Photo: SEAT
When we saw the Leon X-Perience, it looked like the coolest thing ever: 184 HP diesel, AWD, DSG, sharp LED lights and attitude.
Of course, it also had some understandable flaws baked into its formula. For instance, the interior was cheap-looking if you ignored the brown Alcantara seats which were excellent. Also, the NVH levels weren't good because SEAT wanted it light, and it didn't make a good company can since the added weight increased emissions.
This was only good if you wanted to own a cool Leon, not lease it, and did a lot of driving in the snow. During the mid-life refresh, the X-Perience was treated with neglect, a bit like its brother, the Golf Alltrack.
New emissions regulations seem to be the final nail, as they left the soft-roader with entry-level engines. Nobody even cares, though, since SEAT now has real SUVs like the Ateca and Tarraco. It's a shame since they've built winter experience events around what the rugged Leon can do, but the change is probably dictated by the market.
While looking through the official German market configurator, we found some disappointing models. Three out of the four are powered by the 1.0 TSI making as little as 86 HP. That engine has no business here, and it can't even be paired with AWD because it's so down on power, just like the lone diesel, a 1.6 TDI. Based on the weight of the model, we even think they've ditched the independent rear suspension, though there's no way to confirm this.
We think that SEAT is either late updating the X-Perience or doesn't care. The ordinary Leon ST wagon on which this is based at least gets both versions of the 2.0 TDI as well as a 2.0 TSI gasoline motor with 190 HP.
A brand new Leon 4 generation is probably going to debut this fall, based on the MQB Evo platform. It will be more premium, and we've learned a sedan version is under development. But the future looks bleak for the X-Perience.
This was only good if you wanted to own a cool Leon, not lease it, and did a lot of driving in the snow. During the mid-life refresh, the X-Perience was treated with neglect, a bit like its brother, the Golf Alltrack.
New emissions regulations seem to be the final nail, as they left the soft-roader with entry-level engines. Nobody even cares, though, since SEAT now has real SUVs like the Ateca and Tarraco. It's a shame since they've built winter experience events around what the rugged Leon can do, but the change is probably dictated by the market.
While looking through the official German market configurator, we found some disappointing models. Three out of the four are powered by the 1.0 TSI making as little as 86 HP. That engine has no business here, and it can't even be paired with AWD because it's so down on power, just like the lone diesel, a 1.6 TDI. Based on the weight of the model, we even think they've ditched the independent rear suspension, though there's no way to confirm this.
We think that SEAT is either late updating the X-Perience or doesn't care. The ordinary Leon ST wagon on which this is based at least gets both versions of the 2.0 TDI as well as a 2.0 TSI gasoline motor with 190 HP.
A brand new Leon 4 generation is probably going to debut this fall, based on the MQB Evo platform. It will be more premium, and we've learned a sedan version is under development. But the future looks bleak for the X-Perience.
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