SEAT has supplied purchasers larger selection with new petrol and diesel powertrains for its most popular automobile, the Leon.
The SEAT Leon hatch is now accessible with a 2.-litre TSI petrol engine developing 187bhp and the Leon Estate now has the choice of a 2.-litre TDI diesel with 113bhp. The far more effective TSI device is accessible completely with a DSG automated, whereas the TDI can be mated to SEAT’s 6-pace handbook.
Pricing for the new petrol choice begins at £28,810 in hatchback FR guise and the TDI Estate begins from £24,515 in SE trim.
Elsewhere in the assortment, SEAT’s initial ever plug-in hybrid Leon prices from £31,835 – commencing in FR trim and climbing to £35,060 for top-spec Xcellence Lux. Badged the SEAT Leon eHybrid, it pairs a 1.four-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine with a battery and electric powered motor for a full output of 201bhp and -62mph in 7.five seconds. A lot more importantly, formal gas financial state of up to 235.4mpg and CO2 emissions of 27g/km have also been claimed.
At the base conclusion of the Leon assortment entry-level SE rates begin from £20,405 for the hatchback and £24,530 for the estate. Common equipment for the entry level Leon SE features 16-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, keyless entry and a pair of electrically operated and heated doorway mirrors. Inside, there is an 8-inch infotainment method, a leather-based-trimmed steering wheel and a pair of USB ports.
The mid-assortment Leon SE Dynamic begins from £21,505. Updates above the entry-level design incorporate a set of larger seventeen-inch alloy wheels, entrance and rear parking sensors, privateness glass, a 10.twenty five-inch digital instrument binnacle and a 10-inch infotainment display with help for Apple CarPlay and Android Vehicle.
The Leon FR kicks off at £23,735. There’s a host of beauty and mechanical updates above the mid-assortment design, together with an intense body kit, a twin-exit exhaust method, a 15mm lessen suspension setup, illuminated tread plates and a set of exceptional LED tail lights with scrolling indicators.
Inside, the SEAT Leon FR gets a pair of sports seats with contrasting stitching, a leather-based multifunction steering wheel, 3-zone air conditioning, a wireless smartphone charger and a pair of excess USB ports for the rear seats. Potential buyers can also choose for a panoramic sunroof and possibly a set or electric powered tow bar on all types.
Xcellence and Xcellence Lux make autos make on the FR types with larger 18-inch alloy wheels, a wraparound inside ambient lighting method and a Winter Pack, which adds heated entrance seats, a heated steering wheel and heated windscreen washers.
New 2020 SEAT Leon: engine and drivetrain
Like the recently introduced Mk8 Volkswagen Golf, the hottest Leon gets a refreshed engine line-up that options different stages of electrification. From start, 5 choices will be accessible, with purchasers available 3 petrols, a single diesel and a delicate-hybrid powertrain.
The assortment opens with a 109bhp turbocharged 1.-litre 3-cylinder petrol engine. Previously mentioned that sits a pair of turbocharged 1.five-litre four-cylinder units, with outputs of possibly 128bhp or 148bhp.
A 113bhp turbocharged 2.-litre four-cylinder diesel device will be accessible from start. A 148bhp edition of the same engine will be manufactured accessible afterwards in Leon’s everyday living-span, along with a 187bhp turbocharged 2.-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. In the Leon hatchback, the 2.-litre TSI petrol engine is claimed to normal 42.2mpg with a -62mph time of 7.four seconds and a 144mph top pace.
The regular transmission is a 6-pace handbook, but the petrol engines can all be ordered with an automated gearbox. Likely automobile also opens up the risk of introducing forty eight-volt delicate-hybrid technological know-how on the 1.-litre and 148bhp 1.five-litre petrol variants.
For enterprise purchasers, the 1.four-litre plug-in hybrid design boasts a advantage in kind ranking of just 10 for every cent. Gasoline financial state of up to 235.4mpg is claimed, and up to 36 miles of pure electric powered managing.
New 2020 SEAT Leon: design and style and system
The Mk3 Leon bought far more than a million units during its reign – and it experienced a name as a single of the far more putting hatchbacks in the loved ones automobile course. As these types of, SEAT’s design and style crew hasn’t interfered far too a great deal with the car’s seems to be the styling shift in between the Mk3 and Mk4 design is evolutionary somewhat than groundbreaking.
The hottest Leon shares a comparable side profile to its predecessor and options comparable body traces down its flanks. It even shares the same system as the past design – the ubiquitous MQB architecture which underpins most of the bread-and-butter types in the Volkswagen Team.
Nevertheless, the determination to stick with the past model’s system does not mean there aren’t sizeable variations. The new automobile is practically 90mm for a longer period than prior to, and 50mm of that improve has been inserted into the wheelbase in a bid to make improvements to a single of the Mk3’s largest failings – rear cabin area.
The Leon’s bonnet seems to be for a longer period than the outdated model’s, as its windscreen has been manufactured far more upright, whilst the car’s nose has a prouder profile. The hatchback’s rear incorporates SEAT’s now common complete-width lighting set-up, with bigger-conclusion variants acquiring “welcome” and “farewell” animations, which are shown when the automobile is locked and unlocked.
New 2020 SEAT Leon: inside design and style
Inside, the dashboard is a lot cleaner and simpler than prior to, mainly because the infotainment display now sits on the entrance of the fascia rather of currently being accommodated in it. The automobile in our pictures has the top-spec 10-inch method, finish with the same sliding controllers for temperature and infotainment quantity that you are going to obtain on the hottest Volkswagen Golf.
SEAT’s engineers have also labored hard to make the Leon’s ambient lighting method far more than a easy personalisation gimmick. The shades and hues will nevertheless be person-configurable, but the automobile will now also flash the inside lighting strip if there is a little something which requires the driver’s urgent notice, these types of as a blind-place warning or if the car’s rear cross traffic assist method feeling oncoming traffic when reversing out of a parking area.
Dependent on our time with the Leon in the studio, SEAT seems to be set to supply on a single of the new car’s crucial targets – superior cabin area. It is noticeably much easier than prior to to get into the rear seats, whilst leg- and knee-area are significantly far more generous than in the Mk3 Leon. The boot is mainly unchanged, at 380 litres, but there is now 617 litres on offer if you choose the estate design. That bodystyle continues into the Mk4, but there is no return for the 3-doorway Leon SC, which was dropped from the third-generation car’s line-up practically 18 months back.
What does the new SEAT Leon have to beat? These are the best hatchbacks on sale proper now…
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