Extreme summer tests? You guys must be thinking of something along the lines of a trip to the beach or trying to stuff the trunk with beach balls. But Spanish carmaker SEAT took heat and dirt very seriously when it engineered the new Leon X-Perience, a car that mixes 50% estate bits and 50% crossover ones.
We checked it out in person at the Paris Motor Show in October, but we knew that in order to get the best footage on offer, SEAT Spain's Youtube channel would be a good place to look. And we were right, as two fresh videos have been released today, showing how the Leon X-Perience deals with the rough stuff.
Most crossover buyers never actually take their vehicles anywhere rough. But we think the Leon X-Perience buyers are going to. You see, they could have just as easily bought a normal Leon ST estate model that has the same body design, but they felt they needed raised suspension and protective body cladding and payed extra for that.
The X-Perience is pushed hard in these two videos and shows its all-wheel drive system is not only safer, but also quite enjoyable. With up to 100% of the torque sometimes being sent to the rear wheels, the tail can step out a little under rougher conditions.
This Subaru Outback from Western Europe has a very German set of engines available. The Leon X-Perience is built on the MQB platform and shares its engines with a sister car from Volkswagen called the Golf Alltrack.
In total, there are 4 engines available, only one of which is powered by petrol. Even the most basic 1.6 TDI is fitted with all-wheel drive. SEAT has its name for the system, but essentially, it the same one used on the latest 4Motion.
The Barcelona-based company also offers a 1.8 TSI making 180 HP and 280 Nm (206 lb-ft) and two versions of the VW Group's 2.0 TDI, with either 150 or 184 HP. Customers are offered a run-of-the-mill stick shift as standard, while a DSG double-clutch transmission is an optional extra on all but that entry-level diesel. Drivetrain change also include special DS control and an XDS electronic differential lock and ABS that's set up to dig into the dirt for more traction.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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