[hifisharu]

Introduction:
As I started to pen down the ownership thread for my current daily driver, I realised that in my 10 years of Team-bhp membership, I had never written an ownership thread about the 4 wheels in my garage. Ironically though, my first post on Team-bhp was on my Ford Ikon Flair, which happened thanks to the esteemed members of the community such as benbsb29, sammyboy and others.

(https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...ml#post2175830 (The Story of MIKE - My Ikon Flair 2006 EDIT : The story concludes)).

Mike 2

The Ford Ikon served me very well till 2015, with regular maintenence done at Sejal Motors and I once again thank the forum and it's members for having provided valuable advice, suggestions on keeping the car in it's best shape. Mike 2 continues doing duty at my parents' place in Mysore. The car previous to Mike 2, a 1986 Premier Padmini was with us for only 20 odd years, so don't know till when Mike 2 will soldier on with us.

Golf VI:

In 2016, me and my wife moved to Germany, near to the automotive birth city of Stuttgart and for the first year we managed mostly with the public transport system and the ocassional rental car or the company car. In the meanwhile our family grew to a + 1 and we knew we would have to get a car soon. We had done a couple of drives on the famed B500 route in rental cars and I was itching to drive the same and many such roads in a car of our own. Even from a commuting stand point, as good as the public transport is, waiting in the cold winter on the empty platform for the delayed train to arrive takes a toll and in due course of time, we were hunting for our next car. The desire to own something from the big three was definitely there, though being new with the driver's license, the insurance, ownership costs associated with the luxury brands were stacked against us and we settled for the practical choice, a VW Golf VI. Being aware of the high labour costs, I wanted to start off with something reliable; so no turbos, no DSG. So, a 1.6 NA with manual transmission it was and vehicle met our requirements and expectations very well. As a product, the Golf is a very well matured product and it showed in the way everything was designed. The vehicle was adequately spacious, with seating for 4 adults, the baby carrier, luggage etc. The engine, had enough grunt to pull a complete load at decent Autobahn speeds and was very refined.

During the course of my ownership of around 45,000 kms, the car was extremely reliable and the only time we faced a major repair was when the front coil spring broke and we ended up replacing the complete suspension set for around 1000 euros. The dated RCD 310 was replaced with a Pumpkin Android unit and brought the car up-to-date in terms of connectivity and media.

We had some lovely road trips with the Golf, exploring various parts of Europe and even doing a round of the Nurburgring
(https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/inter...ary-track.html (Nürburgring: Driving my VW Golf on the legendary track))

The Golf, as reliable as it was, was nearly 10 years old and we wanted to replace it something more current. Also, during the later half of 2020, my wife finally decided to get her driver's license, but only for an automatic, as she was not comfortable in a manual and the hunt began for the replacement car. Our requirements were quite simple:

Requirements:

Body Type: - Hatchback, due to ease of parking, better useable boot space than a sedan and better driving dynamics than a Crossover.

Budget: - Around 20,000 euros, could be stretched to 23k depending on the accessories on offer

Fuel: - Petrol, with any kind of hybridisation if available

Further points considered were:

-- It had to be the size of a Golf as we found something the size of a Polo quite a squeeze with 5 adults and luggage.
-- It shouldn't be older than 2 years, so we can keep the maintenance cost low.
-- Should be decently powered, at least more than the Golf we had ( I mention this as down sizing is the trend nowadays ) but also economical.
-- It should have a reverse parking camera, as my wife didn't want any surprises. Though it's a cheap feature, it's surprisingly not common for cars here to come equipped with cameras

Putting our search requirements into mobile.de, (the most popular search portal in Germany), we were shown a ton of options in our surrounding radius of 100km. Everything from humble Mazda 3s to Golf GTIs to BMW 3 series, pretty much every brand under the sun was available. Slowly we started sifting through the maze and these were the considered vehicles, in no order of priority:

Mercedes Benz A Class: This had a certain wish factor, as we would get to experience the famed 'Star' luxury and also mainly since I had worked on the headlamps and taillamps as one of my first projects in Germany. However the test drives proved the car to be not so exciting to drive ( A180/A200 ) and the rear seating felt cramped.

Mazda 3: My cousin owns one and the driving experience was quite meh and my cousin said it was not so economical, nor was it powerful, despite a 2lt engine

Golf GTI: This was quite high on the wish list, but rejected in the end was we realised we may use the extra horsepower for maybe 0.1% of our driving time, would yield a poorer mileage and would demand a bigger insurance premium, due to the higher power.

