Great level of user-friendliness, alongside excellent practicality and a wide range of engines
The SEAT Leon and Volkswagen’s Golf are two of the best-known names in the hatchback business. Both bring a great level of user-friendliness, alongside excellent practicality and a wide range of engines. More recently, they’ve been infused with the very latest technology as well as the option for plug-in hybrid assistance.
Both cars here do offer a similar style of driving, but they conduct things in a different way. So let’s check out how the two compare.
Exterior
Both cars here are available in both hatchback and estate layouts, with each one giving a slightly different appearance. Now SEAT has always been a brand to put a bit of flair into the design of its cars and the Leon is no different, with its sleek headlights and full-width rear lightbar. It’s a great looking car, in truth.
The Golf, as it always historically has done, plays things in a more understated fashion. It’s by no means a bad-looking car - it’s got loads of nice styling touches- but it just has a somewhat more refined design compared with the Leon.
Interior
The interior of a car is where you’ll be spending the most time, right? Well it’s a good thing that both cars here feature comfortable and well made interiors. The Golf’s features nicely padded seats, while the ergonomics are good, too, with everything placed within easy reach.
The Leon is much the same. Since both cars are based on the same platform, both the Leon and Golf feel much the same in terms of interior proportions.
Practicality
Hatchbacks always need to offer a healthy dose of practicality, which is why both the Leon and the Golf feature well-sized boots. In fact, you get 380 litres of seats-up space in each car, with the load area’s square shape making it usefully designed for a variety of items.
Plus, you can fold the rear seats down and you’ll get access to 1,237 litres of load area.
Technology
The Golf and Leon benefit from some of Volkswagen Group’s latest technology. You might notice inside that both cars feature a largely button-less layout and that’s because the bulk of the controls - even the heating and ventilation - are accessed through the central screen.
You get a 10-inch central display, in fact, and this is backed by a second 10-inch active display which replaces the conventional dials ahead of the driver.
Powertrains
It’s always good to have options and that seems to be what Volkswagen and SEAT were both thinking when developing the list of available engines. There are loads to choose from, ranging from compact petrol and diesels right the way up to performance-focused turbocharged variants.
Plug-in hybrid versions use a compact 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine linked to an electric motor and battery for seriously reduced running costs.