Hardly cheaper than Cupra
May we still experience this: product news from Seat! The brand, which will eventually be more or less replaced by Cupra, is including the plug-in hybrid version of the Seat Leon again in its range.
A plug-in hybrid version of the Seat Leon was previously available. However, anyone who recently wanted a Leon as a plug-in hybrid had to turn to Cupra for a Cupra Leon. Now it is back as Seat. The drivetrain has not changed a bit in his absence and still delivers 204 hp and 350 Nm. Exactly like the Volkswagen Golf e-Hybrid and the Cupra Leon, although those cars are also available as a PHEV with 245 hp.
The Seat Leon 1.4 TSI e-Hybrid also still has a 12.8 kWh battery, which should allow it to drive 63 kilometers electrically as a hatchback. The hybrid Leon is also available as a Sports Tourer – station wagon – and will last one theoretical kilometer less on electricity.
What also does not change is that Seat links the e-Hybrid drivetrain to the sporty FR decoration. This is an FR Business Intense as standard, which means that 17-inch alloys, a sports suspension, a gray finish on the grille and exterior mirrors, navigation, ambient lighting, steering wheel heating and adaptive cruise control are standard equipment. It costs at least €42,850 as a hatchback and €44,050 as a Sportstourer. Striking: a Cupra Leon is available with this drivetrain from €42,990 and has very comparable equipment and even larger wheels and a larger screen. The Cupra Leon Sportstourer costs at least €44,490 as a PHEV with 204 hp.
Cupra instead of Seat
Seat will continue as a company, but as a consumer car brand it will eventually be completely replaced by Cupra. However, Cupras are also products of Seat SA, as the Spanish branch of Volkswagen is officially called. The car company apparently thinks Cupra fits the current times better and is more emphatically portraying Cupra as a sporty and idiosyncratic brand than Seat, although ‘sporty’ certainly does not automatically mean ‘fast’ for Cupra either. The transition from one brand name to another may also play a role in the fact that Cupra wants to work in North America. The brand name ‘Seat’ – seat, seat – may be seen as difficult to explain in this huge English-speaking market, although the British are ultimately used to it.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl