During his not quite three-year career as boss of SEAT, Erich Schmitt announced his intention of boosting annual worldwide sales to 800,000 by 2018, partly by taking the Volkswagen-owned Spanish brand into market sectors it had not previously considered.
Schmitt left the company in 2009, and the chances of his dream being realised can now be seen to be effectively zero. Last year was a good one for SEAT, but it still shifted less than 400,000 units. Broadening the range, however, is still company policy. It didn't work with the short-lived Exeo, but it may work rather better with the new Leon X-PERIENCE.
It's not officially described as a Leon ST, but that's essentially what it is. The estate body style is identical, though the silhouette is different because the X-PERIENCE rides 30mm higher in the interests of improved ground clearance in off-road situations. Four-wheel drive is standard, though the car runs in front-wheel drive mode in most circumstances, and the only engine is a 2.0-litre turbo diesel, available in 148bhp and 181bhp states of tune.
It's not really an SUV (SEAT will be launching one of those in 2016) but it easily qualifies as a lifestyle off-road estate. Its most obvious rival is the Skoda Octavia Scout, but since VW Group manufacturers tend not to diss each other's products, SEAT is wary of making comparisons. Instead, it points its finger at the Volvo V40 Cross Country, which is really just a styling exercise with far less off-road capability, and perhaps surprisingly the Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer, which despite being much larger actually has less luggage space.
There's 587 litres of this in the X-PERIENCE, compared with 540 for the Insignia and just 324 for the V40. The Octavia (whisper it) offers a still more impressive 610 litres.
The X-PERIENCE comes in three forms. There's an SE with the 148bhp engine and six-speed manual transmission, and a mechanically identical model in the higher SE Technology specification. The 181bhp engine is available only with a DSG semi-automatic gearbox and in SE Technology trim.
In each case, interior noise levels are on the high side - VW's 2.0-litre TDI engine has never been the quietest of its type. On-road behaviour is affected by the greater ride height, and you have to accept that the X-PERIENCE feels more like an SUV than a conventional estate. But the suspension people have done a good job, and rather oddly the car feels more secure when accelerating out of tight corners than Leon STs with the same power output.
At the UK press launch, SEAT gave us the opportunity to drive on a forest track in the Forest of Dean, which at the time felt like it would have made a fantastic rally stage and in fact, I learned later, has been used for just that purpose. It was smooth and dry and could have been tackled quite easily in a Mii, so I diverted down a couple of much more challenging side routes and spent some time driving into and out of muddy ditches.
A regular ST would almost certainly have ground to a halt, and I'd have had to be rescued by disapproving people wearing high-visibility jackets. The X-PERIENCE dealt with it all so easily that I nearly drove it into a lake to see what would happen. Really serious off-roading obviously isn't an option, but when it comes to the lifestyle stuff, the SEAT performs every bit as well as it needs to.
The satellite navigation that the SE Technology has as standard - optional on the SE - includes an off-road mode with a compass, an altimeter and a dial showing how far the car is leaning over. It may be a bit excessive considering the kind of motoring you're likely to do in the X-PERIENCE, but it does look good. SE Technology versions also have LED headlights, DAB digital radio and several extra-cost options not available on the SE.
Pricing ranges from £24,385 to £28,870, which compares well with £25,315-£27,990 for the Octavia Scout, undoubtedly the X-PERIENCE's biggest challenger, despite SEAT's official disinclination to admit it.
