SEAT Leon e-Hybrid range, MPG, CO2 & charging

Official efficiency figures are as impressive for the Leon e-Hybrid as they are for any plug-in, with up to 235mpg fuel economy and between 27 and 28g/km CO2 emissions being recorded. The real-world numbers are likely to fall some way short of those, but even so, the SEAT should still be a very cost-effective car for most drivers.

SEAT Leon e-Hybrid range, MPG & CO2 emissions

Like all plug-in hybrids, the Leon e-Hybrid posts some pretty mind-boggling numbers when put through official economy testing – in this case, well over 200mpg. The health warning that always accompanies these claims is that they depend on topping the battery up to 100% after every journey, always starting from full.

That's not always possible in the real world, so the economy returned by the car's 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine after the battery has been depleted is also important to consider. During our time with the Leon, a 120-mile trip covering urban and rural roads, as well as some motorway, returned an indicated 48mpg. That's about what you'd expect from the equivalent 1.5-litre TSI pure-petrol Leon, so it's positive that there's no big penalty to be paid if you have to run on an empty battery for a while.

Charge time

As mentioned above, regular charging is the key to getting the most out of any plug-in hybrid, so it pays to make this process as painless as possible should you decide to run one. A home wallbox is the best solution, allowing you to charge at the Leon's maximum rate of just over 3kW to get a full charge in less than four hours. Stick with a regular domestic socket and you'll see the battery topped up in around six hours, so overnight charging is still very doable this way.