VW's MQB platform under new Seat

The forgotten brand of the Volkswagen Group will fire its biggest gun in its fight for survival and credibility with the launch of its new Leon.

To be launched later this year in Europe as a five-door model initially, the Leon range will expand quickly to become a full family — thanks to the modular MQB platform that underpins it.

“With the MQB shared architecture, which benefits from systematic lightweight design, the new Leon offers an impressive performance, with low C02 emissions and fuel consumption,” said SEAT boss, James Muir.

Leon will be the third car based on the VW Group’s new MQB lightweight small-car architecture, following only the Audi A3 and the upcoming VW Golf. It also helps the Leon to shed 90kg of weight. Five centimetres shorter than its predecessor, the new Leon is 4.26 metres long. The wheelbase is six centimetres longer than before, which implies a larger cabin for a shorter car with far shorter overhangs. Leon’s designers have taken advantage of the packaging constraints to develop an uncluttered, clean look, with a two-tone dash, large air vents and 380 litres of luggage capacity, which is around 40 litres larger than its precedessor.

The long-awaited compact car has been touted as the product to bring VW’s loss-making Spanish operation back into Europe-wide credibility and to enhance its push into new markets like China. To get it there, Mr Muir has strolled through the VW Group R&D centre and picked out plenty of its juiciest technologies, including top-end infotainment devices, economical engines and the option of full LED headlights.

But his design team hasn’t forgotten the Leon’s traditional strengths of enormous interior space and usability, with the added benefit of higher-quality materials than SEAT has ever used before.

“The new Leon condenses all the strengths of the SEAT brand more than ever before. It is a car with sporting character and wide-ranging strengths,” Mr Muir explained.

“It brings quality and technologies from the full-size class into the compact segment. The Leon is a decisive step in SEAT’s brand and growth strategy.”

All Leon models will get start-stop across the board, and Mr Muir boasts that every engine in the range will be at the front of the efficiency battle in its class. The highlight is a 1.6-litre turbo-diesel capable of 3.8L/100km and an emissions figure that just slips beneath the 100g/km barrier on CO2 emissions.

Its engine family will begin at 1.2-litres and range up to 2.0-litres, with all of its diesel and petrol motors getting direct fuel injection and turbocharging. SEAT claims a 22 per cent decrease in fuel consumption across the board, compared to the old Leon — for a car that is also faster.

The heartland of the Leon will be its diesels, though, with the 1.6-litre TDI expected to be the biggest seller of the launch engines. The engine generates 77kW (105hp) and 250Nm, though it will be slower than the 2.0-litre TDI with 110kW and 320Nm. While stronger, the 2.0-litre is not much thirstier, pulling 4.0 litres/100km (for the Ecomotive version) on the combined economy cycle.

The petrol engines will arrive early next year, starting with a 1.2-litre engine rated at either 63kW or 77kW, a 90kW 1.4-litre four-cylinder and a 132kW 1.8-litre motor, boasting a combination of direct and indirect injection.

More diesels will pile in on top next year, too, including a 66kW version of the 1.6-litre and a 135kW 2.0-litre TDI that will thump out 380Nm. All Leons will be front-drive only, with a range of five- and six-speed manuals and six- and seven-speed double-clutch gearboxes.

They will all power a chassis featuring a MacPherson strut front end and a torsion beam rear end for the less-powerful variants. Anything with more than 110kW of power will get a sportier multi-link rear end.

Its design ideas combine SEAT’s traditional adventurous flair with the VW Group’s tight direction and even debuts the brand’s updated new logo.

“Thanks to its dynamic and assured character, the new SEAT Leon inspires a self-confident stance. It has a decisive look,” says Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos, Head of SEAT Design.

“It has a slight shift of the visual weight of the cabin over the rear wheels, while keeping a very fluid transition between the front fender and the cabin,” he explained.

“The surfaces have been severely sculpted all around in order to increase its tri-dimensional appeal, thanks to the effects of light and shadow. Its character lines show pure assertiveness, like for instance the outer shape of the head lamps and tail lamps. All in all, I strongly believe that the new Leon is full of character."

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