Available from just over a fiver a day, the Seat Leon offers plenty of the sass without a great deal of the break-the-bottom-line price.
There comes a time in the lives of all men – Irish or otherwise – when they just need to have a decent car under their backside. And with the Leon, you can have yourself an excellent set of wheels – all for a little over a fiver a day.
That’s because of Seat’s recently announced new finance packages, which offers the Leon for a seriously affordable €5.56 per day – or around €170 a month. (Incidentally, the smaller Ibiza is also part of the financing scheme, coming in at just over €4 a day. For more details on both of those finance packages, click here.)
The Leon itself starts from around the €18,600 mark (for the 1.2 petrol version), and goes all the way up to €37,000 for the top-of-the-range, uber-powerful Leon Cupra R.
For the purposes of our road test, however, we made ourselves comfortable in the 1.6 TDI Common Rail diesel version with Start/Stop technology, which has been priced at €20,700 from the showrooms.
And while the maximum muscle and top-class specifications of the Cupra R might be lacking – that’s why you fork out almost twice the price for it, after all – the special edition Leon, which adds 16” Elio Alloy Wheels, Multifunction steering wheel with on-board computer, electric and heated mirrors and fog lights to the basic Reference version, offers an exceptional driving experience.
That’s what the Seat Leon is all about. If you love driving, you’ll love driving the Leon. The acceleration is pleasing, the road-handling could hardly be better and when you get it out on the motorway, the world really does feel like it’s your oyster. So much so that you might even be a bit less than pleased to reach your final destination. That was our experience, anyway.
Inside, the dash and display is more functional than fun – that is expected to change when the brand-new version launches in 2013, when an infotainment screen is set to become standard on all Leon models. However, for now the driving seat comfort, and the comfort and space throughout the car, goes a long way towards making up for that.
This might just be a small thing, but if you’re a radio listener and you spend any amount of time in your car, then the sound system is something that colours your entire driving experience. And the one which comes as standard on the Leon is pleasingly intuitive and far-reaching – there was none of the fiddling around AM or MW frequencies to tune into BBC stations, which came through on FM with brilliant clarity.
Much more importantly, probably, in the greater scheme of things, the low emissions are beneficial to all – the environment, of course, and your pocket. With just 109 g/km CO2, the Leon 1.6 TDI fits comfortably into Tax Band A, meaning it’ll set you back just €104 per annum in motor tax.
It also boasts exceptional fuel economy. With a fuel tank capacity of 55 litres, you can expect to fill it up for around €80 at current pump prices – and with combined fuel consumption estimated at 67 miles per gallon (or 4.2 litres per 100 kilometres in new money) that 80 quid will definitely get you places.
Helping that fuel economy is the Start/Stop technology, a device that can save up to 25 per cent on running costs, we’re told. It comes as second nature after a few short journeys in traffic, although it must be said that the on-screen computer gave me the “Start Stop Not Possible” message on more than a couple of occasions.
All told, however, even the almost-base model Seat Leon 1.6 TDI offers a hugely satisfying driving experience. And one that, with financing, fuel economy and low emissions, is available to everyone for a comparable pittance.
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