SEAT Leon hatchback - MPG, running costs & CO2

One way in which the Leon has become more sophisticated is the wider range of powertrains now available. Along with petrol and diesel, there's the option of 48-volt mild-hybrid hardware, and SEAT is also bringing plug-in hybrid technology to the Leon range for the first time.

This will make it all the more important for drivers to choose the best engine to suit their needs: petrol for short, urban trips, with mild-hybrid assistance fitted if it's within budget. Diesel will work best for drivers with a higher annual mileage who spend lots of time on the motorway, while plug-in hybrid suits owners who can charge the battery pack at home and make the most of its electric range.

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SEAT Leon MPG & CO2

The mid-range 1.5-litre TSI petrol with 128bhp will return between 46.3 and 52.3mpg, dropping to 44.8-48.7mpg for the 148bhp model. The smaller 1.0-litre petrol should top 50mpg in real-world driving, with a maximum official figure of 52.3mpg. Meanwhile, the 2.0-litre diesel engines should be expected to return around 60mpg.

The 1.0-litre and 1.5-litre petrol are available with 48-volt mild-hybrid technology, but only in combination with a DSG automatic gearbox. This will harvest energy under deceleration and store it in a small battery, ready to power the car during engine-off coasting and provide a small boost under acceleration.

The mild-hybrid assisted petrol engines shouldn’t be confused with the plug-in hybrid, which uses a 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine, a potent electric motor and a much larger 13kWh battery pack. Once charged from a home or public electricity supply, this should provide an electric driving range of up to 38 miles. Using a 3.6kW AC source, a full charge from 0% takes less than 3.5 hours. All this technology will likely make the plug-in hybrid more expensive to buy, but company-car drivers will face reduced Benefit-in-Kind bills thanks to lower CO2 emissions.

Insurance groups

Insurance groups are yet to be revealed, but we expect them to span from around 10 to 30, with smaller engines and lower trim levels sitting much closer to the bottom of this scale.

Warranty

SEAT typically offers a three-year/60,000-mile warranty with its cars, which matches Volkswagen and Ford, but falls short of quite a few rivals. For instance, the Toyota Corolla and Hyundai i30 both come with a five-year/100,000-mile warranty, and the Kia Ceed gets seven years of cover.

Servicing

SEAT servicing can be paid for monthly to help spread the costs of maintenance, and usually buyers are offered different servicing packages depending on their annual mileage and driving habits.