Car companies are reshaping their approach to the estate market by calling estate cars things like sports tourer – and even stretching it to activity vehicles. Back in the day, the estate car was for the family, with children travelling in the boot down to the beach during those occasional hot summers.
Now life is different. You would be lambasted for all sorts of reasons for having a child in the boot, from safety to abuse – so that childhood thrill is no longer a reality – and maybe just as well.
The new Seat Leon ST brought back some of those childhood estate car memories to me though. The modern car is slick in design, far more economical and much, much safer. I had the new compact estate on the road to test its family practicality.
On paper, the Leon ST ticks all of the economy boxes in terms of running costs. The claims of 26.3km/litre (3.8l/100km or 74 mpg) are almost incredible when I look back on my estate car past.
The 1.6-litre turbo-diesel Volkswagen-designed engine is impressive in almost every car in the extended Volkswagen family, from Audi to Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen, so I had expected a thrifty performance with its start/stop economy system as it was a week of steady and easy driving.
Overall, I got a range of over 900km from the 50-litre diesel tank. That gave me a performance of 18km per litre rather than the claimed figure of 26km. So I was a little disappointed.
The five-speed gearbox and the gearing within it meant driving the engine a little harder than I normally like when getting up to the motorway cruising speed of 120km/hr. That, in my view, is always a good judge of the car’s performance.
On the smaller roads, I found that the Seat Leon ST was a shade harsh. The clutch was a little heavy and there was an amount of noise and vibration – while not too obvious, it was a little off-putting. This, along with road noise and a hard suspension, impacted on my overall comfort.
I’m not a fan of low seating positions in cars, and I would put the Leon into this category. While I had great seat adjustment, the height of the car above the ground was a little too low for my personal comfort.
It may appear picky, but I found that the side mirrors were too small for good visibility. Their design is a match for the car, but not their functionality.
Overall, the leather and suede mix for the seating was good and not as cold as full leather to sit into on a cold winter’s morning. The seat adjustment was good up front, but legroom is a little tight in the rear.
Estate cars are bought for their boots and the Leon has an impressive boot, but I don’t feel that it’s the biggest in the segment. The floor has good flexibility and there’s a space-saver spare wheel underneath for good access.
The car has plenty of safety kit and has a recent Euro NCAP five-star safety award under its belt. There are seven airbags, good seatbelt and Iso-Fix seating attachments, plus lots of safety control systems.
The entry price for the 105bhp diesel is €23,720 or £18,375 in Northern Ireland, which is comparable with the likes of the entry level Ford Focus estate, but more expensive than a Skoda Fabia estate or combi, and the Hyundai i30 or Kia c’eed estate, both of which have similar size engines. The longer Hyundai and Kia warranties are certainly their added attraction, but I’ve also found them smoother and easier to drive.
The Leon scores well on the economy front, even if I didn’t achieve it, and with a low annual tax rate of just €170 for the test car, it makes for competitive motoring. The Seat brand has been in the doldrums for a while, but there is a renewed effort to bring the name back to more prominence, so this might be the time for the best deals. CL
Seat Leon ST 1.6 TDI
Engine 2.0 litre Engine power 105bhp 0 – 100km/hr 11.1 secondsEconomy 26.3km/litreFuel tank capacity 50 litresCO2 emissions 99g/kmRoad tax band A2 (€170)Main service 20,000km Euro NCAP rating Five star Towing rating 1,800kg Warranty Three yearsEntry price €23,720 NI price £18,375
Car companies are reshaping their approach to the estate market by calling estate cars things like sports tourer – and even stretching it to activity vehicles. Back in the day, the estate car was for the family, with children travelling in the boot down to the beach during those occasional hot summers.
Now life is different. You would be lambasted for all sorts of reasons for having a child in the boot, from safety to abuse – so that childhood thrill is no longer a reality – and maybe just as well.
The new Seat Leon ST brought back some of those childhood estate car memories to me though. The modern car is slick in design, far more economical and much, much safer. I had the new compact estate on the road to test its family practicality.
On paper, the Leon ST ticks all of the economy boxes in terms of running costs. The claims of 26.3km/litre (3.8l/100km or 74 mpg) are almost incredible when I look back on my estate car past.
The 1.6-litre turbo-diesel Volkswagen-designed engine is impressive in almost every car in the extended Volkswagen family, from Audi to Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen, so I had expected a thrifty performance with its start/stop economy system as it was a week of steady and easy driving.
Overall, I got a range of over 900km from the 50-litre diesel tank. That gave me a performance of 18km per litre rather than the claimed figure of 26km. So I was a little disappointed.
The five-speed gearbox and the gearing within it meant driving the engine a little harder than I normally like when getting up to the motorway cruising speed of 120km/hr. That, in my view, is always a good judge of the car’s performance.
On the smaller roads, I found that the Seat Leon ST was a shade harsh. The clutch was a little heavy and there was an amount of noise and vibration – while not too obvious, it was a little off-putting. This, along with road noise and a hard suspension, impacted on my overall comfort.
I’m not a fan of low seating positions in cars, and I would put the Leon into this category. While I had great seat adjustment, the height of the car above the ground was a little too low for my personal comfort.
It may appear picky, but I found that the side mirrors were too small for good visibility. Their design is a match for the car, but not their functionality.
Overall, the leather and suede mix for the seating was good and not as cold as full leather to sit into on a cold winter’s morning. The seat adjustment was good up front, but legroom is a little tight in the rear.
Estate cars are bought for their boots and the Leon has an impressive boot, but I don’t feel that it’s the biggest in the segment. The floor has good flexibility and there’s a space-saver spare wheel underneath for good access.
The car has plenty of safety kit and has a recent Euro NCAP five-star safety award under its belt. There are seven airbags, good seatbelt and Iso-Fix seating attachments, plus lots of safety control systems.
The entry price for the 105bhp diesel is €23,720 or £18,375 in Northern Ireland, which is comparable with the likes of the entry level Ford Focus estate, but more expensive than a Skoda Fabia estate or combi, and the Hyundai i30 or Kia c’eed estate, both of which have similar size engines. The longer Hyundai and Kia warranties are certainly their added attraction, but I’ve also found them smoother and easier to drive.
The Leon scores well on the economy front, even if I didn’t achieve it, and with a low annual tax rate of just €170 for the test car, it makes for competitive motoring. The Seat brand has been in the doldrums for a while, but there is a renewed effort to bring the name back to more prominence, so this might be the time for the best deals. CL
Seat Leon ST 1.6 TDI
Engine 2.0 litre Engine power 105bhp 0 – 100km/hr 11.1 secondsEconomy 26.3km/litreFuel tank capacity 50 litresCO2 emissions 99g/kmRoad tax band A2 (€170)Main service 20,000km Euro NCAP rating Five star Towing rating 1,800kg Warranty Three yearsEntry price €23,720 NI price £18,375 
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