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Seat Leon Estate 1.5 TSI EVO FR 5dr Review

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The acceleration this offers won’t exactly take your breath away, but it’s a really flexible engine, meaning there’s plenty of pull at low engine revs all the way up to 6000rpm and beyond. It’s much cheaper than the TSI 150 engine, too.


1.5 TSI EVO

Estate

Today, the resurgent Seat brand is selling better cars than at any time in its history.

In large part, that’s because it is one of the brands owned by the VW Group. Underneath, all of the cars it sells are strongly related to similar models sold by Volkswagen itself, or the likes of Skoda and even Audi. If you are buying a Leon, for example, the hardware will be similar to that of the Golf, Octavia and A3.

But while Seat makes the most of this tie-up to offer everything from city, small and family cars, including estates, through to a full range of SUVs, it also adds in its own slice of character, both with its distinctive styling approach and because its engineers generally tune the cars to deliver sportier handling.

While all of its cars are decent, it is the SUVs that stand out. The Arona and Ateca are among the class leaders and have enjoyed triumphs at the What Car? Awards.

SEAT

LEON

FR trim plays to the Leon’s strengths, with its standard sports suspension making it great fun through the bends. You get more goodies than you do with SE Dynamic trim, too, including an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, rain-sensing wipers, climate control and ‘dynamic’ indicators – these illuminate a series in LEDs one after the other, effectively pointing in the direction you’re about to turn.


1.5 TSI EVO FR 5dr

15-tsi-evo-fr-5dr

Driver/passenger manual seat height adjustment

Park assist (inc front/rear parking sensors)

Start/stop system with regenerative braking

LED front fog lamps with cornering function

Electrically adjustable, heated and folding door mirrors

Separate daytime running light with automatic headlight control and coming home feature

Full link smartphone integration with Mirror Link, wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Google Android Auto

Driver and front passenger airbags with front passenger airbag de-activation, front side and curtain airbags

LED Headlights with dynamic turn signals, LED tail lights and rear fog lights with rear coast to coast lighting

Seat Leon Estate

Long verdict –  Stylish, practical and good value – a fine estate. Go for the 1.5 TSI 130 in SE Technology trim for the best value, or the 1.5 TSI 150 in FR trim for a load-lugger with fun driving manners.


<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Huge boot and excellent practicality</li> <li>Plenty of interior space so you can carry passengers as well as luggage </li> <li>Strong engines to pull a heavily laden car</li> <li>Comfortable ride, especially on the motorway</li> <li>Low running costs for company car drivers</li></ul>

If you’re after bags of space but you don’t want to commit to the van-like dimensions and styling of an MPV, there are some great estate cars on offer that should do the job.

Tricks to look out for include an electric tailgate&nbsp;that opens automatically when you wave your foot under the rear bumper; this is&nbsp;particularly handy if you’re trying to load in a heavy or&nbsp;bulky item. You should also look for handles in the side of the boot itself that can drop down the rear seats; these are much more convenient than having to walk around the side of the car to do it.

There are some terrific estates at most price ranges. The humble Skoda Fabia Estate offers cavernous space for not much cash at all, for example.

Further up the price range, another of our perennial favourites is the Skoda Superb Estate;&nbsp;it’s great to drive and as practical as most people should ever need. Meanwhile, for serious mile-munching ability and a premium, well-finished interior, it’s hard to look beyond the BMW 5 Series Touring.

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Seat Leon Estate 1.5 TSI EVO FR 5dr Review

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49.6

620

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127

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