Leon has poise and balance
TROLLING around dealers looking for a car for number two daughter proved to be a lot of fun in the Seat Leon ST.
I must have covered a couple of hundred miles over three weekends to check over likely cars either she or I had found and the Leon was a marvellous companion.
The Leon ST estate was fitted with the latest 115bhp version of the VW group 1.6 TDI diesel driving through the superb but pricey DSG automatic gearbox.
It really is just about the best automatic on the market and suits the diesel engine to a tee, giving a 0 to 60mph time of 10.5 seconds and very good urge in the mid-range.
It does run out of puff at the very top end but most owners are unlikely to push it as hard as I did.
The TDI is reasonably smooth and quiet and will trickle along at low revs in the higher gears and the wonderfully quick gear changes are a delight.
The ride is a little lumpy at low speeds in town, but smoothes out beautifully out in the country, even over rough surfaces.
Of course, the Leon is based on the Golf, but actually doesn’t feel much like it.
It’s fantastically agile through the corners, with virtually no roll and huge grip even in the wet.
It’s also beautifully poised and well balanced through the corners helped by the excellent VW group steering, which has loads of feel at all times.
The standard stop-start works very well, and I also liked the electric parking brake, which comes on automatically when the car stops and goes off again as soon as the accelerator is pressed.
Equipment in mid-range SE spec includes traction control, audio remote control for the DAB radio and stereo, loads of airbags, alarm, lumbar adjustment, cruise control and alloys.
The Seat Leon ST 1.6 TDI DSG I drove costs £22,890.