Seat would like you to believe that it’s mid-sized Leon hatchback is as up-to-date as the Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra and Volkswagen Golf. Not a year goes by, it seems, before another press release comes out with the words ‘New’ and ‘León’ in close proximity, and yet it’s the same MPV-like León that’s graced our roads since 2005.

Look, I understand the need to keep a product looking fresh throughout its lifespan, but sometimes I wish the car maker would just say, “here’s the 2012 León, same as the old León, but with a few tasty upgrades to tide it over until the next refresh”. Some marketers just seem unable to bring themselves to ‘say it as it is’, even when it hurts their credibility in this more open social media world.

Thankfully, we don’t have too long to wait until the third generation Seat León is launched – at last a truly ‘new’ León, later this year. Based on the Volkswagen Group’s latest MQB platform, the new León is rumoured to include both three-door and estate variants.

While customers wait for a more contemporary León, the current model has received ‘a few tasty upgrades’ to the FR+ and Supercopa. ‘Supercopa’ refers to Seat’s global one-make race series and is basically a styling kit for the FR+ including re-worked front and rear bumpers, a more pronounced tailgate spoiler, bespoke BBS 18-inch alloy wheels and unique chrome-tipped, twin exhausts.

Equipped with Seat’s 2.0 TSI 208 bhp petrol or 2.0 TDI CR 168 bhp turbodiesel engine, the León FR+ takes the FR trim and adds 18-inch alloy wheels and £3,000-worth of SEAT Sport body kit for just £750 more than standard versions of the León FR+.

Prices start from £22,530 for the 2.0 TDI six-speed manual model.

FR hatchback Leon mk 2 Leon mk3 seat leon supercopa upgrade