Back to back: Seat Leon X-Perience versus Subaru Outback

There’s a coincidence there, but Seat’s VW-sourced TDI does it using a lot less fuel. It’s a smaller, lighter vehicle, which helps it make the most of what it’s got in terms of performance and economy alike. It looks sharper, too, and rather more car-like, without going down the self-imposed oddity route chosen by Seat’s earlier venture into the crossover market, the Altea Freetrack 4.

And it’s not flattering to decieve. The X-Perience is only jacked up by 15mm compared to the Leon hatch on which it’s based, and you could be forgiven for forgetting that that’s not what you’re not driving. It doesn’t loll and flop in corners, responding instead with alacrity to your commands. It’s biddable, chuckable and fun.

Heaven knows, Subaru has nothing to prove when it comes to making biddable, chuckable cars. But the Outback has for generations been finding favour with a middle-aged country set who appreciate its all-seasons usability, and to that extent we’re not quite comparing like for like here.

Having said that, the Outback is still a pleasing car to drive on B-roads. It doesn’t steer with the same eagerness, but it grips superbly and, no small matter, it won’t get upset by dodgy road surfaces. This is Britain, after all.

Is it fair to say that Seat has built a car for people who want the look, whereas Subaru has built one for people who want the car? That’s probably a bit glib, but let’s head off-road.

It’s a knockout. Subaru has been doing this for a long time, and it knows how to get a car up a muddy slope. The Outback is made for this, all the way down to its choice of tyres, and its heavy-duty drivetrain keeps it moving on a feather of gas.

It’s not an off-roader in the Defender or Land Cruiser sense, but if you want one of those you buy a Defender or Land Cruiser. Many, many people have used Subaru estates to carry bales of hay or haul trailers full of turnips across wet fields, and on this showing precisely none of them will buy a Seat instead.

The Leon’s Haldex coupling is a fine thing in its element, but the car itself is totally shown up here. Road-biased tyres act always like a straitjacket off-tarmac, but either way the Outback simply grips better.

On rougher tracks (still not Defender-only territory), the X-Perience doesn’t just lack grip, it feels downright vulnerable. While the Outback ahead is simply working its way over the terrain, you’re cringing at every bump and jolt as if it might be the one that smashes a hole in your sump or front diff. Remember what we said about it being a smaller, lighter car? That just came home to roost.

Of course, almost nobody who buys an X-Perience will ever find this out for themselves. And that’s just as well.

What they will find out is that their car has a nice, airy cabin with materials that feel quite premium. It feels like what it is, a modern VW Group product, and that’s no bad thing.

The Outback is a bigger car, and it’s very roomy inside. Sit in the front or back, or transform yourself into an enormous suitcase, and you’ll never feel cramped. But you won’t feel pampered, either, because the cabin errs on the rugged and functional side rather than dishing up any surprise and delight.

So, what we have is a 4x4 built to do a job, and a car with four-wheel drive. For many people, the latter will be enough – and if the Outback’s genuine capabilities aren’t what you need, the Leon X-Perience is funkier looking, nicer inside, more economical and better on the road.

Thing is, the Outback is also quite funky, nice inside, economical enough and very good on the road. And if you need, or want, the real thing, there’s only one choice. People who know what they’re looking at have been making it for a quarter of a century and more – and on this evidence, they’re not about to stop.

Seat Leon X-Perience 2.0 TDI SE Technology

Price £26,370

0-62mph 8.7sec

Top speed 129mph

Economy 58.9mp

CO2 129g/km

Kerbweight 1484kg

Engine 4cyls, 1968cc turbodiesel

Power 148bhp at 3500rpm

Torque 251lb ft at 1750rpm

Gearbox 6-spd manual

Subaru Outback 2.0d SE

Price £27,995

0-62mph 9.7sec

Top speed 119mph

Economy 50.4mpg

CO2 145g/km

Kerbweight 1622kg

Engine 4cyls, 1998cc, turbodiesel

Power 148bhp at 3600rpm

Torque 258lb ft at 1600-2800rpm

Gearbox 6-spd manual