SEAT debuts new Leon FR, intelligent lighting system
Volkswagen subsidiary SEAT is showing off its latest and greatest at its hometown Madrid Motor Show this week. Highlighting the company's announcements is its new Leon FR model.
The sporty hatchback is powered by either a new 200 hp 2-liter TFSI gasoline engine or SEAT's 170 hp 2-liter TDI diesel. The top-line TFSI powerplant is good for 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in a respectable 7.3 seconds. Performance trim includes 17- or 18-inch alloy wheels, and a very nice-looking set of sport seats.
SEAT's Advanced Front Lighting System is a pretty cool feature for a mid-market brand - the bi-xenon headlights are integrated with the vehicle's chassis dynamics system to adjust headlight beam direction, not only steering the headlights into a corner, but also adjusting the height of the beam as the car's load changes.
More pics available after the jump...
[Sources: SEAT; Channel 4 UK]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Cody Peterson 6:44PM (5/17/2006)
Jeebus! 7.3 seconds IS VERY quick for a diesel (for a 2 liter - not like its an e320 cdi or something)...
BRING THE DIESELS BACK TO AMERICA!
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automercato 7:00PM (5/17/2006)
Cool car. Yes quick and cheap. I like the aggressive line and the respectable design. Seat are not expensive tho.
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Ton 7:01PM (5/17/2006)
actually, I think 7.3 is for the TFSI engine, not the diesel
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Clarence 7:01PM (5/17/2006)
I don't know how I will like it in ten years, but for the moment it looks modern leading edge and the character lines truly give it the impression of fast. Too bad we can't get cars of the world here in the US. This one is enticing.
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DJ 7:08PM (5/17/2006)
Recently while I was in Mexico, I saw several SEAT's and was impressed with the overall look. Too bad VW won't send them north of the border.
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syadasti 7:12PM (5/17/2006)
Auto-leveling headlights in Europe? Big deal - if I remember right, they are legally required now....
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Howard Kerr 7:50PM (5/17/2006)
The diesel Leon does 0-60 in about 8.6 seconds, the 7.3 second time is for the gasoline engine.
As far as self-leveling headlights, they have been around for years in Europe, but isn't it only in some of the countries.
If it wasn't one more thing to go wrong, I wish we had them here, as well. I drives me buggy when I'm being followed by a car or truck that is carrying a load and the headlights are no longer correctly aimed. Unfortunately, in this country, drivers can't even be bothered to check to see if there driving and brake lights even work...much less if they are aimed correctly.
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ZoomZoomin' 7:59PM (5/17/2006)
Auto-levelling Xenons are standard on most euro vehicles. It's always fun to watch when the auto-leveling systems do their initializaiton/calibration when you turn them on. Another feature of the MINI that I appreciated.
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m 8:50PM (5/17/2006)
mmm, bi-xenons. wish i had xenon power in my high beams
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Richard Warren 10:26PM (5/17/2006)
I like it.
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Stoneman 11:01PM (5/17/2006)
bi-Xenons? bah, I have frickin' lasers... LASERS...
Anyway, nice car. Not bad. Except for the gauge cluster. It looks like something you'd see in a kids toy.
Stoneman
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gbh 1:34AM (5/18/2006)
Electrically adjustable from the cockpit leveling have been around since at least the early 80's.
Self-leveling is a wonderful thing. Of course, so are headlights that follow the road - I think Tucker was one of the earliest on that program.
Such a shame the US DoT keeps us so far behind the curve sometimes.
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JB 7:14AM (5/18/2006)
Auto leveling with HIDs are mandatory in ECE countries. I believe that for halogen they manual, but that the auto function is filtering down, since more expensive vehicles usually have HID (bi- or low beam only). Since a lot are using the same light source, a shutter clicks when choosing between low (shutter in place) and high (no shutter).
Tucker wasn't the first to have a turnable headlamp, many cars in the 30s at least had moveable lamps mounted on the bumper, with a linkage to the steering.
Oh, and the Seat looks pretty good. Before they really looked like Skodas/VWs, now showing some sheetmetal uniqueness. Since VW seems to want to go up-market, maybe there's room for a Seat or Skoda, but how many Americans will pronounce those names? Say-at? Skoda (with that curved accent thingy?) Too exotic. Heck, Americans still can't pronounce Peugeot, let alone Renault.
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Rob 7:58AM (5/18/2006)
they have these in El Salvador as well; and most of the models are very sporty and attractive. I would totally get one if I lived down there, or if they brought them up to the States.
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icerabbit 8:56AM (5/18/2006)
I used to drive one. At the time (out of school) I could only afford a new ultra-basic VW Golf and the VW Polo was still the small old model at the time. So I bought a sporty Seat the exact size of a VW Golf. Under the hood & throughout the car most things you saw were VW parts. Seat has a pretty good market with their "value/econo VW line". You see many Seats on the road in Europe. Skoda reportedly also does well with the newer models after VW picked them up. Haven't been in Europe lately though to see first hand how well they're doing.
PS: I agree on the dash. I'd like it a bit less flashy too. Probably specific to make this FR model stand out.
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mike 9:27AM (5/18/2006)
Cool looking little machine. Love to see it on US roads. Oh, and JB, I don't think the pronunciation of a word would be too big an obstacle for the country that put the first foot print on the moon. Cut us a little slack would ya?
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MikeW 1:58PM (5/18/2006)
But does it have dual output ballast, so that 35 watts is low beam, and 50 watts is the real high beam?
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Typesbad 4:30PM (5/18/2006)
Yeah JB, give us some credit! Most of us can pronounce "Hyundai" now, and heck, it's only been 20 years.
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Havanahjoe 7:47PM (5/18/2006)
I owned a Seat Ibiza, the previous gen, in Mexico and it was a very nice cheap little car. I like the Leon a lot and their FR lines (which I think are new) look pretty cool but their Cupra lines are great too. The price jumps a lot on those but they are sweet. I too wish they could be sold in the US. They would probably sell well.
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chris 10:54AM (5/21/2006)
you people dont know what you are reading they dont mean bog standard leveling lights that have been round for years.
when you turn into a corner the lights actually turn as well so you have a clear full range view on the turn.
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