Our Fleet Test Drive: Seat Leon ST – Second Report

You will notice from the picture that not only has the BusinessCar Seat Leon estate changed colour, but it’s also gained a roofbox.

First the colour, or more precisely, the change of engine. Seat offered us the chance to try the 1.4 TSI petrol-engined version for a month to see how it compared, which included a run to the far north-west of Scotland.

Amazingly, over the 3600 miles, the Leon averaged 40.5mpg. If you take out the three fills when the roof box was on top, the average leaps to 42.5mpg. And given the lower cost of petrol (versus diesel), that equates to 13p a mile – not bad at all. The petrol is also more refined and is that little bit, and somewhat usefully, quicker.

And the Thule roofbox is the answer to the question: ‘What do you do if a 587-litre boot isn’t big enough?’ Which if you want to go on holiday by car with kids and dogs, happens more often than you may think.

Opting for a roofbox takes a lot of stress out of holiday travel, which has got to be good from a driver
safety perspective. The Thule system is very simple to fit and has the added bonus that clever hinges mean it can be unlocked and opened from either side, so you can always open it on the pavement side, no matter how you’ve parked.

Yes, it has an impact on fuel consumption, but the alternative is towing a trailer, which would have a bigger impact, and not everyone feels comfortable towing.