Currently reading: Coupé looks for three-door Leon

Coupé will have a shorter wheelbase and a sweeping roofline, setting it apart from its five-door cousin

The three-door version of the new Seat Leon is “definitively coupé” in its styling, say company chiefs. The front end of the eagerly anticipated car, set to be unveiled next year, is lower and wider than that of the five-door, giving it a more aggressive, sporty stance.

Seat says the three-door will be “very close” to the striking IBE concept from the 2010 Geneva show. It will have a shorter wheelbase and a sweeping roofline, setting it apart from its five-door cousin.

The estate, meanwhile, will feature sporty, striking looks without sacrificing functionality. Seat is aiming for a model that won’t look out of place in a premium context, with the BMW 3-series Touring mentioned as a reference point.

It hasn’t been confirmed whether the three-door and estate versions will respectively adopt the SC (Sport Coupé) and ST (Sport Tourer) suffixes applied to the equivalent models in the Ibiza range, although it seems logical that they will.

As for future Leon variants, a convertible is unlikely, as is a compact MPV because of the Altea, but a crossover SUV inspired by the IBX concept is “the kind of thing we should have in our plan”.

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Seat's third-generation Leon is attractive and capable, but it can't quite reach the benchmark set by the imperious Volkswagen Golf

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BenC30 23 July 2012

So basically a Seat Scirroco

So basically a Seat Scirroco then?

Orangewheels 20 July 2012

personally I hope they call

personally I hope they call it something different from the Ibiza and go down the Scirocco route.

An all new coupe model will hold its residual values far better than something called an Ibiza 3 door, regardless of looks. It's a mistake both Renault and Vauxhall have made naming the 3 door coupe after the 5 door family model.

sirwiggum 20 July 2012

Seats from the turn of the

Seats from the turn of the century looked good, the Toledo looked like a mini-Lexus GS and the Leon was the hatchback of this was more distinctive than the evolutionary Golf.

A few years ago though they decided to make their range monobox-MPV like, Leon, Toledo and Altea all too similar.

If this looks like a cheap Scirocco it'd be a good thing. And they will have to use the corporate grille to give it family identity.