped. In the 2.0 TDI model we tried, you get air conditioning, side airbags, electric windows all round and a leather covering for the steering wheel and gearknob. The result is a relaxed, comfortable quality ambience - a cocoon of tranquillity for the bothered executive and an ideal environment in which to undertake a trip of a few hundred miles or more. Meanwhile, the high quality sound system provides the entertainment and the satellite navigation system that was fitted to our test car deals a terminal blow to the tired old road atlas. Actually, we took the tired old road atlas anyway - past experiences have taught that a healthy mistrust of satellite navigation is often, well, healthy. Just 50 miles in and it was apparent that motorway cruising is a walk in the park for the Leon. Concerns that the car was prone to horrendous wind noise proved unfounded once we realised that one of the windows was very slightly open and the suspension was obliterating the carriageway expansion joints to impressive effect. Even with the manual gearstick occupying the 5th gear slot, a prod of the throttle rapidly puts on the 10mph you need to bypass a pair of overtaking HGVs. The torque emanating from the 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine means accelerating back up to speed out of heavy traffic is a breeze and even if you drop down to speeds of 40mph, the Leon will still pick up easily.

"On our trip, the car averaged 40mpg. And it was driven hard……."

The roads around the village of Warslow in the Staffordshire Peak District could have been created expressly to upset the equilibrium of a modern family hatch. Winding across the landscape connecting clusters of small stone houses, the narrow tracks twist up inclines and plunge into shallow valleys. These roads would ask big questions of a well-balanced roadster - an observation conformed when a convoy of day-glow Vauxhall VX220s, complete with grinning drivers, blasted past in the other direction. The SEAT fared better than many people would imagine here. The suspension still soaks up the undulations and ruts to a great extent, which can be a little disconcerting, but when you ask it to brake in a hurry or turn sharply around a dry stone walled hairpin, it does so with reassuring agility. The gearbox isn’t slick enough for this kind of driving and finding the required ratio quickly can be difficult. Performance-wise, the 2.0-litre engine is a real pleasure to punt around. It’s smooth and quiet but when you stir it up there’s genuine bite to the acceleration. 0-60mph in 9.3 seconds is the official performance figure but powering out of a corner up a Peak District hillside, the flexibility of the powerplant makes it feel considerably quicker than that. The Leon’s handling on some taxing but enjoyable roads felt very secure, which is more than can be said for yours truly during a night at Warslow’s Greyhound Inn. The 17th century pub was brimming with character and hospitality but the landlord’s spirited rendition of the ghost story attached to the building did little to facilitate a good night’s sleep. Still, £35 a night for a well-appointed double room and breakfast seemed excellent value. The next morning it was a short drive through rolling hills bordered by streams and criss-crossed by the dry stone walls to a destination that would put the Leon’s high speed manoeuvrability firmly in perspective – Alton Towers. With names like Nemisis, Submission and (I can hardly bring myself to type it) Oblivion, the rides at this theme park lead you to suspect that you’re in for something mildly unpleasant but the reality made the Greyhound ghost story seem like an episode of The Tweenies. When you’ve had your sense of direction turned inside out by the dizzying Spinball Wizzer, been fired headfirst through the woods by Air and endured a 50ft vertical drop into a misty pit on Oblivion, the Leon’s cosseting interior was a joy to collapse into for the drive home. The trip proved that this SEAT can function both as a family runabout and a more than capable long distance cruiser if need be. It’s also actually very capable in the twisty stuff for a car of its kind. The gearbox wasn’t conducive to quick, fluent changes but the engine was outstanding for powering up the Peak District’s many inclines, traction was near faultless and the chassis remained poised on some testing thoroughfares. Leon buyers will be pleased to know that their car can cut it cross-country but there’s no doubt that the motorways and A-roads are its preferred habitat. Effortless performance, well-crafted interiors and a quality ride all help here but the biggest draw of all for SEAT Leon customers may well be the fuel economy. On our trip, the car managed nearly 50mpg. That’s very impressive for a medium range family-sized five-door being driven reasonably hard.

FACTS AT A GLANCE CAR: SEAT Leon TDI range PRICES: £13,412-£17,512 - on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 5-11 CO2 EMISSIONS: 132-151g/km PERFORMANCE: [2.0TDI] Max Speed 125mph / 0-60mph 9.8s FUEL CONSUMPTION: [2.0TDI] (combined) 50.7mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front, side and curtain airbags, ABS WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4315/1768/1458

THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE?
If SEAT Are To Progress In The Sporty Direction Apparently Mapped Out For Them, A Lot Rests With the Leon And The 2.0T FSI Powerplant. Steve Walker Reports…

We were told a while back that SEAT were being groomed as the sporting arm of the sprawling VW Group empire. The phrase ‘Iberian Alfa Romeo’ was being bandied about in the press and the Salsa concept car of 2002 had whetted the appetites of red-blooded enthusiasts. Then the new models started to arrive and something seemed to have gone awry.

