New SEAT Leon Revealed

The 2013 SEAT Leon has been officially revealed a few days after leaked photos surfaced. Will launch at the Paris Motor Show.

Photos of the new SEAT Leon turned up on Saturday showing SEAT’s new take on the VW Golf ahead of an official reveal, so it seemed likely we’d get the official details soon.

Now SEAT have awoken from their weekend siesta we get the official photos of the new Leon, which are pretty much what the leaked photos were. But we do also get the official version of what will underpin the new Leon.

Based on VW’s MQB platform the new Leon is the first SEAT to go in to production with SEAT’s latest design language, a design language based very much on the IBE Concept we saw two years ago.

The new design also means a car that is shorter, wider and higher than the outgoing Leon, but with an extra 58mm in the wheelbase for better interior room, and is a lighter car thanks to the new MQB platform.

SEAT seem keen to offer buyers more choice on engines than you can shake a stick at with a total of five petrol and four diesel engines from VW. They include a TS petrol engines from 1.2 to 1.8 litres with outputs from 85bhp to 178bhp and TDI diesel engines from 1.6 to 2.0 litres with outputs from 89bhp to 181bhp.

Green-ness comes from the 1.6 litre TDI Ecomotive Leon which will offer start-stop and brake energy recuperation to achieve 74.3mpg on official test and therefore get a 99g/km CO2 rating. More importantly, though, is the news that the new Leon is 22 per cent more economical right across the range.

Inside thew cabin SEAT is promising a more premium feel than the current Leon (it looks Audi inspired to us), with higher quality materials and a decent spec, even on standard models.

The 2013 SEAT Leon will debut at the Paris Motor Show in September and go on sale in early 2013. You can also expect SEAT to increase the range of engines on offer still further through 2013 and introduce both a Leon Estate and a Leon 3-door.

By Cars UK