SEAT Leon TDI Range Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: SEAT Leon TDI range
Prices: £15,210-£19,490 - on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 6-12
Emissions: 119-154g/km
Performance: [2.0TDI 140] Max Speed 127mph / 0-60mph 9.4s
Fuel Consumption: [2.0TDI 140] (combined) 50.4mpg
Safety: Twin front, side and curtain airbags, ABS
Dimensions: Length/Width/Heightmm 4315/1768/1458

THE LEON KING?

Our Rating: 7.6 / 10

SEAT's Leon is a big step forward over previous generation models but is it worth paying the premium for a diesel model? Andy Enright tackles this thorny issue

Some cars are easy to like despite their countless faults. Others are unswervingly efficient but have a problem justifying their existence. Step out of a SEAT Leon TDI diesel and there isn’t too much you can note in the demerit column. Taken in isolation, it’s a very accomplished vehicle. But buyers don’t choose cars in isolation. They compare and contrast different models, and this is where the Leon diesels may have a struggle. They’re up against the enemy from within. If you can pinpoint what the Leon does materially better than its MPV sibling, the Altea, you may well be a Leon customer – and a very clever one.

There’s no doubt that the Leon and the Altea are very similar both in terms of looks and mechanicals. They ride on the same chassis and share most of their engines. The Altea is more practical, offering greater interior space, but the Leon takes a sportier direction with sleeker lines and more dynamic trim designations. The Leon TDI diesel models we look at here have the dual appeal of being efficient and fun.

There are three diesel engines offered, two very good and one rather old. I’d hoped that SEAT would do the decent thing and pension off the rather tired 1.9-litre diesel powerplant, but it’s offered here in budget 105bhp guise. You can even buy it in eco-friendly ECOmotive guise, where it dips below the all-important 120g/km CO2 emissions barrier. This is an engine from the diesel old school, offering reasonable refinement but rather annoying lag and surge driving characteristics. As long as you’re prepared to use the gear lever a lot, it’s possible to hustle it along at a reasonable clip but drive it back to back with the far more sophisticated 140bhp two-litre TDI unit and you’ll soon see how far diesel engine design has progressed.

Still, the 1.9-litre makes reasonable figures. It’ll accelerate to 60mph in 12 seconds and return an average fuel consumption of 57mpg. Top speed is pegged at 114mph. Naturally the 140bhp 2.0-litre offers significantly more brio. The manual version will dip under ten seconds for the sprint to 60mph and top out at 125mph. The penalty for this additional zip isn’t punitive either, the fuel consumption average being a creditable 50.7mpg. The range topping engine is well worth paying a premium for. It’s more than merely an up-rated version of the 140bhp 2.0-litre TDI because it uses common-rail injection technology to produce its weighty 168bhp. Performance of 135mph and 0-60mph in 8.2 seconds mark it out as pretty nippy and economy of 53mpg will raise a few eyebrows.

The 140bhp 2.0-litre model’s ace in the hole is the ability to specify it with the revolutionary DSG twin-clutch sequential manual gearbox. This is a clever piece of technology that revolutionised self-shifting transmissions when it was launched. You’ll have to pay a premium of around £800 for the privilege, but it’s worth it if you mix up your driving between city streets and open roads and want a transmission that can shine in both situations.

The trim levels are simpler to understand these days. The 1.9-litre engine is offered in S, Emocion, and SE guises with Ecomotive versions of the S and SE also available, whereas the 140bhp 2.0-litre car comes in either SE or Sport with the option of the DSG twin-clutch gearbox. If you want the 168bhp 2.0 TDI model, then you’ll have to shell out for the sporty FR trim. Prices start at around £15,000 for the 1.9-litre S, with the 2.0-litre SE pitching in around £17,000 and the FR topping out at around £19,500.

Its clear SEAT have put a lot of effort into improving the chassis dynamics and have benchmarked the best handling cars in the class. Given that the basic underpinnings are shared with the MkV Volkswagen Golf, it’s already off to a flier. Factor in an addit