Seat Leon Estate review

Broadly speaking, the Leon costs about the same as the rival Skoda Octavia Estate. The 1.5 TSI 130 is particularly keenly priced in SE Technology and FR trims, so that’s where our money would go.

PCP finance deals are usually competitive and, for those with the wherewithal to pay cash, reasonable discounts are available either with a bit of haggling or by making use of our New Car Buying service. 

Official fuel economy and CO2 emissions are generally impressive, too, although the 1.8-litre version of the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports is even better on those scores.

Don’t dismiss entry-level SE trim; it’s surprisingly well equipped. You get 16in alloy wheels, air-conditioning, keyless start, cruise control and even metallic paint as standard. We do think SE Dynamic is worth the extra, though, because as well as the various infotainment upgrades we mentioned earlier, it adds larger 17in wheels and tinted rear windows.

FR trim brings 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. FR models also have sports suspension, so it’s definitely the one to go for if you value agile handling over a comfortable ride.

This version of the Leon Estate was too new to feature in the 2020 What Car? Reliability Survey, but Seat as a brand performed averagely well, finishing 19th (out of 31 manufacturers) in the overall league table.

All versions of the Leon come with a two-year unlimited-mileage warranty and a third year of cover as long as your total mileage doesn't exceed 60,000 miles. That’s pretty standard for the family car class, although not as impressive as the Kia Ceed Sportswagon’s seven-year warranty.

You can, of course, pay extra to have your warranty extended if you plan to keep your Leon for longer.

The Leon has been safety tested by Euro NCAP under a more stringent set of regulations than most of its rivals, and this makes it hard to draw direct comparisons. However, the Audi A3 has gone through the same tests and proved to not quite be as good at protecting adults from injury in the event of a crash, but marginally better for kids in the back than the Leon.

All versions come with automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assistance, tyre-pressure monitoring and a driver fatigue monitor. If you choose FR trim, you’ll have the option to add a Driving and Safety pack, which brings a host of extra aids, including traffic sign recognition and adaptive cruise control. It’s reasonably priced so is definitely worth considering.

To help ward off thieves, all versions of the Leon come with an alarm and an immobiliser.

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