Seat expands its program to include the Leon 1.5 TGI

Compared to pure gasoline and diesel engines, natural gas is significantly more environmentally friendly. The legislator also sees it this way and has therefore exempted bio-CNG (biomethane) from the CO2 tax. The environmental balance of bio-CNG, i.e., methane produced from biological residual and waste materials, is comparable to that of an electric vehicle charged with green electricity, with up to 97 percent CO2 reduction, up to 95 percent reduced nitrogen oxide emissions compared to gasoline and diesel engines, and almost complete avoidance of particulate matter and soot. The federal government has therefore exempted bio-CNG from the CO2 tax applicable since January 1, 2021, until further notice - and will further increase the cost advantage of this alternative drive over the coming years.

Accordingly, Seat will remain loyal to this type of drive for the time being. The tank, which holds 17.3 kg of natural gas, is supposed to provide a range of a good 450 kilometers with a standard consumption of 3.7 kg. With an acceleration of 9.6 seconds from a standstill to 100 km/h and a top speed of 203 km/h, the Leon 1.5 TGI offers strong driving performance.

Johannes Fleck, responsible for Product, Planning & Strategy at SEAT Germany, explains:

 "With the Seat Leon TGI, we complete our extremely wide range of drives in the compact class. Our customers have the choice between state-of-the-art diesel, gasoline, mild-hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or now also CNG engines. The special thing about the TGI is the high range of up to 450 kilometers in CNG operation. This allows for extremely economical and, especially when operated with biomethane, very sustainable mobility, combined with the driving pleasure and attractive design characteristic of the Seat Leon."

The five-door version makes the start, further variants to follow

The first model variant is the five-door Leon available in the equipment variants Style (from 29,000 euros gross, which is 24,370 euros net), XCELLENCE (from 30,650 euros gross, which is 25,760 euros net), and the particularly sporty FR version (from 30,450 euros gross, which is 25,590 euros net) with TGI engine. In all cases, the engine is connected to a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission (DSG). The Leon Sportstourer and the versions with manual 6-speed transmission will follow shortly.

What does this mean?

CNG remains an interesting alternative to gasoline and diesel. It is nice to see that the VW group continues to promote it and plays with such a variety of options, even though the new CNG models from Seat and others coming to the market currently could be the last of their kind. Internally, the VW group wants to focus on battery-electric power.