SEAT Leon ST revealed

The new SEAT Leon ST estate has been revealed, ahead of its official unveil at the Frankfurt motor show in September.

This will be the first time the Leon has been offered with a choice of three body styles, with the regular five-door Leon hatchback and three-door SC models already on sale.

The Leon ST has 207 litres more boot space than the regular Leon hatchback, with 587 litres when the rear seats are in place. But that trails the Skoda Octavia Estate (610 litres) and VW Golf Estate (605 litres), and the Leon ST can’t match its rivals when the back seats are folded, either, with its maximum capacity extending to 1,470 litres. SEAT has achieved the increase over the hatch by stretching the car by 27cm (although the wheelbase remains the same). Yet the ST is only 45kg heavier and uses the same suspension settings.

New multi-spoke alloy wheels and slender sliver roof rails also set it apart from the five-door but it looks more like a stretched version of the standard car than a fully standalone model. The engine range is carried over, too, including an efficient 1.6-litre TDI Ecomotive, which emits 88g/km of CO2 and returns 85.6mpg. The FR tops the range, powered by either a 178bhp 1.8 TSI engine or a 181bhp 2.0 TDI. Six-speed manual and seven-speed DSG automatic transmissions will reportedly be offered with four-wheel drive on the more powerful engine variants.

As well as its Skoda and VW cousins, the Leon ST is up against the Ford Focus Estate and Honda Civic Tourer.Prices haven’t yet been revealed, but we expect the ST to cost around £750 more than the five-door hatch. The range should kick off at around £16,400.

The Leon ST is due to make its official debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September and SEAT has hinted that it may offer the estate as a hot 'Cupra' model as well - making it a direct rival to the Ford Focus ST estate.