Seat’s new Leon SC will be priced £300 below the five-door at £15,370, model-for-model, when it arrives in showrooms at the start of July.

The Leon SC is 35 mm shorter than the five-door but keeps the same the same 380-litre boot capacity. It’s also the first time Seat has created a three-door version of the Leon.

The SC is the second member of the Leon model family and an estate version will arrive before the end of the year.

Standard specification includes air conditioning, Bluetooth phone connectivity and audio streaming, a six-speaker mp3-compatible stereo including colour touchscreen display, seven airbags, anti-lock braking, traction control and sports-shaped front seats.

SE trim adds a leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, ambient interior lighting, chrome dashboard detailing, front fog lights with cornering function, cruise control, 16-inch alloy wheels, Seat’s XDS electronic differential lock system and hill hold control.

The  FR trim will only be available with the more powerful engines in the line-up. FR trim include Drive Profile, which alters the driving characteristics of the car through three modes, plus an individual mode which drivers can use to personalise their settings.

FR cars also get 17-inch alloy wheels, redesigned front and rear bumpers, twin chrome exhaust pipes, dark tinted windows, FR sports seats, a flat-bottomed leather steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, LED tail lights, and sports suspension, lowered by 15 mm.

SE and FR trims can be specified with LED headlamps.

The engine line-up mirrors the five-door with 1.2-litre, 1.4-litre and 1.8-litre TSI petrol engines, developing between 104 and 178bhp and a 1.6-litre TDi diesel which will return 74.3mpg and 99g/km of CO2 output, as well as a 2.0 TDi returning 68.9and with an output of 106g/km of CO2.

Every engine in the Leon range, petrol and diesel, is equipped with Start/Stop System and Energy Recovery to lower consumption and CO2 emissions.

Five- or six-speed manual gearboxes are standard depending on the engine choice, with six- or seven-speed twin-clutch automatics as an optional extra.

Neil Williamson, Seat’s new UK managing director, said: “The Leon is a key model for us.

“It trails only the very popular Ibiza in terms of outright sales in the UK, and in 2012 enjoyed its second best year ever, despite being in its final year of production.

“With the introduction of this SC and, shortly, the practical ST estate – echoing the Ibiza model family – we expect Leon sales to take a significant upward trajectory.”

Seat Leon SC pricing:

S 1.2 TSI £15,370
S 1.6 TDI £17,070
SE 1.2 TSI £16,490
SE 1.2 TSI DSG £17,740
SE 1.4 TSI £17,540
SE 1.6 TDI £18,190
SE 1.6 TDI DSG £19,440
SE 2.0 TDI £19,540
SE 2.0 TDI DSG £20,790
FR 1.4 TSI £19,085
FR 1.8 TSI £20,290
FR 1.8 TSI DSG £21,540
FR 2.0 TDI £21,085
FR 2.0 TDI DSG £22,335