ST will have changes under the hood

[Walpurgis]

I see from the latest (official) announcements on the ST that it won't simply be a stretched version of the four-door.

There will be at least one new engine: an Ecomotive 1.6TDi, promising 85.6mpg and CO2 emissions of 88g/km. According to Autocar, this engine will be available for the three- and five-door Leons from January.

The ST will also offer adaptive suspension with "dynamic chassis control" (presumably as an option) as well as "progressive steering" and adaptive cruise control. At least some of these will be tied to the FR's Normal/Sport/Eco choices.

 

[GreyUm]

4WD in the 3dr and 5dr then...

 

[Walpurgis]

It seems to me that the new options will close the technology gap with the Golf. I suspect that Seat would have liked to have offered them from the launch of the third generation but either they weren't ready or Volkswagen wouldn't allow Seat to use them (thus giving the Golf a technological edge).

I see from a report in Car magazine, that the FR's Normal mode will, in future, become a Comfort mode - which makes sense once you have dynamic chassis control.

In the Individual mode on the Golf, you can change settings including the steering and accelerator response, and the radar-based adaptive cruise control, so you will probably be able to do the same on the FR in future.

It's a pity though, that the early adopters the third generation Leon lose out on these toys.

 

[xSullx]

Looks great. I'm wondering if the adaptive chassis control will be available with the lower spec suspension, or only on the 1.8 TSI and more powerful 2.0 TDI engines?
Currently aiming at a 1.4 TSI for spring of 2014. Looking wonderful so far.