SEAT Leon SC 1.6 TDI
Once upon a time, SEAT and Skoda were the ugly sisters of the Cinderellawagon family. No longer. Both have blossomed. And don’t get the idea it was just a makeover with Botox and spray tan. Nope, the engineering is sound, the styling exciting and the end result is desirably attractive. There is just one drawback, they ain’t cheap any more. They can be had, but at a price.
Having said that, prices are still reasonable in comparison to similarly sized rivals, but as their popularity increases, so inevitably will the price tag.
Take the new Leon SC for instance. For a start, it’s a looker. Even the paint job on this week’s test car turned initially from fright, to acceptance to grudging admiration. In fact the car was handed back to SEAT on the day Celtic beat Ajax, and maybe that’s just as well. Had it been left outside my house, it might well have been carried off on a wave of over-undulged and liquid fuelled emotion as a trophy by delighted hoopsters returning home from the match.
But here’s the real frightener, the price of the test car was over £20,000, but settle down, it had over £3,000 worth of extras. In fact the basic SEAT Leon 3 dr hatch 1.6 TDI starts from £17,070 while the test car version was the SC version at £18,190. Compare that to the 3 dr Golf hatch with the same 105 PS engine where prices start from £19,120. That equates to a two grand difference for the basic spec car.
Mind you, the term ‘basic’ is not what it was. The Leon SC comes as standard with the SEAT ‘Easy Connnect’ media system with 5 inch full colour touch screen controls including that eerie ‘proximity’ sensor which changes the screen as your finger approaches without even touching it. Naturally it has an MP3 compatible CD player with USB, AUX and SD card slot with Bluetooth functionality. Steering wheel mounted controls are standard as is air-con, electric front windows, decent front reading lights and an illuminated boot with cargo rings, plus you can even adjust the lighting levels in the footwell.
The ‘extras’ in this case included £475 for the Lima green metallic paint job, £430 for the front and rear parking sensors with optical display, £350 for the 17 inch alloys while the leather pack for the sports seats added £1370. The car also came fitted with the Technology Pack which added a full LED headlight system, navigation system and DAB radio tuner – bit this is a FREE offer for a limited period, so if you’re in the market, be quick.
In fact quite a few folk asked about the LED headlamps and a run back from Otterburn at night up the A68 provided the ideal opportunity to try them out. Beam reach is as good as standard units but the light is brighter so that’s good. It’s also less dazzling to oncoming traffic than these bi-xenon blinders so beloved by luxury/performance car manufacturers.
If the speed limit in this country is 70 mph, then standard halogen lamps or these new LEDs are more than adequate. Ultra high power lamps are excessive, unnecessary and dangerous. End of sermon.
The trip up and down the A68 proved something else, how to drive with a light foot! On the way down, when the roads were empty I was averaging just under 50 mpg, but on the way back, stuck in a long queue with a couple of dodderers at the front, the car was returning over 60 mpg!
With only 103.5 bhp on tap and a five speed ‘box it won’t burn rubber and although it’s not exactly nippy at getting off the mark, once on the move, the torque from the 1.6 diesel will carry it safely through most well thought out passing manoeuvres.
The car also has a really nice electro-mechanical steering rack, and coupled with the MacPherson front struts and rear torsion beam, it’s a very enjoyable car to drive. Add to that an excellent seating and driving position and a tactile gearbox and it will appeal to sporty drivers who are needing to slow down as well as those who want comfort and frugality!
Just one wee issue though, interior room is good but might be a bit of a challenge for the ‘larger’ family. The front seats are quite narrow and shoulder room is adequate rather than excessive, so a test drive might be in order for those who regularly frequent Scotland’s chippies.
Getting in to the rear of the three door hatch can also present a bit of a challenge as the front seatbacks don’t tilt forward as much as some folk might like, but that might be down to the optional leather sports seats, so that’s another thing to check if granny is an occasional passenger.
But would I have one? Yup, I could happily live with it, but maybe not in that colour.