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SEAT Leon Estate

A LONGER LEON (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

SEAT's now fourth generation Leon is also offered as an Estate. It might be the best car you'd never heard of. Jonathan Crouch reports.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 80

Now with 617-litres of luggage space and riding on the same MQB chassis as the Volkswagen Golf Mk 8, the fourth generation SEAT Leon Estate offers sharp handling, excellent build quality and solid practicality. Plus this MK4 version delivers smarter styling, improved media connectivity, extra safety provision and some fresh new engine options. As before, the prices being asked represent a substantial saving over those of a comparable, identically-engined Golf Estate. It's hard to grumble at that sort of deal.

Backgroundword count: 104

So to the SEAT Leon ST, a compact estate that isn't that compact. A sensible station wagon that claims to be sporty. A car of contradictions then, but one that promises to be quite appealing family transport, especially in the fourth generation form we look at here with its slicker looks, stronger safety and improved media connectivity. Practical and sporty, it aims to offer a more dynamic option to family estate buyers, with a 'lifestyle' appeal that might even pique the interest of folk looking at Qashqai-class crossovers. That's what SEAT says anyway. Time to look at this car in a little more detail.

Driving Experienceword count: 264

You might not be surprised to learn that this Leon Estate offers a very similar driving experience to that of its hatchback stablemate - which wasn't guaranteed given the fact that this variant must carry along so much extra length behind its rear axle. With this fourth generation Leon, most mainstream versions continue to persist with an old-school torsion beam rear suspension set-up. Which isn't to suggest that nothing has changed here. Quite the contrary. Take the engine range. Specify an auto gearbox with the 150PS 1.5-litre TSI EVO four cylinder petrol powerplant and you'll get the brand's latest 'eTSI' mild hybrid electrified technology. There's also now a PHEV full-Hybrid plug-in Leon Estate, the e-HYBRID, which uses a 150PS 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine mated to a 6-speed DSG auto gearbox and an 85kW electric motor, powered by a 13kWh lithium-ion battery that when fully charged can deliver a WLTP-rated all-electric driving range of up to 36 miles. Most Leon customers though, will be wanting an engine of the more conventional kind, which if you want to stay with manual transmission is what you'll have to have. With a stick shift fitted, you can choose between conventional 130 or 150PS versions of that 1.5 TSI EVO petrol unit. You'll also be offered the option of diesel power - there are two versions of the latest cleaner, more efficient VW Group 2.0 TDI 'twin dosing' unit, offering either 116 or 150PS. At the top of the range lies the CUPRA Leon fast Estate variant, which features a conventional 2.0-litre TSI petrol unit developing 310PS via 4WD.

To see the full road test text contact us on 0330 0020 227

Pictures (high res disabled)

Statistics (subset of data only)

Min

Max

Price:

£20,000.00

£32,000.00

CO2 (g/km):

120

Max Speed (mph):

123

0-62 mph (s):

9.6

Combined Mpg:

50

Length (mm):

4642

Width (mm):

1800

Height (mm):

1448

Boot Capacity (l):

617

Scoring (subset of scores)

Category: Spacious Family Cars

Performance
80%
Handling
80%
Comfort
70%
Space
80%
Styling, Build, Value, Equipment, Depreciation, Handling, Insurance and Total scores are available with our full data feed.

This is an excerpt from our full review.
To access the full content library please contact us on 0330 0020 227 or click here

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