Where each one leads
SEAT León
- Against cars of the same age, the SEAT León comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 3% more often than average) than the Volkswagen Polo (passes 4% less often than average).
- Fewer SEAT León cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (3.3% against 3.9%).
- New SEAT León cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 122 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 125 for the Volkswagen Polo in 2022.
Volkswagen Polo
- Measured by the cars' own fuel meters, the petrol Volkswagen Polo uses 6.3 l/100 km on the road, the SEAT León 6.5.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| SEAT León | Volkswagen Polo | |
|---|---|---|
| New cars registered in Europe | 1,263,067 (2010–2022) | 3,287,019 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 197,210 | 685,293 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 62,541 | 292,864 |
| In traffic in Finland | 10,985 | 31,462 |
| Generations on record | — | 5 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| SEAT León | Volkswagen Polo | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 77% | 67% |
| … against cars of the same age | +3% | −4% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 3.3% | 3.9% |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Fuel, emissions and price
| SEAT León | Volkswagen Polo | |
|---|---|---|
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 6.5 l/100 km | 6.3 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | 5.6 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | 6.6 l/100 km | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 122 g/km | 125 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 99 kW (132 hp) | 74 kW (99 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,419 kg | 1,190 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €29,415 | €19,500 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 166,000 km | 140,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).