The Toledo, once a straightforward sporty saloon car, had come over a bit practical and family-orientated. The Altea MPV towed a similar line. These were decent products but where was the SEAT sparkiness, the ‘auto emocion’ buyers had been led to expect? The Leon makes a much better job of delivering exactly that and with the 2.0-litre Turbo FSI petrol engine installed, it has the qualities to help propel the brand in a more dynamic direction. The 2.0T FSI engine can also be found in the Volkswagen Golf GTi and various Audi models so it comes with a good pedigree. It uses Fuel Stratified Injection technology and a turbocharger to produce 198bhp in the FR model we feature here. The range-topping Cupra models are also equipped with this powerplant but they utilise a more powerful version of it. The Leon 2.0T FSI FR still feels pretty feisty, however, with the engine’s impressive characteristics helping to offer-up and involving drive.

"It’s quite hard to establish that there’s a turbocharger in operation at all from your seat behind the wheel"

Turbochargers mated to petrol engines traditionally produce peaky performance and a narrow power band but the 2.0T FSI is different. It’s quite hard to establish that there’s a turbocharger in operation at all from your seat behind the wheel as the Leon pulls smoothly and purposefully through the rev-range. The engineers behind it have managed to give the powerplant a hefty torque output of 280Nm but, more significantly, this pulling power is available through a broad span of the rev-range from 1,750 to 5,000rpm. The result is the kind of in-gear flexibility that is more often associated with diesel powerplants. The standard gauge of automotive pace - 0-62mph acceleration - is suitably lively with the 198bhp Leon. The car will accomplish the feat in 7.3s before running on to a 142mph maximum speed. Average fuel economy of 35.8mpg is about what you’d expect from a hatchback with this kind of performance, as is the 190g/km emissions figure. SEAT are obviously keen that the Leon should maintain a sporty persona. It uses independent suspension all round with MacPherson struts at the front and a multilink set-up for the rear. There are anti-roll bars fore and aft while the springs and shocks are adjusted according to the engine that’s installed. The 2.0T FSI FR feels like its suspension has been stiffened right up and while the resulting ride may be a tad firm for some tastes, it creates a highly involving driving experience. SEAT have even gone to the trouble of installing the ‘SEAT Sound’ system. This actually serves to amplify the noise being generated at low engine speeds for a robust, aggressive sound but it gradually tones down its activities as the revs rise for quiet cruising. The Leon’s 2.0T FSI petrol engine is available with the FR trim level at prices starting from £17,022 and there’s the option of the outstanding DSG gearbox for £900 more. On top of the standard specification, buyers at this level benefit from features such as two-zone climate control, one-touch electric windows, steering wheel controls for the CD stereo, heated electric door mirror, front fog lamps, various body-colouring for the external fixtures and fittings, a honeycomb front grille ringed in chrome, twin stainless steel exhaust pipes, revised bumpers and 17" alloy wheels. The Leon is a good deal bigger than its predecessor and this extra space is particularly noticeable in the rear. The old car was pretty tight in the back but the addition of 12cm to the latest models’ length is felt particularly in the rear, where there’s now knee room for six-footers. Although there’s no armrest in the back and the bench is a little flat, you wouldn’t feel hard done by undertaking a longer journey here. The rear tailgate opens wide to reveal a load bay that’s a little awkwardly shaped for bulky items but is otherwise perfectly adequate for this class of car. Weight has gone up by a mere 8kg, helped in no small part to innovative panel stamping procedures and an acrylic rear side window that incorporates the door handle. Both the front seat and the steering wheel are multi-adjustable and there’s plenty of headroom up front even for taller drivers. The nose curves rapidly out of view and shorter drivers may want to specify parking sensors. The windscreen pillars are annoyingly chunky which means that you’ll probably be doing a fair bit of see-sawing in your seat as you negotiate roundabouts. One can almost excuse this feature due to the fact that the windscreen wipers park vertically into the pillars – a rather neat trick that helps with the vital showroom wow factor. All-round visibility isn’t a Leon strong point, the three-quarter view being hampered by thick pillars and the rearward view consisting of a number of headrests. The SEAT Leon certainly has the styling to excite and the 2.0-litre FSI Turbo engine gives it performance to match. Rear visibility is a bugbear but otherwise, SEAT have come up with a polished package that is virtually guaranteed to make a big impact in the family hatch marketplace.

FACTS AT A GLANCE CAR: SEAT Leon 2.0T FSI FR PRICE: £17,022 - on the road INSURANCE GROUP: 17 CO2 EMISSIONS: 190g/km PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 142mph / 0-60mph 7.3s FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 35.8mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: six airbags, 3-point seatbelts with pre-tensioners, ESP, EBA and DSR. WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4315/1768/1458