The Leon’s interior feels spacious too, it’s been easy to find my favourite driving position. I’ve never felt rammed up against the windscreen, this is even with my one year old’s seat in the back!
Now there’s Ice on the screens and we seem to be heading into the darkest depths of winter, I’m also appreciating the fact that their heated too. Making the optional winter pack, which also includes heated washer nozzles and the headlight washer system, at £355 seem well worth the money.
I’ve had an on/off love affair with the Connect Sat/Nav and infotainment system while I’ve had this car. However, I like the ease with which it connects with my mobile phone and iPod. So there’s always been enough music so I never feel bored and the bluetooth connectivity means I can make clear, legal phone calls with ease.
Facts, figures, likes and dislikes
P11D – £21,940
Company car tax – £51 per month for a basic rate tax payer
Official mpg – 85.6mpg
Our average mpg – 49 mpg over 3,510 miles
Our best mpg – 65mpg on a 50 mile trip
We like – Comfortable and refined performer, specification, high-quality interior, impressive economy, low company car tax exposure, bright LED headlights
We don’t like – noisy engine at idle, touch-sensitive sat nav not intuitive, unsettled ride over unmade surfaces
Other features which detail the Leon’s MPG and collate traffic reports are welcome too. Although being told about a traffic jam you’re already in can be frustrating.
On the minus side, I still think the maps for the sat-nav are hard to read and do question some of the supposedly ‘quicker’ roots home the sat-nav has chosen. On the second of my most recent Cotswold trips, the nav seemed hell bent on taking me on some of the smallest, muddiest, single road tracks it could find. This was before punting me back on the A40 – despite me trying to reset it twice!
It was probably these stony, single track roads that have equalled the first damage on my Leon. Okay, so it’s just a stone chip, but it must have hit at such a speed, there’s sadly a dent to accompany it.
The indicated 65mpg I saw last month is still the best I’ve seen from the Leon – in fact, some shorter, around town driving has seen it drop below the magic 50mpg barrier for the first time. It is currently hoovering round the 48 to 49mpg mark.
With it going back to SEAT soon, I’m doubting I’ll ever see the claimed 85.6mpg figure. However, I’m still roughly getting over 500 miles to a tank, which is good for my wallet. This car will be sorely missed.