BMW 328i/330i: Not a hatchback, but the car certainly had a wow factor to it, RWD in a sea of FWD vehicles and was great to drive. Luggage capacity was kind of compromised and being longer than a hatchback, my wife was not so comfortable beginning with it.

Ford Focus ST: I had really liked the Third Gen Focus ST, but that never came with an Automatic gearbox and the Mark4 ST, while had a bigger engine from the RS etc, was too expensive.

Audi A3: Though the interiors were more plush than a VW, we didn't find anything worth the premium over the Golf that Audi was asking for it.

Golf VII: We considered this since our experience with the Golf VI was good, but in the end rejected it as it was not much of an upgrade in terms of interior design

Skoda Scala: For reasons unknown to us, this is not a very popular model here and there were not many examples in the market.

None of the vehicles from Peugeot, Citroen, Volvo, Honda, Toyota, Opel made it to the shortlist, due to poor availability, bad design, boring interiors etc.

The Seat Leon. All along during our search, there was one vehicle which is pretty popular nowadays here, that kept popping up: The Seat Leon. Underneath the Spanish styling, it's a Golf ( using the same MQB platform) and therefore has a lot of positives to it. Good choice of engines, reliable and cheaper to maintain than a VW, since it's the sister brand of VW, which sits between Skoda and VW. One of our neighbours owns one and her response to the overall ownership was quite positive and encouraged us to have a look.

Seat is a relatively less known brand from the VW empire, though numbers on Wikipedia say Spain is the Eighth largest manufacturer of automobiles in the world and Seat is the only major manufacturer. Although the cars are exported to 70 countries worldwide, their main market is Europe, then Mexico and now expanding into China. The Leon model has been around since 1998 and is currently in it's fourth generation.

There are quite a few examples of the Mk1 and Mk2 Leons running around here and some design aspects are really awful. The styling is so bizzare, it's off putting.

But with the Mk3, they really changed the styling and it started to look really good, contemporary and the vehicle gained popularity. The Mk3 version was offered with a lot of driver aids as standard and appealed as a value for money package. Also, 2020 saw the launch of the Mk4 Leon and so obviously, there were some previous gen models selling for massive discounts. Wifey was also pleased with the styling, comfort etc and the controls were exactly the same as the Golf she had got her license in and we had a winner on our hands. Now it boiled down to which engine spec, accessories/driving aids provided etc.

After checking out some vehicles on offer nearby, we were able to get the following model, with the following configuration:

Seat Leon Mk3, FR edition, 1.5 TSI with 150PS, 7 speed DSG, Full LED light package, Digital Cockpit, Winter packet, Automatic Radar Cruise Control, Lane Assist, Alcantara seats and the optional 18 inch wheels.

Delivery and Showroom experience
The vehicle was available in a Seat dealership in Sinsheim, called AutoHaus Kobia and after the testdrive, we got down to negotiating the price with them, along with the price for our Golf. We arrived at a decent offer and they agreed to take our Golf as partial payment and we were offered a good price for the same. Towards the later half of 2020, the German Govt had decided to reduce the VAT from 19% to 16% to combat the Corona pandemic economic setback and this resulted in a further discount of the final price and the documentation was all handled very smoothly by the dealer. The vehicle was readied and kept for delivery and the keys were handed over along with the registration documents and were given a bottle of their house wine as a complimentary gift.

We were all smiles and ready to drive home our new car and started shifting some personal things from the old car to the new one, such as the child seat, tools/cleaning package, emergency kit etc when my son, all of 3 years broke down inconsolably. While he was excited to sit in the new car, he just couldn't give up on old trusty Golf and kept crying for nearly 5 min. We too were sad to see our car being driven away, with which we had so many memories and after some time, managed to settle ourselves for the long journey home.

