SEAT Leon Sport: month 2

Arrived: December 2008
List price (including options): £18,197
Average economy: 38.9mpg

The SEAT Leon TDI Sport has been -

To the SEAT Christmas party, which meant an arduous 290-mile journey south on the A1 from Newcastle, across the M18 and onto the A1(M) to central London. My fear was that the Leon's unyielding suspension would prove the bane of my backside, but that mercifully was not the case. There was one bane, though - a bevy of middle lane hoggers. Is it just me, or is that little problem on the rise? Answers on the forum, if you like.

Afterwards the Leon undertook Nichol family Christmas Sleigh duties with aplomb; its boot swallowing up the excessive gift requirements of two small children impressively - as well as carting the kids themselves between grandmas, granddads, aunties, uncles, and hospitals (another story) without hassle.

We're loving the -

Way the SEAT feels utterly like a hot hatch around town, with a lovely, positive weight to the steering, firm, thumpy suspension and deep, grippy seats. I promised to report on its Newcastle to London fuel economy too, so here it is: 39.8mpg. That's 481-miles from a full tank of diesel (55-litres), mostly on the motorway, with a few spent stuck in London's glorious congestion zone. That's not bad, is it? Particularly considering the journey was largely, ahem, 'brisk'.

The Leon provided some welcome respite from a couple of the more uninvolving cars that passed through Chateau de Yahoo! in the last month as well. It's just a really good thing to drive - though not so much fun for passengers. My 20-month-old son has taken a real dislike to having daddy in the Leon's driving seat, especially near roundabouts - when he'll cling onto his toddler seat for dear life. I blame a chassis that encourages frisky cornering.

But not so impressed by -

The little foibles that are springing up and conspiring to distract from a car that's otherwise a joy to keep. The USB socket under the seat, which is supposed to connect to an iPod or a dongle full of tunes, categorically refuses to marry itself to either an iPod Touch or Nano. It only recognises certain music files on a USB stick too.

The Leon's also prone to being unsettled by lumps on the motorway, tending to bounce a few times until it loses the vertical momentum - strange for such a firmly sprung car. It developed an irritating rattle from the central air vents on the way to London too, which only manifested itself under acceleration, then disappeared completely. Oh, and the wind noise from the B-pillars is atrocious in motorway crosswinds.

We're looking forward to -

More time behind the wheel, actually. A conveyor belt of test motors and new car launches means time in the Leon is already becoming too rare, but that will soon sort itself out - there are a couple of notable gaps in February's diary.

Mark Nichol