The SEAT León came in first place on the imports list within the compact car category during the voting for "The best cars of 2009", after a selection made by over 92,000 readers of the specialist German motoring magazine auto motor und sport.

In total, the cars were rated in ten different categories, and the León won in the compact car section, where there were 32 contenders. 12.2% of the readers voted for the SEAT León, making it the best import car in its segment.

"We are enormously pleased with the result and would like to thank auto motor und sport readers for their excellent choice" declared SEAT president Erich Schmitt during the award ceremony in Stuttgart. "This victory once more demonstrates how convincing the SEAT León concept is. In both the Ecomotive version, whose fuel consumption has been optimised, and the powerful, athletic Cupra version, this sporty compact combines dynamic driving and fuel economy at the highest level."

SEAT is offering the León with a complete, attractive range of choices. It features five trim levels – Reference, Style, Sport-up, FR and Cupra, including such standard elements as ABS and TCS, ESP with EBA emergency braking, low tyre pressure warning, twin front airbag, side and head airbags, Isofix anchoring points, air conditioning and MP3 CD radio with aux-in, among others.

SEAT Leon Cupra (2007)
SEAT Leon Cupra (2007) - picture 1 of 22
SEAT Leon Cupra (2007) - picture 2 of 22
SEAT Leon Cupra (2007) - picture 3 of 22
SEAT Leon Cupra (2007) - picture 4 of 22
SEAT Leon Cupra (2007) - picture 5 of 22
SEAT Leon Cupra (2007) - picture 6 of 22
SEAT Leon Cupra (2007) - picture 7 of 22
SEAT Leon Cupra (2007) - picture 8 of 22

The SEAT León is available with a total of eleven engine choices. They all deliver magnificent performance, starting from the 85 hp 1.4 petrol or the extremely fuel efficient 105 hp 1.9 TDI Ecomotive (4.5 l/100 km) all the way up to the 240 hp 2.0 TSI of the Cupra version.

The SEAT León is the undisputed leader in sportiness, having recently made racing history as the first Diesel-powered car to win a World Championship after placing first at the demanding FIA World Touring Car Championship track racing event. Winning the manufacturers' title has been a tremendous success for SEAT, as well as the victory in the drivers' category for French born Yvan Muller. The runner-up was Italian born Gabriele Tarquini, and both are official drivers of the Spanish brand.