SEAT isn’t a brand known for its off-roaders, but that’s all set to change with the launch of the Leon X-PERIENCE estate and there’s a new SUV on its way next year too.

We caught up with Leon Brand Manager, Steve Mirfin, to find out his corporate aspirations for the new car and his plans for the future.

“At the moment Leon X-PERIENCE will probably take 8% of our estate volume, with a 50:50 sales split between corporate and retail buyers.

“The key Leon X-PERIENCE model for corporate buyers will be the SE Tech trim, with the 150PS manual engine.

“Moving forward there’s an opportunity for a business-tailored specification version of the Leon X-PERIENCE. There is some work to be done there and something we’ve considered elsewhere. There’s no reason why we couldn’t consider it for this car as well.

“With the BIK bands increasing the other day, it’s a good opportunity to produce a fleet-specific model. But I’m talking a long way off.
“There’s been a lot of interest in the fleet community; it’s on demo with a couple of customers who have SUVs at the moment that need to get their CO2 down.”