SEAT Leon - Gets updated for 2009
The SEAT Leon has been around for a few years now, and SEAT has decided it’s time for a facelift, so a revised Leon gets a debut at Geneva next month before appearing in showrooms in the Summer.
SEATs, on the whole, are perceived as a cheaper alternative to a Golf, which is not a bad summation. Slightly cheaper materials, particularly noticeable on the interior plastics, differentiate the Spanish sibling from its German counterpart.
But that doesn’t make the SEAT a bad choice. Far from it. It’s still solidly Golf underneath, it drives well; has great seats and, as long as you don’t choose the little engines (too slow) or the Cupra (tries too hard and it’s too harsh), it’s a sensible buy.
There have been a whole raft of SEAT Leon special editions over the years, and SEAT also recently announced the TwinDrive concept, which will take SEAT deep in to Eco territory. So they’re not resting on their laurels, and the updates to the Leon keep the car fresh and saleable.
The new SEAT Leon gets a new nose treatment (including lights and bumpers), new engines and more kit for your money. The inside is tidied up, with a new centre console and steering wheel. Throw in standard ESP and something called XSP that acts like an electronic slip diff, and you have a sensible range of goodies to make this a proper update.
A new engine gets introduced (2.0 litre TSi), which will be available on the semi-sporty FR, and a bunch of new options are available, including hill-start and reversing camera.
You could do a lot worse.
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