2000 SEAT León. Repsol coloring in Santillana del Mar
The SEAT León is a hatchback compact car built by the Spanish car manufacturer SEAT since October 1999.
The first two León generations used two differing variants of the Volkswagen Group A platform, and shared many components with other Volkswagen Group cars. The third and fourth (current) generation use the Volkswagen Group MQB platform, also used by the Audi A3 Mk3 and Mk4, Volkswagen Golf Mk7 and Mk8 and Škoda Octavia Mk3, Mk4.
First generation (1M; 1999)
The initial SEAT León, launched in 1999, available only as hatchback, and the related saloon version was known as the SEAT Toledo. It was based on the Volkswagen Group A4 (PQ34) platform and, as such, shared many components in common with other VW Group models such as the Volkswagen Golf Mk4, Bora and Audi A3.
It was mainly produced at SEAT’s Martorell plant with a small number of 13,401 cars assembled in 2000 at VW group’s plant in Belgium. As SEAT’s first C-segment model as part of the VW Group, the León Mk1 was marketed as a sportier and cheaper variant of the Golf. To reinforce the sporty image, the vehicle had slightly more aggressive looks. The more expensive versions were equipped with relatively more powerful internal combustion engines, along with firmer suspension to improve handling. In the interior, the dashboard was derived from that of the first-generation Audi A3.
Available engines were the 1.4-litre 16 valve petrol engine which produced a 55 kilowatts (75 PS; 74 bhp), a 1.6-litre 8 valve petrol engine 74 kW (101 PS; 99 bhp) (replaced later with a 16 valve 77 kW (105 PS; 103 bhp) unit), and included two variants of the Volkswagen Group’s 20 valve turbocharged 1.8-litre powerplant, (with some countries also getting the 2.8-litre VR6 engine delivering 150 kW (204 PS; 201 bhp).
