Seat Leon (2000-2005) Review

Comfort and Equipment

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Not only is the driving position good, but the seats are excellent, proving suitably grippy and firm without sacrificing comfort. They're particularly good on higher-spec models, though all cars enjoy the same Audi-like dashboard, if one constructed from lower-quality plastics. Noise levels are generally low, unless you're driving the 1.4 on the motorway, where low gearing means engine noise intrudes. The diesels can also be grumbly around town, but quieten down once up to speed. Ride quality is decent on most models, though bigger alloy wheel options do pick out bumps more; generally, it's as good as the Golf, which remains one of the most refined cars in this class. In the front, the Leon's very impressive, with lots of leg and headroom and plenty of room for shoulders.

However, the swoopy roofline means headroom's a bit limited in the rear, and the Golf platform means legroom is not as great as some rivals. The boot, however, is very big indeed, and can be made even bigger still by flipping the 60/40 split seat. There's a reasonable glovebox, a splattering of shelves and a useful cubby in front of the gearlever. It sounds OK, but looks a bit crummy and is fiddly to use. Certainly the tiny display on the fascia is hard to read - where's the 'big-button' unit? - but is salvaged by a supplementary display in the instrument panel; a neat touch. When new, Seat stingily only offered an in-dash cassette player and only Cupra models got a glove-box-mounted CD autochanger, so many secondhand Leons will have aftermarket systems fitted by now.