Seat Leon vs Seat Ibiza: which one makes a better used buy?
They are two of the Spanish firm’s most popular models, but which one makes a better used buy?
The Cazoo editorial team
Published on 25 September 2025 | 1 min read
Seat is a brand that has gone quiet of late, but only to make way for its sportier Cupra sub-brand.
If you’re in the market for a practical hatchback, Seat still has plenty of models to choose from, but the Leon and Ibiza are by far the most popular.
They have stylish exterior designs, while offering lots of standard equipment and sharing platforms with their Volkswagen siblings, to make them a sturdy, safe and practical choice for second-hand buyers, with plenty of examples available through Cazoo.
But, which one makes a better used buy? Well, we’ve put both cars back-to-back in a Seat Leon vs Seat Ibiza shootout to find out which car you should put your money on.
Styling
Let’s start with their designs, as the Ibiza has a much smaller profile than the Leon as it’s a supermini, rather than a family hatchback.
The Ibiza shares the same underpinnings as the Volkswagen Polo, but has a much more angular and aggressive exterior design with its round rear taillights, curved bonnet and kick-up rear window. The Ibiza looks a lot more youthful compared to the more grown-up Leon.
The Leon’s design has a much sleeker and sharper stance to it, with its low nose, swooping bonnet and curved back end, to make this one of the best-looking small family hatchbacks on the market, and much more interesting than the car it shares its platform with, the Volkswagen Golf.
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Interiors
When it comes to their interiors, both cars have similar designs; however, the Ibiza definitely feels the more playful model as certain trim levels will allow you to customise certain parts of the interior, such as the around air vents to match the car’s exterior colour. But, the smaller Ibiza definitely has ergonomics on its side as you still get physical climate control dials and a manual handbrake.
The Leon on the other hand is a lot more sensible in its design, with a larger touchscreen, which is angled slightly more towards the driver, and the materials used throughout have a soft-touch feel to them, giving it a more premium look. Sadly, Seat has moved the climate control dials into the touchscreen and there is an electronic handbrake, which does free up space in the centre console, but everything just doesn’t feel as easy to use compared to the Ibiza.
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Running costs
The Ibiza is only available with one engine option, and that is a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine. But, there is a choice of two power outputs, with the lower-powered model producing 93bhp and 175Nm of torque, can deliver a claimed fuel economy figure of 54.3mpg and emits 117g/km of CO2, making it very cheap to run. The higher-powered version produces 108bhp and 200Nm of torque, while fuel economy drops to a claimed 52.3mpg and CO2 emissions rise to 133g/km.
In comparison, the Leon is available with petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrains, giving the buyer a lot more choice.
Starting with the petrols, there is an entry-level 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged unit that develops 109bhp, can manage a claimed 51.2mpg and emits 125g/km of CO2. There is also a more powerful 1.5-litre turbocharged model, that develops 148bhp, can return a claimed 49.6mpg and pumps out the same 125g/km of CO2.
But, there is also the choice of a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel engine, with two power outputs on offer, which both claim to achieve more than 60mpg.
Also, the Leon is available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, which Seat calls its ‘eHybrid’. It features a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine mated to an electric motor and 13.1kWh battery pack, with Seat claiming it can take the car 40 miles on electric power, and this allows CO2 emissions to be as low as 29g/km.
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Practicality
Both cars offer decent levels of practicality, as they only come with five-door body styles.
Starting with the interior of the Ibiza, there are plenty of cubby holes, with large door bins, a decent-sized glovebox, two cup holders in the centre console and somewhere to store your mobile phone. In the back, the sloping roofline does eat into headroom a little bit, but there is still a decent amount of kneeroom for passengers. The Ibiza does have a very generous boot capacity, offering 355 litres and 823 litres when the 60:40 split folding rear bench is pushed forwards.
The Leon is even more practical, with deeper door bins, a big glovebox, a couple of cut-outs in the centre console, as well as two cupholders, some centre armrest storage and a deep compartment located in front of the gear selector. In the back, there is plenty of room for occupants, with lots of head, knee and legroom and the boot capacity stands at an impressive 380 litres or 1,210 litres with the rear seats folded down, which puts it on par with the Volkswagen Golf in this sector.
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Used prices
The second-hand market is brimming with used Seat Ibiza and Leon models, but both cars do vary in price.
The smaller Ibiza is cheaper to buy than the Leon, with a three-year-old ‘SE’ model with the 93bhp powertrain on the market for £11,300 or a sportier ‘FR’ car with low mileage priced at £13,300. If you want the more powerful powertrain, then look to spend around £14,000 for an example that has covered less than 30,000 miles.
The Leon is more expensive to buy, but still offers good value for money with three-year-old 1.0-litre cars priced at £13,300 and 1.5-litre models on the market for £15,800. If you want a diesel, look to spend around £16,000 and plug-in hybrid examples are even more expensive at £18,500.
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Verdict
So, which one is better? Well, both cars are great all-rounders, offering sharp looks, practical interiors with a premium touch as well as providing capacious boot capacities.
The Ibiza will be cheaper to run and cheaper to buy, but the Leon comes with a greater range of powertrains, is ever so slightly more practical and feels more grown-up.
If you’re looking for a first-time car or just an affordable runaround, the Ibiza is a great choice. But, if you have a family and need a car that is practical, good-looking, affordable to run and has strong residual values, then the Leon wins this test as the better used buy.
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