Seat's 176mpg plug-in hybrid Leon Verde concept

Seat's 176mpg plug-in hybrid Leon Verde concept

Seat has unveiled their vision of plug-in hybrid petrol / electric motoring with the Leon hatchback-based Leon Verde, or Leon Green.

The new prototype from the Spanish car-maker mixes a 120bhp, 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine with a 100bhp electric motor for a quoted combined economy of 176.6mpg, with CO2 stated at a lowly 36g/km. The new car's electric-only driving range is a respectable 31 miles.

The Leon Verde might look like your average Leon hatch on the outside, but along with the complex hybrid drivetrain, a clever interactive charging system sits under the sharply-styled Leon skin. The system detects when overall energy consumption is low on the national electricity grid and encourages drivers to change the car during these lower-cost-electricity-times.

If the car is left plugged into the mains between 7pm and 7am, the system will only charge the car at times when it detects the overall energy demand has dropped, using a recharge manager system. Using this system to keep the car constantly topped up for, say, a 30-mile daily commute, would mean a Leon Verde driver would pay very little in commuting fuel costs each week.

Indeed, the Seat Leon Verde sounds like it has a great deal of potential for specific types of drivers, but at the moment while Seat continue to test and evaluate this car and the technology, there are no immediate plans to put it into mass production.

Posted by Craig Salter