So far I have covered about 8000kms and the following are the pros and cons in my observation

LIKES: + Great European styling makes the vehicle look compact from outside but still offers a lot of interior space

+ Seat brand being great value for money, offering a lot of kit as standard

+ Very well put together interior which is stylish and functional

+ Fantastic DSG box with Sports mode which is just lightning quick and very responsive and the and Dynamic Chassis Control

+ All LED lighting package, which looks great and performs very well

+ Safety- 5-star Global NCAP rating, 6 airbags, ESC, HSA, Lane Assist, Automatic Cruise Control

DISLIKES: - Lane Assist feature very intrusive on narrow roads

- Some of the interior plastics feel cheap to touch

- No powered seats and under thigh support for the seats is inadequate and rear floor hump is obtrusive, making it a 4 seater for long journeys

- Small sized rear view mirror, restricts the view a bit

- No weather protection for the reversing camera, gets dirty very quickly

- Some features like Lane change warning, Panoramic sunroof missing at this price point

[hifisharu]

Styling: Exterior

In typical European fashion, the Seat Leon is restrained in it's design, without any quirky details and overall keeping a simple, yet sporty styling. The FR version is slightly lowered over the standard version and with the 18" wheels, the stance is improved. In the front, there's only one chrome element, on the grill, which I plan to change to the black version as seen on the Cupra models.

The signature DRLs are quite distinctive, without being overdone like the some of the Renault models. The DRLs also double up as turn indicators.

In the side view, the C pillar looks quite wide and does hinder the view from inside, with large blindspots but doesn't make the cabin feel claustrophobic. Simple feature lines on the side help in breaking up the volume.

The rear view is a very simple but proportionate volume, with just one or two feature lines, with the badging being in just one location. Most of the Leon models, with the exception of the Cupra get the single sided double barrel exhaust tips.

Wheels on the summer tires are the optional 18" ones with the distinctive Leon styling having a 'Y' pattern, with the car riding on 225/40 R18 rubber all round.

For the winter months, most people go for a separate set of winter tires/wheels, though the period is not mandated like it is in Switzerland or Austria and people follow an "O to O" ( Oktober bis Ostern) policy. The region we live in does see a decent bit of snowfall and a good set of winter tires is a definite requirement. One can also go with All Weather tires, with the risk of compromised grip in snowy conditions but reduced effort of changing wheels/tires every six months. Many people also decide to go for steel wheels for the winter set, as the road salt used to melt the snow on the roads can lead to faster corrosion of the wheels, but certainly compromises the overall look. I decided to go for a decent pair of alloys and have seen that with frequent washing and due diligence, one can keep the wheels in good shape. Here is the car in it's winter format, with the winter tires being 225/45R17

[hifisharu]

Styling: Interior

For someone coming from a Golf over to the Leon, everything feels familiar, with almost all the controls being in the exact place and with the same purpose. The interior has an all black theme, with tiny inclusion of chrome just for tiny bits here and there. The FR version came with the Digital Cockpit and the 8" inch Seat Full Link infotainment unit. All the controls and overall layout is driver oriented and in typical VW fashion, everything fall into place easily.

Steering Wheel and Controls: The FR version gets a lovely flat bottomed, leather wrapped steering which lends a bit of sportiness to the cabin and is also good to hold and use ergonomically. The red contrast stitching also adds a bit of sport quotient . The switches for the majority of the infotainment functions are accessible from the steering wheel without being too cluttered. The switches all feel nice to touch and seem durable. My biggest complaint would be the size of the paddles for the DSG box, they're just too tiny and hardly visible from the driver's point of view and one will fumble around before getting used to the position and size. Driver foot well has large spaced pedals even for those heavy winter boots and a large foot rest area

Infotainment and Climate Controls The main media centre is an eight inch touch screen and offers the usual gamut of services for radio (DAB+), media from the SD card/Bluetooth phone connectivity and other vehicle settings. The touch responsive-ness of the screen is good and the resolution is good enough for everything to be legible. Only during the navigation screen, the system seems to lag a bit as it searches for the given place and when computing the route. The various functions and features I'll touch upon in a later part. The DSG controls with the infamous DQ200 gearbox, though in a much more revised and refined version.

The car has a 2-way climate control unit which works quite well and offers a good range of temperature adjustments and so far has worked really well in the winter, with the cabin reaching set temperatures pretty quickly. For those really cold days/nights, the seats are 3-way heated and the pollen filter helps keep the air quality in check. For the mild summers, the air conditioning has been more than sufficient and cools down the cabin rather quickly. Rear passengers only get blower vents with no speed/temp control.

Seats: The seats have the optional Alcantara upholstery, which does add some contrast to the mostly black theme and brings in a different texture. The front seats have a good amount of side bolstering to hug you a a lil bit and have adjustment even for lumbar support. Electric adjustment is sadly missed and we sorely miss the memory function.

