STYLISH SEAT OFFERS LOT OF CAR FOR THE MONEY

Quite how much I’ve enjoyed driving this new Seat Leon has come as a a surprise. I’ll go as far as saying it’s one of the best cars I’ve driven this year, certainly one of the most fun.

The new Leon, like the new Golf, is based on the latest version of the Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform.

For cost reasons you can only get the Leon in five-door or estate forms with no three-door available. It’s 90mm longer than the previous one and a welcome 16mm narrower.

Some of that extra length (5mm to be precise) has been added between the wheels, and this additional wheelbase has contributed to slightly more rear legroom.

The styling I’ll leave to you to judge. It’s certainly a more interesting-looking car than the Golf with more obvious lines and angles.

The grille has been inspired by the Tarraco and there’s a full width rear light bar and the word ‘Leon’ written in script.

Our test car’s grey paint is a bit dull, but on the whole, the car looks very appealing and sharp.

You have a good choice of engines and powertrains, with more in the pipeline. In the old days we used to ask, ‘when’s the

The Facts Seat Leon FR five-door hatchback

Price: £23,515 Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder, 130bhp 0-60mph: 9.4sec Fuel consumption: 46.351.4mpg Co2: 125g/km

fast one coming?’ – but these days there’s another obvious question and that’s, ‘when’s the electrified one coming?’.

The answer to both is that hot Cupra versions of the Leon are planned and there is a plug-in hybrid version arriving towards

the end of this year that features a total power output of 242bhp and an electric-only range of 31 miles. Should be a belter.

Our car is in FR trim and is fitted with a 1.5-litre TSI petrol engine that produces 130bhp.

It’s connected to a six-speed

Volkswagen is about to launch a totally new version of its Caddybased camper van. The vehicle is a smaller and more affordable alternative to the Transporterbased California and features several features that come from its bigger brother. The almost two-metre-long bed uses the same springing as those in the California and Grand California, but is removable to make the space more flexible. A panoramic sunroof is now available as an option. Finally, the Caddy camper’s diesel engines all fulfil upcoming emissions regulations. You’ve a choice between 75bhp and 122bhp diesels and also a 116bhp petrol engine. The new Caddy camper will be launched online next month. No word on prices yet, but even if it’s expensive, it will offer a lot of fun – and it’ll be perfect for all those staycations in the future!