With the advent of lower maximum speeds and more and more assistance systems that take the work off the driver’s hands, there seems to be less and less room for old-fashioned driving pleasure. Fortunately, there are still cars that involve their drivers in driving. One of them is the new Seat Leon.
With the arrival of a new generation of compact mid-sized cars on the MQB Evo platform, the Volkswagen Group can once again go in all directions. With Audi, Volkswagen, Skoda and Seat, the manufacturer can cover many parts of the market, while the investments remain under control. The all-new Seat Leon is the fourth generation of this model together with the Skoda Octavia. The Leon has always been used to cover the sporty-oriented part of the market. Audi always claims some dynamics for the A3, but for the Seat you do not have to order a thick hothatch version. Moreover, the Leon is always in a lower price range than the Audi. With a Golf that has gone noticeably more into the comfortable corner in recent years (apart from the GTI and R versions of course), there was even more room for Seat to profile itself. Now that does not work in every segment. When we go up, it was more difficult to make this distinction. For example, a Seat Ateca, Skoda Karoq and a Volkswagen T-Roc are very similar in terms of driving behavior. So the question was whether it would level out a bit in the lower Leon.
Wide rev range
The Seat has 150 hp on board, thanks to a 1.5-liter turbo engine. It is equipped with the new 1.5 eTSI block, which provides a small electric boost at low revs and when starting. This to save just that little bit of CO2. The new TSI, sorry, eTSI is a remarkably quiet and smooth engine. It may lack a bit of bite, but it boasts a wide rev range without harsh peaks. He also makes the Seat nice and fast on the intermediate sprint. In addition, the short electric boost at the bottom ensures that you get off your spot very smoothly. Very pleasant. De Leon has the latest variant of the seven-speed DSG from the Volkswagen Group. This machine shifts silky smooth, but also fast if you play pinball yourself. Perhaps a little more feedback would have been nice in the sporty-oriented Leon, but Seat has the Cupra label for that.
Beautiful balance
De Leon soon appears to live up to his paper truth. It drives noticeably more dynamic than the new Golf and especially than the new Octavia, while those two cars are clearly tighter than their predecessors. The modular platform also provides a significant weight advantage. That quickly saves 150 kg with comparable models. Set the optional dynamic dampers to Sport and the pace at which you can take fast corners is reminiscent of hot hatchbacks from years ago. This also has everything to do with the tire technology. There are ‘just’ Bridgestone Turanza tires under the Seat, but oh my God, what grip this car has. You can push harder than before and the Leon still maintains grip. When you let go of the gas, you can feel the rear come gently; a beautiful balance, especially since the car is not overly hard even in Sport mode. There are also the Standard and Comfort modes for the chassis, where the hardness disappears like snow in the sun and you can travel long distances relaxed and the car is still well on the road. The Leon’s bandwidth is very large: it offers a lot and can very quickly through the bend. However, you should have a little more feeling in the wheel.
Buddy mash
When we look into the interior, we quickly see that the Leon is a new car. The minimalist is completely in, especially within the Volkswagen Group. Everything has to be done with a touchscreen, which towers beautifully and prominently on the center console. But no matter how beautiful and fast, it goes a bit in our opinion. We prefer to control the temperature separately and the weird button mash that has replaced the rotary knob for the lighting does not make it any easier. The new lever is reminiscent of the Porsche 911, but this works slightly better. Even so, form seems to go before function here. Not a trend to follow, as far as we are concerned. The Seat is spacious. You sit very well in the back, with a striking amount of space for head and legs. The extra length of the wheelbase has also almost entirely benefited the rear passengers. The trunk is also quite large.