In a recent newspaper article, I compared all the Volkswagen group’s 5-door hatchbacks that come with a 1.9 TDi engine to see which brand lost the most of your money to depreciation. Audi was the answer, and Seat Leons came in joint best with Skoda.
The Leon is also arguably one of the most stylish designs in the family hatchback market, so it’s a thought-provoking combination. On the strength of these two facts, prior to driving the Leon I bet a colleague that my conclusion at the end of this article would be that we should all rush down to our local Seat dealerships.
Sadly, I seem to be on a bit of a losing streak, and while I have many good things to say about the Spanish brand’s family car, dealers shouldn’t prepare for a sudden rush on my account.
Build quality is in line with everything else from VW: shut lines are flush, plastics have a quality feel, seats are firm but comfortable. The list goes on. “Tick V.G”, as my teacher used to say when I was right but he was unimpressed.
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Continuing along the practical considerations, head, leg and shoulder room is all in line with industry averages, as is the boot space. The swoopy front windscreen can steam up a bit and the ‘hidden’ rear door handles can momentarily confuse the old and the young, but they are the only practical criticisms of the Leon as a standard family hatchback. If you specify an automatic DSG gearbox, you may find there is a delay between you selecting a gear and it engaging – there certainly was on the 2.0 litre test car.
Which brings me to the specification of the test car. The ‘fr’ specification transforms the Leon from a chic but understated family car to a bit of a monster. Styling-wise that means chunky bucket seats, alloy wheels, tarted-up speedo binnacle and firmer ride.
Performance-wise – and boy racers may disagree with me on this – it is exactly the same transformation that adding the ST-2 suffix achieves for the Ford Focus. Unlike the lesser specs it felt like a dog fighting its leash around town, always growling, wanting to pull away and giving a lumpy ride at low speed as a result – although in a manual car I suspect this wouldn’t have been the case.
Seat’s fr petrol version will take you to 62mph in 6.9 seconds, while the Focus will be there in 6.8. The Seat, though, may use less fuel to do it, boasting as it does a 38.7 combined mpg figures to the Ford’s paltry 30.4. Or we could make that look even worse by using the diesel 2.0 litre fr stats, which manage 53.3mpg. Although it takes two seconds longer to hit 62mph, so that rather spoils my point.
The Leon doesn’t turn heads quite as well as the ST-2s, but it is a bit cheaper to buy and less likely to attract the attention of your local police constabulary. In short, whether you’re a girl racer or a family man, if you want to be stylish and sensible the Leon is one to consider.
What’s the market like?
There are nearly 1,500 current-shape Seat Leons out there to choose from. Two thirds are diesels and they vary enormously in mileage, condition and specification.
If looking to spend under £10,000 on a family car you want the smaller engines and 3- or 4-year-old cars. The 2007 1.9 TDI diesel is £900 or so more than the 1.6 litre petrol version in most cases. But the diesel will have done up to 15,000 miles more on average. So unless you are going to do huge mileage yourself, and really want the weekly fuel saving, the petrol makes more sense.
If you want a hot hatch, then a nearly new fr petrol version will cost about the same as a Focus ST, but may be harder to sell on. However, the diesel fr, which doesn’t have such a direct competitor and combines fun with thrifty, may well be the best option.
What else can this budget buy?
Leaving aside the fr, a budget of £8,000-£10,000 will buy all the 3-year-old everyday favourites, such as the Ford Focus or Vauxhall Astra. Which is what makes the standard Seat Leon such a dilemma for you, the car buyer.
It is not that much more stylish – that’s not a premium badge on the bonnet – yet it is up to £1,000 more than something like an Astra when you compare similar engine sizes and specs of used models (which I urge you to do on the price pages). So the question this time is not so much what else can this budget buy but how much extra is it worth to you to drive something a little more individual such as the Leon.
Summary
A stylish, desirable family hatchback. Or, in fr spec, a potential rival to the market’s current hot hatch favourite, the Focus ST.