Independent Reviews of SEAT New and Used Cars

SEAT's Arona is a small SUV with an important role to play in the Spanish maker's model line-up. Jonathan Crouch takes a look at what's on offer.

You'll rarely get a better or more credible excuse to own a coupe than this. The Leon SC doesn't even claim to be one but spec it properly and there are all the feelings of fashionable indulgement that ownership of this kind of car can bring. Without the usual downsides of high pricing, cramped rear seating, restricted cargo capacity and a compromised day-to-day driving experience. This SEAT suffers from none of these issues - but of course you can't have everything. There are lower-slung, slinkier coupes. And there are more practical three-door hatches. Finding a reasonably priced car better able to combine these two attributes though, could take you a very long time. So this three-door Leon emerges as that most appealing of things: a sensible car that makes you feel special. Which in turn, makes it, in its own sensible, affordable way, a very special car indeed.

SEAT's Tarraco aims to shake up the mid-sized 7-seat SUV market. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

This much improved third generation SEAT Leon is a Focus-sized model that these days offers smarter styling, impressive media connectivity, strong safety provision and some efficient engine options. If you'd been overlooking it, this Spanish contender might now be worth a second glance. As before, Leon buyers choose from either a five-door hatch or an 'ST' estate model. In both cases, SEAT says that visual style was one of the key reasons why people bought the original version of this car, so it wasn't necessary with this current version to change the aesthetics too much. Whether there really is 'latin spirit in every one' is another question of course. In the case of sportier versions like the FR models, we'd be tempted to say yes. Overall, on a pure value-versus-quality basis, this Leon has long been the pick of the Volkswagen Group offerings in this sector. And that also makes it one of the key segment benchmarks outside the Wolfsburg family of brands. Which in turn, makes it a very good car indeed.

SEAT's Leon looks tempting in sporty FR Black Edition trim. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.