Doors, Ingress and egress:

Front doors open in typical 3-stage manner and the door pockets are wide enough for the usual water bottles, emergency vests and other nick-nacks. A surprising omission is the lack of adjustable seat belt height, which was present even in my earlier Golf. Clearly evidence of some cost cutting and does inconvenience many users. Ingress and egress in the front is pretty good for a low-slung car and the seats and steering wheel have good enough range to find a comfortable position. Rear doors do feel a tad bit small, making ingress and egress a bit difficult and the daily chore of securing the child in the seat not all that easy.

Storage: Other than the door pockets, storage areas are the usual glove box, central cup holders, arm rest areas, seat pockets and an additional under the seat storage. The glove box has the cooling function but no felt lining, which shows some areas where costs have been cut. One should only make sure not to leave anything prone to rattling in the glovebox. The mobile phone pocket has the wireless charging but Android Auto/ Apple Carplay is wired.

Storage volume at the rear is decent and accommodates most of the airport luggage with ease. Seats are foldable in a 60:40 split and offer a good range of storage. The lower loading bay has a variable level concept and can be adjusted to either to give an easier, higher loading edge or placed lower for more volume. Another area I feel there has been cost cutting is the rear parcel shelf, which lacks any useable space and the edges look un-finished and the material is much more flimsy than our previous car.

Packaged underneath is the Spacesaver emergency tire and the lock for the wheel nuts and the usual mechanical jack

[hifisharu]

Instrumentation and Media centre:
The driver instrumentation can be set to three different screens, they being Classic, Minimal and Trendy respectively. Other than the layout, each of the central displays can be configured to show any particular metric ( Speed limit, fuel range etc based on the driver requirement )

The central portion of the display can be cycled through various windows for the radio, vehicle warnings, driver assistant systems, phone connectivity/making calls and navigation. At the end of every drive, a summary report of the drive with various metrics is shown and helps monitor one's driving habits.

The main media centre is an eight inch touch screen and offers the usual gamut of services for radio (DAB+), media from the SD card/Bluetooth phone connectivity and other vehicle settings. The touch responsive-ness of the screen is good and the resolution is good enough for everything to be legible. The sound system is a Beats Audio, with 10 speakers and overall sound quality is really good Even at high volume, sound quality is well controlled and the bass never feels too boomy .

The wireless charging pad even acts as a signal amplifier when the phone is connected via Bluetooth and even passengers from the rear seat can converse with ease. Various vehicle settings can be accessed from the main screen and view error codes if any are present. The system is fairly quick to respond, though during the navigation screen, the system seems to lag a bit as it searches for the given place and when computing the route.

Reverse camera is of decent resolution and visibility is great in day light. While the turning angle of the wheels is shown, adapting lines on the camera would have been better. Night time visibility is not so great but with the ultrasonic sensors provide a decent cushion of safety. The camera is integrated just above the number plate holder and in wet/snowy weather, gets covered in water/snow and visibility is hampered. I wish they had integrated it in the rear door latch like the Golf or hidden away when not in use.

[hifisharu]

Lighting: As mentioned before, the car has the all LED lighting package and overall leads to a harmonious lighting effect. The car is equipped with automatic headlights with automatic High/ Low beam and the fog lights working as cornering lights as well. The DRLs also double up as the indicators and are pretty striking in their form and intensity.

The automatic High beam function works pretty well and dips the beam immediately it senses on coming traffic and haven't had anyone flash me so far. The fog lamps working as cornering lamps seem to have very poor throw and I can't say with certainty that it is a useful feature and is something that can't be turned off without some VCDS coding. The headlamps themselves have very good throw, range and intensity.

Coming to the interior, there's only a small amount of ambient lighting provided in the front doors and can be selected from a range of preset colours. Driver and passenger get the normal reading lights and footwell lights. Rear passengers sadly don't get any mood lighting and just get a simple dome lamp. While the main headlight switches, window switches are premium in material and design, the roof lighting ones feel to be made of cheap plastic and don't have the same feel and quality. Some additional sill plate lighting adds a little bit of premium-ness to the cabin

[hifisharu]

Engine, Driving Dynamics, Safety, Driver Assistance: At the heart of the matter is the 1.5lt turbo four cylinder unit from VW, producing a healthy 150PS and 250Nm of peak power and torque. While on paper the numbers are not that impressive, with the 7 speed DSG box and the free revving nature of the engine, the on-road performance is more than adequate and keeps a good balance between performance and efficiency. As with the entire VW line-up that uses this engine, it has an ECO mode for the engine which then runs on only two cylinders and the Start/Stop system which does help improve the economy. Another feature of the DSG gearbox is that it will put the gearbox in a 'D' mode when it senses the car is not accelerating or decelerating fast enough and the pressure at which one removes their foot from the accelerator. This helps coast with the drivetrain disconnected and further improve the economy. Also, one can choose between the various driving modes which do have notable changes in the driving/performance dynamics and one can even fine tune it in the Individual mode to get the setup right.

