The new SEAT Leon uses the same underpinnings as the new VW Golf, so it has similar proportions but gets plenty of sporty details to help you tell it apart. The headlights come with similar triangular daytime-running lights to the old Leon, but the angular grille has more in common with the seven-seat Tarraco SUV.
At the side, you’ll spot plenty more creases than the VW Golf gets while at the back the SEAT Leon comes with a cool full-width brake light like the ones you’ll find on posher Audis and Porsches.
Sporty FR models get a few extra trims – including some large fake exhausts – but all Leons come with a cursive ‘Leon’ logo on the boot lid that looks like it belongs on the notepaper of a fancy hotel.
The SEAT Leon’s interior sports an equally minimalist design to the one in the new VW Golf. There’s a free-standing touchscreen, some air vents that mirror the shape of the car’s grille and a pared-back centre console with (in automatic models) a tiny gear selector.
Pick a sportier FR model and you get colourful stitching on the seats that matches the car’s paint job while more expensive FR Sport versions add customisable mood lighting that stretches from the dashboard onto the doors.
Entry-level SEAT Leons come with an 8.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, but pay extra for an SE Dynamic model or above and you get a slicker 10-inch unit alongside a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display. These cars also come with sat-nav and smartphone mirroring that lets you connect Android phones using a cable and Apple devices wirelessly.
The new Leon also features the latest voice-command system from the new VW Golf. This is supposed to understand requests in plain English but it isn’t particularly reliable so you’ll probably end up using the touchscreen instead.
Handily, this now comes with a neat windowed feature that lets you choose your three favourite (or most-used) menus and display them simultaneously on a diagonally tiled screen.
Unlike the previous SEAT Leon, this new model isn’t available as a three-door hatchback – rather it comes with a more practical five-door layout only. It’s also nine centimetres longer than the outgoing car – five centimetres of which is dedicated to giving passengers in the back more space to stretch out.
Boot space hasn’t changed, however, so you’ll still be able to pack the SEAT Leon’s boot with 380 litres of luggage – that’s exactly the same size as the boot in the new VW Golf. The Leon estate’s boot has grown slightly over the outgoing ST model, however – it’ll now carry 617 litres of luggage compared with the old car’s 587-litre capacity.
You’ll be able to get the new SEAT Leon with petrol, diesel and hybrid engines. Entry-level cars will come with a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol with 110hp but you’ll also be able to get some more powerful 130hp and 150hp 1.5-litre four-cylinder units and a 2.0-litre model with 190hp. The 1.0- and 1.5-litre engines come with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, while the 2.0-litre version gets a seven-speed DSG automatic.
You can also choose from a pair of mild-hybrid models that use a 48V starter-generator alongside a 1.0- or 1.5-litre petrol engine to reduce fuel consumption and give them a slight boost when you accelerate hard.
There’s also a full-fat plug-in hybrid with a 1.4-litre four-cylinder 204hp engine and a separate electric motor that’ll manage 38 miles between 3.5-hour charges. This model comes with a six-speed DSG automatic gearbox and a 13kWh battery.
Pick a top-spec SEAT Leon and you get adaptive cruise control that’ll adjust the car’s speed based on changing speed limits and a clever Car2X system that lets cars ‘talk’ to each other and warn you about accidents and traffic jams further up the road.
This system can even communicate with compatible traffic lights and give you a heads up when the lights are about to change using icons on the digital driver’s display.
There’s also a handy lane-keeping assist that’ll steep to keep you in your lane on motorways. It’ll tap the brakes to warn you if you take your hands off the wheel for longer than 15 seconds, however, and can even stop the car completely if it thinks you’ve fallen asleep at the wheel.
SEAT hasn’t confirmed how much the Leon will cost or when it’ll go on sale, but you can expect it to appear in dealerships in the second half of 2020. It should cost from around £20,000 and set you back a few thousand pounds less than a VW Golf with an equivalent engine.
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