SEAT León 1.4 TSI SE review
by Mike Grundon (22 December 2009)
Is it a coupé or is it a family hatchback? That's the question SEAT wants you to ask about this second-generation the León . . . at least when you look at it first. Clearly it's actually the latter, but there are plenty of visual styling cues that could lead the casual observer astray. There's the low roofline with cockpit-like narrow windows. There's that sweeping bow-wave of a fold line down the flank that looks like it was sculpted by the wind tunnel rather than in a wind tunnel. And of course there's that rear doorhandle secreted in the C pillar to make it look like it's a sporty three-door.
The car's not a million miles away from the one it replaces but SEAT claims better quality, more advanced technology and better performance. It's based on the previous-model Volkswagen Golf, so no problems there, and yet it retains an individual character of its own. Is it as Spanish as the company that builds it? Hard to say. What does the phrase "Spanish motoring" conjure up in your mind? My mind's blank.
This test car fits nicely in the middle of the range. It's a León SE with the 1.4 TSI four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine. It turns out a useful 123bhp and 148lb/ft of torque which is enough to pull the car up to a top speed of 122mph, passing through 62mph after 9.8 seconds. It's all useful enough performance to keep you up with the masses on the motorway but it won't tent your trousers. Much more attractive than the acceleration is the promise of an average fuel consumption just over 45mpg.
Is it a thing of beauty? Well, it has that low, wide and stable look thanks in part to the wheel-at-each-corner design, the narrow side windows and the ripples and creases round the bonnet and down the flanks. Wipers stored upright in the A-pillars is a nicely uncommon touch too. To me, though, it appears a bit overly sculpted, a bit fussy. I do like the lights at the back being narrow and subtle, but the nose is a bit uninspiring with a cartoon-like grille and pussycat eyes.
Settling into the driving seat you feel well gripped in place and firing up the engine produces a quiet note. Slipping into the first of the six gears in the manual box and pulling out onto the road, there's nothing here to frighten the horses.
Snaking and braking through town traffic shows it's a manoeuvrable little car and I've had no problem with visibility at all. Released into the wild and the weaving and winding back roads are a delight. The suspension is relatively firm and as the speed gets up you start to get a little road noise, but it's far from an intrusion. Get out onto the motorways and you'll find the sixth gear is best only used as an overdrive. If the road isn't flat or falling away, you're not going to get much acceleration out of the top cog.
There's no doubt this León is a well-equipped car with a quality satellite navigation setup, leather on the bits you touch with your hands, air-conditioning, steering-wheel mounted controls for the ancillary stuff and an audio system that'll pipe music in through a USB port. There's a huge sunroof and separate climate controls for driver and passenger. Safety kit is extensive too with brakes featuring ABS, EBA and ESP, there's traction control and plenty of passive safety things you hope you'll never need like the six airbags.
Take a poke around the interior and you'll find it's a reasonably nice place to be. The sweeping lines on the outside flank are echoed in the interior trim. On this car there's lots of grey cloth and black plastic with chrome trim and a silver plastic surround on the central consol. The sizeable transmission tunnel down the middle does no harm up front, but passengers in the central seat in the back will have to straddle it.
The two main back seats are comfy enough with adequate head- and knee-room, and the whole bench splits asymmetrically to make best use of the boot if you're not full of passengers. The boot isn't huge but it has a useful netted pocket on the side for those things that would otherwise spin off into obscurity at the first sign of a sharp corner. The entrance to the cargo-hold is a rounded hatch which may look trendy to the car following, but leaves you with a bit of a lip to lug your luggage over.
SEAT sees the main competitors as being the Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra and Citroen C4. Style-wise and performance-wise it doesn't fully cut the mustard, but when you look at the price for the package you start to smile, nod your head and say, "Ah yes, I get it now".
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