- Updated Seat Leon revealed with updated tech
- The interior gets a new 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a larger 12.9-inch infotainment display
- Powertrain options include a heavily upgraded PHEV with over 62 miles of range
Seat announced a series of mid-lifecycle updates for the Leon, freshening up the powertrain lineup and adding new technology. The compact hatchback and estate look the same from the outside, but it has now dropped the previously available 3-cylinder engine option and gained VW Group’s upgraded PHEV system.
The fourth-gen Seat Leon has been around since 2020, so an updated version was expected to debut this year following the recently facelifted VW Golf and Skoda Octavia models. Unlike the Cupra Leon, which received significant visual upgrades, the Seat Leon carries over the styling of the outgoing model. The only change is the optionally available matrix LED graphics for the headlights.
More: Seat Bounces Back, Confirms Facelifts For Ibiza, Arona, Leon, And Ateca
Inside, the Leon benefits from a new digital cockpit, featuring a new 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster combined with an also-new 10.4-inch infotainment display (up from 8.25 inches), or an optional 12.9-inch display. Both free-standing displays come with illuminated sliders, just like in the facelifted VW Golf. Finally, Seat added a 15W wireless charging pad on the base of the center console that also keeps your smartphone cool.
More important upgrades are hidden under the skin. Engine options now include four-cylinder powertrains only in gasoline (TSI), mild hybrid (eTSI), diesel (TDI), and PHEV (eHybrid) forms, following the retirement of the 3-cylinder petrol engine from the range.
The 1.0 TSI three-cylinder engine has been discontinued, with a detuned version of the 1.5 TSI four-cylinder taking its place as the entry-level powertrain option for the Leon. The mill is good for 113 hp (85 kW / 115 PS) and 220 Nm (162 lb-ft) of torque and is mated to a six-speed manual transmission.
Among the seven powertrain options of the 2024 Seat Leon, we also find the 2.0 TDI turbodiesel and the 1.5 eTSI with 48V mild-hybrid tech. The latter is good for either 113 hp (85 kW / 115 PS) or 148 hp (110 kW / 150 PS) of power and is exclusively mated to a seven-speed DSG transmission.
As for the PHEV, the Leon eHybrid is upgraded with a new 1.5 TSI that works with a single electric motor for a combined 201 hp (150 kW / 204 PS). The power output might be identical to the outgoing PHEV, which used the old 1.4 TSI, but there’s now a larger 19.7kWh lithium-ion battery pack that offers an extended EV range of over 100 km (62 miles) between charges.
Production of the upgraded Leon in five-door hatchback and estate flavors will start later this month in Seat’s Martorell factory in Barcelona. Pricing of the revised lineup will be announced in the near future. Besides the Leon, Seat has confirmed it will upgrade the Ateca SUV, and introduce another facelift for the Ibiza and Arona siblings by the end of 2025.
