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Seat Leon Gallery
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The entry-level Leon is now a 102bhp 1.6-litre petrol unit, replacing the previous Leon's 75bhp 1.4. Seat says this is part of its desire to move the range upmarket, but we suspect that it's more to do with investing such a bold style statement with a minimum level of performance. Encouragingly, though, this isn't about masking the new car's extra weight, because despite its increased dimensions, the new Leon is only very slightly heavier than the car it replaces. And while the 1.6 feels sluggish in higher gears, requiring a fair amount of downshifting to keep momentum up, the claimed performance figures are acceptable enough - that's 0-62mph in 11.7secs and a top speed of 114mph.
It's the diesel engines, once again, that prove the most flexible performers. The 105bhp 1.9-litre TDI has good, solid mid-range punch, making it a lot quicker in the motorway-merge from 50-70mph than the 1.6 petrol. It also makes for more relaxed progress as each gear has a broader effective speed range, meaning fewer downshifts. The 1.9TDI is, though, an unrefined and loud beast, especially under hard throttle.
For us, the pick of the bunch is the 140bhp 2.0-litre TDI. Available with either a six-speed manual or the excellent DSG, the 2.0 TDI is more refined than its 1.9 sibling - though it can still be raucous at start-up and when pushed - and it delivers excellent performance. This engine is particularly well suited to the DSG automatic gearbox, which deals with its prodigious torque while providing literally seamless shifts.
We tried the 185bhp 2.0-litre turbo petrol that'll come to the UK a few months after Leon's initial launch. A Leon so equipped is undeniably quick, but torque steer is an issue, as is a clutch so sudden to bite that it makes driving this Leon smoothly more of a challenge than it should be.
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