► Month four with our Seat Leon X-perience
► Turns out, this is all the family car you need
► 4WD system proved vital on Moody holiday
I knew there was a reason why I should always have a car equipped with four-wheel drive. It’s because torrential, biblical rain follows me wherever I go. Just ask any CAR snapper lumbered on a shoot with me – anywhere in the world and I’ll drag precipitation along for the ride. So for our holiday this year, the Moody family decided to escape to the south of France because it hardly ever rains there.
It rained solidly for three days. Fortunately, the Leon’s trusty 4wd system ensured grip and traction on country roads that hadn’t seen water in months, and ended up pretty slippery as a result. And as I sailed past endless fields of sunflowers, sending vast plumes of spray into them like a speedboat on the Med, another thought occurred: this Leon has all the space of a Qashqai or similar, but handles better, is more economical, and less in your face.
Despite easily swallowing the vast amount of stuff needed for such a trip into its cavernous interior I had initially thought the 150bhp Leon might struggle. Not a bit of it. It has lots of grunt and happily cruised the autoroutes, doing nearly 50mpg. Even when being tailgated by holidaying Belgians in Audis (quite simply the planet’s worst combination for motoring standards), I still had enough poke without dropping a gear to create another metre of space for a half a km before they locked on to our bumper again.
Not everything is perfect though. In sixth at 2100rpm, around about 70mph, a drone emanates from under the bonnet, sounding like a really depressed whale has got its fin trapped in the air filter. Fortunately in France the cruise is at 80mph, so Willy is set free, but in the UK he’s ever present, and mightily nauseous. And the sat-nav is so dim-witted and archaic it makes Fred Flintstone look like Bill Gates.
Also, the cabin plastics are at the lower end of the VW Group quality spectrum, and by the end of the trip my elbows hurt. So rain, annoying Belgians and sore extremities. A typical holiday.
From the driving seat
+ Extra travel gives a smooth ride
+ Usual beefy VW Group diesel with plenty of in-gear shove
– Can be raucous under heavy load, or sound depressed at 2100rpm
– It’s no sporty machine: increased height means more body roll
Logbook Seat Leon X-perience
Engine: 1968cc 16v, 147bhp @ 3500-4000rpm, 250lb ft @ 1750rpm
Gearbox: 6-speed manual, all-wheel drive
Stats: 8.7sec 0-62mph, 129mph, 129g/km
Price: £26,370
As tested: £28,285
Miles this month: 2,142
Total miles: 4,952
Our MPG: 49.3
Official MPG: 57.6
Fuel this month: £205.65
Extra costs: £0