From my observations, the following are the pros and cons of the different driving modes

Eco: Enables the Two cylinder mode more than the Normal mode and the Start/Stop is more aggressive and gearbox is also in the Eco setting, implying quicker up-shifts. Real world improvement in mileage is yet to be seen/felt

Comfort: Engine runs in a normal manner and steering is in a slightly more sports mode (more weighted feel) and the suspension is in the comfort setting.

Normal: All the setting in their Normal mode and the steering feels quite vague and one would probably use this if their commute is more of Autobahns

Sport: Engine response is at it's sharpest, gearbox holds revs almost until redline and downshifts very quickly. Suspension is in it's sportiest setting and so is the steering, which weighs up nicely.

Individual: Here one can configure all the various parameters and I use it generally when I want the steering and engine response in the sporty setting but the suspension in the comfort setting, for the not so perfect roads.

The mapping on the gearbox seems adequate for 99% of the times, though one can 'manually' change gears either by pushing the lever into the manual mode and then tap the lever for up-shifts and down shifts or tap one of the paddles to put the transmission in the manual mode.

My one major complaint would be the un-reliable throttle response in the various modes. Sometimes it changes engine speed with a slight prod, sometimes it takes much more throttle to get the required acceleration and many times, the kickdown is initiated and there's too much acceleration.

Suspension is generally on the stiffer side and sometimes the vehicle gets a bit unsettled over large undulations but generally provides a nice supple ride. In the sport setting and on low profile tires, the suspension feels extremely stiff and can be used only on very smooth roads. Brakes have good feel and plenty of stopping power and with very mild hybrid tech, some energy is recovered from the regen brakes. In the snowy conditions, ABS intervention is also very mild and the vehicle is very stable even under hard braking. In some really steep climbs, one can also make use of the Auto Hill Hold function, though with an automatic gearbox, it's a feature we seldom use.

Safety and Driver Assistance: The car has a 5 star EuroNCAP rating and comes with six Airbags and a number of driver assistance systems. The Front Assist system alerts the driver if the vehicle in front is slowing down rapidly or of it detects pedestrians in the path and can even perform an emergency braking manoeuvre if required. The Lane Assist pushes the vehicle back in it's lane if it detects the vehicle is veering into the adjoining lane and works well on Autobahns. On the narrower country roads, the system becomes annoying as it is too sensitive. When the system is active, it shows the icon in the cluster below and also in the driver screen. Combining this with the radar guided Automatic Cruise Control, the long Autobahn journeys can be dealt with more easily. Cruise Control is activated by a separate lever and has functions to change set speed and the following distance. The entire system works really well even in adverse weather conditions and provides a decent safety net. However, no system is perfect and in in cases where on a 3 lane road, one is in the middle lane and a vehicle overtakes you and then occupies the middle lane, the system sometimes assumes there's a slowing vehicle ahead and starts to slow down, which causes unnecessary panic to the vehicles behind. Sensor for the ACC is seen integrated in the front air dam and also seen is the front camera for the road sign/ speed limit recognition.

[hifisharu]

Conclusion: As they say, "If you don't look back at your car after you've parked it, you've bought the wrong car" and I end up looking back the lovely Seat Leon every now and then. The car offers great looks, decent performance and a lot of safety tech, all in a very affordable package. The engine- gearbox combo is just superb and makes munching highway kilometers even at high speeds very comfortable and effortless. On the twisty roads, put the car in Sports mode and it becomes quite the canyon carver. The car was offered with an extended 5 year warranty, along with emergency Road Assistance at no extra cost and should take care of any untoward incidents if they arise. I'm also extremely pleased that my wife, who is a beginner was able to get comfortable fairly quickly and the car caters well to the beginner, as well as an experienced driver. I hope to keep this ownership thread updated with more drive stories as we go along and thank everyone at Teambhp for reading through and abide by their their commitment towards keeping the quality of the forum at the highest possible.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by hifisharu

Introduction:
I realised that in my 10 years of Team-bhp membership, I had never written an ownership thread about the 4 wheels in my garage.

