The X-PERIENCE is SEAT's first non-SUV off-road lifestyle model, created in much the same way as all the contenders. The process is as follows: take an estate car (in this case the Leon ST), make it four-wheel drive, raise the ride height and give it extra body protection in case someone drives it too close to unyielding pieces of scenery.
This is a relatively simple way of developing something that will interest people who don't want a full-scale 4x4 but do require a car that will go places a regular estate wouldn't. Not that I would want to underestimate the effort involved.
Compromises are always involved. Most obviously, the X-PERIENCE doesn't feel much like any other Leon ST to drive. Responses to steering inputs are slower, the suspension never has time to settle on roads whose gradients and cambers are constantly changing. Also, in the case of the SE Technology model tested here, the 18-inch wheels and 45-section tyres (SEs run on 17s and 55s) make the ride over small bumps very fussy.
On smoother roads the X-PERIENCE is much better. I covered 700 miles in two days, mostly on motorways, and the car glided along them in an impressively calm manner. Furthermore, the noise of the 2.0-litre diesel engine, which is quite considerable in other situations, faded into the background in this one. Long-distance cruising may not be what the X-PERIENCE was designed for, but it's very good at it.
It's also quite capable through the rough stuff. Sure, it would be brought to its knees within the first twenty yards on tracks that would not give a Land Rover Defender pause for thought. On the other hand, you can tackle rough forest roads and drive into and out of muddy ditches without becoming stranded and having to make an embarrassed call to the emergency services as you would in other Leon STs, or indeed any conventional estate car.
There are two minor annoyances. The handbrake is in the ideal position for left-hand drive cars but awkwardly placed for ones sold in the UK, and the satellite navigation obliterates most of the functions of the trip computer. If you want to check, say, how far you can go before you run out of fuel, you have to switch off the satnav first and then restart it afterwards. Fortunately, the last destination you selected is the default one when you switch it on, so this doesn't take long, but it's irritating that you have to do this at all.
The X-PERIENCE range is small but varied. The diesel engine mentioned above is available with two power outputs - 148bhp only in the SE and 148 or 181bhp in the SE Technology. Our car had the less powerful version, and there was not a moment during this test when I felt the lack of the extra 33bhp. It performed perfectly well and never felt slow.
The 181bhp cars have DSG semi-automatic transmission, while the 148bhp ones have a six-speed manual. The shift quality is precise, and very smooth if you don't rush it.
The official average fuel economy is 58.9mpg, though in practice something in the mid to high 40s is more realistic, and you might just nudge over 50 if you're paying attention to efficiency. All versions have official CO2 emissions of either 125g/km or 129g/km, so annual Vehicle Excise Duty payments will be £110, while Benefit In Kind taxation is 23 per cent now and will gradually rise to 29 per cent in 2019-20.
Luggage space with all seats up is 587 litres - not bad at all, though some way short of what you get in the X-PERIENCE's close cousin and most obvious rival, the Skoda Octavia Scout.
The 148bhp SE Technology costs £26,370, or £28,285 with the test car's uprated sound system, adaptive cruise control, luggage divider net, rear side airbags (oddly not fitted as standard) and the oddly-named Adventure Brown paintwork, which at £700 was the most expensive option.
For £24,940 you can have the SE, though that means missing out on numerous luxuries the SE Technology trim offers. This includes the LED headlights, front fog lights, automatic headlights and wipers, self-dimming interior mirror, folding door mirrors, sat-nav, larger wheels and lower-profile tyres mentioned previously.
