This is the best hot hatch you could buy in the early 2000s.
I like basically everything about this car: it is fast, it is cheap, it is reliable, it is light and go around corners really well (even better than a Civic Type R of its time!) and it has a massive aftermarket backing it up.
Not to mention it has the very popular 1.8T engine that could easily make power with a small tune reliably, while also having decent fuel consumption. The fact that it had the same engine as the Audi S3, which was considered one of the fastest AWD cars in the premium hatch department also speaks volumes. I'm not sure what it is about the car, and why I like the design so much, but it's making me kind of emotional. Seeing those cars drive around back in 2004 when I was just a kid always filled me with joy, even if it was just a small 1.4 base model. I really liked the front and the headlights, they had a feeling of coolness behind them.
Not to mention where Seat came from initially. I mean come on, they were owned by Fiat before. VW really did a great job with this company back in the day.
Overall, the Seat Leon 1M was a wonderful generation. Cheap, affordable, reliable, and a ton of engine options for each and everyone. This was the car that really defined a people's car 20 years ago.
The only car I'd ever put close to it would be the Golf R32 and the Focus RS, but we all know in which price dimensions they are right now.