Well, you are certainly making up for that with this lovely and extensive review. Thanks very much.

I always feel Seat and in particular the Leon is a bit of an underestimated brand/car. As you have found out, it is actually a very nice car. It’s a bit of hidden gem in the car world for some reason.

A very good friend of mine is a big Seat enthusiast, buys nothing else. He has a Leon very similar to yours. I got to drive it some time ago, very good handling and a real looker.

Enjoy your Seat and thanks for the review

Jeroen

[SenPai_GTi]

Fantastic report. Loved how you covered each and every aspect of the car. Talking about the car, its one looker for sure, especially loved the mean looking rear design. It has more of a Skoda vibe than a Volkswagen vibe. Must be a lot of fun to unwind it on the autobahns. Waiting for you to try this on the Nürburgring.

Originally Posted by hifisharu

Individual: Here one can configure all the various parameters....

Oh man, I'm so jealous of you right now. Tuning a hot hatch must feel like those NFS games where you can endlessly tune the performance. Is the tuning limited to throttle response, steering and suspension? or are there more parameters ?

[vishy76]

Excellent review. Loved the way you have described everything in detail!

I have to say, this is one handsome looking hatchback. I would even go as far as saying that I prefer the way the Leon looks over the Golf Mk8, which is overdone and too radical for my conservative taste. I see a lot of switchgear including the cabin lights (both front and rear), indicator stalks, dual zone climatronic panel and the likes borrowed from the MQB and PQ Volkswagens.

Wishing you many happy miles with the car

[carthick1000]

Nice review and well put together. Seat Leon is such a good looking car and much underestimated/overseen in it's segment.

Recently I helped choose a friend of mine a station wagon in Sweden. He had certain specific requirements and my first option to him was the Seat Leon Kombi. After delving into all other options, he zeroed in on a used Leon Kombi. It just ticks all the right boxes like safety, equipment, VFM, space and functional design. Also I think Skoda is also now taking design cues from Seat to transform their rounded edged designs into a bit sharper edged ones. I think this is working in the European markets and a nice trend overall to see on streets. But still Seat has an edge as they are one generation ahead of Skodas in terms of design language, which means the used car buyers can already choose for good SEAT designs at very good price point.

[Rohan24]

Fantastic review! The Seat Leon, in this guise, is a really classy-looking hatchback. I especially love the flat-bottomed steering wheel and the Digital Cockpit, and the red accents everywhere - feels really sporty, but at the same time, understated.
Wish you many happy miles with it.

A bit OT: What are the considerations taken for the insurance, say, for a new driver, buying something like a Fiesta or Golf hatch? I am aware that our Indian driving experience matters zilch. So approximately how much percentage of the price of the car would the insurance be?

[Herr_Autobahn]

Congrats on your new purchase !

The new generation SEAT's looks much sharper! and great photos by the way, I believe it is Schwarzwald.

Originally Posted by hifisharu

Styling: Exterior
Wheels on the summer tires are the optional 18" ones with the distinctive Leon styling having a 'Y' pattern, with the car riding on 225/40 R18 rubber all round.

How is the ride quality with these summer sections? I had the same set of summers in my previous car (MK2 Octavia RS) which I felt very harsh.

[ads11]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I always feel Seat and in particular the Leon is a bit of an underestimated brand/car. As you have found out, it is actually a very nice car. It’s a bit of hidden gem in the car world for some reason.

Seat's really are quite solid offerings nowadays. In recent years they have thoroughly contemporary and sharp styling and are built on modern platforms - all boons of the VAG platform sharing. In fact if you think about it, the same way the A3 was neglected because the price premium wasn't worth it for the Audi badge when you could just get a Golf instead, why would you pay another premium for the VW badge when you can just have a Leon instead? I think that's one of the weird quandaries of the VW group. Take something like the VW Up - practically speaking you'd save a decent amount just getting a Seat or Skoda badged equivalent instead of the parent brand.

The only weird decision for me was Seat spinning off Cupra as a separate brand, right when the company as a whole was starting to be seen as a grown up brand and not a stepchild in the VAG stable.