| Long Term Test | SEAT Leon 2.0 TDI Sport |
| Arrival date: | | December 2008 |
| Price: | | £18,197 (including £1,317 of options) |
| Current mileage: | | 3,102-miles |
| Average economy: | | 39.8mpg |
| Relevant links: | |
Euro NCAP results for SEAT Leon
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Been anywhere interesting?
A 600-odd mile round trip to the SEAT Christmas party in London from my base in Newcastle, which led to the pleasant, and surprising, discovery that the Leon is a good motorway cruiser for one so obviously sporty in setup. And it's frugal too, mustering 39.8mpg on a trip best described as - how should I put this - brisk. London's marvellous congestion zone, with its gloriously 'free-flowing' rows of nose-to-tail exotica, probably depleted that figure significantly too. Impressive.
The Leon also proved quite the Santa's sleigh, carting the full extent of a two-child roster of gifts with capacious aplomb over the festive period.
Anything stand out...?
Just how much fun a mid-level diesel hatchback can be. SEAT's sporty remit for the Leon means that, while the cabin might lack the outright solidity of its Golf platform kin, it's by far the more involving drive this side of a
GTI. The steering is a real highlight, with the combination of a small-circumference wheel and thick, tactile rim transferring more than enough information to your palms. Sink into the well-bolstered seat and the rev counter is directly in front of you, in the middle of the binnacle - a nice touch.
...and for the wrong reasons?
For a car set up so obviously with cornering poise in mind, the Leon isn't too cruel on the posterior during a long trip, but it can tend to go on a vertical 'tankslapper', of sorts, if it hits a motorway undulation. The up-and-down movements will keep going for a while before it levels out again, which is annoying, frankly. Passengers tend to remark on how firm the ride is, too - but that doesn't bother me too much.
It's also developing some of the foibles that seem trivial to report on, but will irk buyers, like a USB port that categorically refuses to mate itself with either an iPod Touch or Nano, and which is in a daft place under the seat. It will happily take a dongle full of MP3s (after you've fumbled around trying to find the damn slot), but it will only play the songs it likes. I should probably call a SEAT dealer about it...
There's also a sporadic rattle from the central air vents that only manifests itself under acceleration at motorway speeds. Oh, and one of the side seat bolsters is starting to collapse - and my legs aren't that fat.
Where next?
The usual day-to-day duties of being a family hatch, which means carting two small children to various babysitters, parks, grandparents and nurseries, and stuffing the boot full of shopping and buggies. But, there's a gap or two in the
Car Enthusiast Northern HQ's test car schedule for February, which affords me the enticing prospect of some proper time in the Leon - something I'm relishing. Not so much my son, though, who has actually taken to clinging onto his car seat for dear life when he sees a roundabout approaching. Good lad. Good car.
