At the Geneva Show back in March, SEAT revealed such a thing as had never been before, namely a León with just three doors rather than the usual five. As it had previously done with the Ibiza, the company named this version the SC, which is short for Sports Coupé, which in turn seems a bit fancy for a car with one hole per side rather than two.
But it's not quite like that, because the SC - though based, like the five-door, and like similar cars from Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen, on the VW Group's MQB platform - differs on the surface from the regular León from windscreen to tailgate.
The roofline is a little lower, the "blister" (as the motor industry calls them) are larger, the tailgate is more steeply angled, and although the rear side windows are small enough to demand unhelpfully thick rear pillars they are much more sensibly shaped than in the five-door and permit greater visibility. (I can imagine the designers crying themselves to sleep about this and wondering how they could have let such a thing happen, but perhaps instead it marks the dawn of a welcome if overdue new fashion.)
Luggage volume with the rear seats in place remains at 380 litres, and that's about average for the this size and type of car. SEAT concedes that there is less room in the back than in the five-door, and of course access is more restricted.
However, despite being over six feet tall, and not as supple as I was before I was asked to leave the Royal Ballet after that incident you probably heard about, I got in okay, stayed long enough to decide that there was just about enough space for me to tolerate a shortish journey and then got out again in a not too undignified manner. More reasonably-sized people should be able to manage with ease.
Another difference between the SC and the five-door is that the former has a 35mm shorter wheelbase. According to SEAT, this makes it "even more agile". While I take the point (a car with its front and rear axles close together will be inherently more willing to change direction than one that has them further apart) it's not going to make much difference in everyday driving.
This, frankly, is as good as it needs to be, and perhaps a little better. All the MQB cars are splendid to drive, and while I'd put the Golf at the head of the list I wouldn't rate the León much lower. It feels as solid as anything built largely from Volkswagen bits might be expected to, the major controls are very nicely weighted, there isn't much noise, and - in the case of this particular model - if you need some brisk acceleration the 138bhp 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine will provide it without apparently caring too much which of the six gears you most recently selected.
The ride, thanks to soft but well-damped suspension (the best kind), is very good. I could have done with a little less information about the road surface being transmitted through the 55-profile tyres, but in fairness I did a lot of driving on notably dodgy tarmac and may have become too sensitive on this issue as a result.
The León SC comes in S, SE and FR trim levels, but you can't have an S with the 1.4 TSI engine. SE is the cheaper and slightly less sporty of the two that remain. 16" wheels, cruise control, all-round electric windows, hill hold control, the XDS electronic limited slip differential, air-conditioning, tyre pressure monitoring and the usual array of connectivity devices are all supplied in return for your £17,540.
The test car also had LED headlights, satellite navigation and DAB digital radio, all bundled into a Technology Pack which is costs nothing at all (hurrah!) but only for a limited time (boo). On top of that, it was supplied with metallic paint for £475, front and rear parking sensors for £430, dual-zone climate control for £350 and a Convenience Pack (automatic headlights and wipers and an auto-dimming interior mirror) for £100.
