Is the Leon FR motorings most undiscovered secret?

[S8N]

I thought this might start an interesting conversation

Please do vote and comment

I had an itch to scratch today. I have been dying to try the much admired Focus ST for some time now. I do love my FR TDI but sometimes I run out of revs and I do miss a quick petrol. I booked a test drive and took it out this afternoon.

My initial thoughts:

1. Not as rapid as expected.
2. Feels really heavy. Planted yes but also heavier than I expected.
3. I am only 5ft 2 and struggled to get a comfy seating position (my old Focus caused me the same problem).
4. Even floored down a sliproad, still didn't come to life like expected.

Took a good hour to get used to the using the power band but I have honestly come away dissapointed. I got back into my Leon and toddled off home. My Leon felt alive on the 20 mile journey back. If anything, I drove it harder than I ever have. Perfect driving position and felt so much more rapid and planted.

So considering it's supposed to be the king of hot hatches, I felt it didn't give me that driving connection I get with my Leon.

When you factor in the cost, the huge spec (this Focus had no convienince pack, no climate control or bluetooth) in comparison to the Focus and the shear brute power, It made me wonder if the Leon FR really is motorings best kept/undiscovered secret. Performance and value that just seems to get missed.

 

[Moley RUFC]

Yep......but keep your voice down.

I love my FR, it looks the business, they are rare and when you feel the need it raises a smile. Now dont get me wrong off the line in 1st/2nd it came seem sluggish but in 3rd or 4th there isn't many cars that could pull away from you

 

[BanziBarn]

It's true what you say about the Focus - not as quick as I expected it to be. And spec too, is not very good.

The sound of the engine though is amazing and I'm surprised you didn't mention it, and the ride is much better IMO than the Leon.

But for me to be really happy with the car I think I'd have to get a fully loaded one and also get it bluefinned. Then I think it would be fantastic car (although not a cheap one!)

 

[S8N]

The engine sound is nice but only once it's booted, that T5 is an awesome engine. I find the ride a bit disconnected. Too refined and was quite crashy on rough town roads.

It would really have to be fully loaded to make it worthwhile. This was the price of my Leon and was pretty poverty spec!

 

[Moley RUFC]

But the Cupra name is known as a flying machine, no matter what it looks like.

 

[S8N]

3 litre, 6 cylinder, twin turbo, 306bhp

But that isn't £16k-£17k

 

[S8N]

Nope, but it is a real wolf in sheeps clothing and a performance car bargain.

Price?

 

[Chuckie]

Price?

£26,600 basic
(blue tooth +£535)
(Metallic +£440)

But you do get all this included!!!!!

Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)
Automatic Stability Control (ASC + T)
Brake drying
Brake Energy Regeneration (iGR)
Brake fade compensation
Brake Force Display
Brake pre-tensioning
Corner Brake Control (CBC)
Dynamic Brake Control (DBC)
Dynamic Stability Control (DSC)
Dynamic Traction Control (DTC)
Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD)

are BMW worried that you might bend it???

CH

 

[S8N]

Aahahahahah at safety aids. Good god BMW..

 

[Skinfakse]

The FR is a great car... but the wolf in a sheeps clothing, thats the TFSI Sport up! - Looks exactly as the normal Leon´s, but is as fast as the FR, (maybe not on the racetrack... but in the real world there is no difference worth mentioning) and got the same brakes and interior!

 

[coggie]

I'd say the Mazda 3 MPS is more of a wolf in sheeps clothing.

Granted it's a dull japenese box but 0-60 in 6 seconds, who's gonna see that coming?

 

[chrisboyle999]

3 litre, 6 cylinder, twin turbo, 306bhp

i'd have expected an awful lot more out of a lump like that!!

the ultimate driving machine my ar$£.

a revo'd cupra would be £7k cheaper (than basic!), cheaper to run, tax, insure, service, repair, be faster, and more fun.

and as for the original question, the FR would get my vote before the ST anyday. i bet it was a lary colour too!

 

[Wilko]

i'd have expected an awful lot more out of a lump like that!!

the ultimate driving machine my ar$£.

a revo'd cupra would be £7k cheaper (than basic!), cheaper to run, tax, insure, service, repair, be faster, and more fun.

and as for the original question, the FR would get my vote before the ST anyday. i bet it was a lary colour too!

A simple remap gets it to 360hp, it will use less fuel than a cupra by a considerable margin, and from my experience would be cheaper to insure, depreciate less, will be a lot faster, and if its anything like the rest of the 1 series, be a lot of fun to drive. Leave your misconceptions at the door.

 

[ents]

A simple remap gets it to 360hp, it will use less fuel than a cupra by a considerable margin, and from my experience would be cheaper to insure, depreciate less, will be a lot faster, and if its anything like the rest of the 1 series, be a lot of fun to drive. Leave your misconceptions at the door.

Its "drivers machine" as it is RWD and I really believe its got probably the best engine available BUT... its pricey, its ugly, its really cramped and it has 3 doors. So nothing's perfect

 

[cordobabrendy]

If its a tdi wolf in sheeps clothing then get a test drive in the skoda octavia vRS 2.0 16v pdtdi, 170bhp standard handles better than its SEAT and VW siblings. Tis so good Ive ordered one and will have it and a leon cupra (as per sig) as the weekender, not a bad pairing if I do say so myself.

 

[DanGB]

The FR is a great car... but the wolf in a sheeps clothing, thats the TFSI Sport up! - Looks exactly as the normal Leon´s, but is as fast as the FR, (maybe not on the racetrack... but in the real world there is no difference worth mentioning) and got the same brakes and interior!

Agreement

 

[chrisboyle999]

if were talking about the engine that goes in the 335i m, then it isnt even available in a 1 series yet!

when/if it becomes available, in standard form (as i refered to earlier), a revo'd cupra compared to a standard 135i, will be all the things i mentioned earlier except maybe the fun to drive bit which is of course subjective.

fuel comsumption we can only go off the 335i m, which claims 31mpg - less than a cupra.
depreciation - i can only loose £19k on my cupra, tops.

oh, and when/if it goes on sale it is expected to cost £30k .

was there anything else i misconceived?

 

[Wilko]

if were talking about the engine that goes in the 335i m, then it isnt even available in a 1 series yet!

when/if it becomes available, in standard form (as i refered to earlier), a revo'd cupra compared to a standard 135i, will be all the things i mentioned earlier except maybe the fun to drive bit which is of course subjective.

fuel comsumption we can only go off the 335i m, which claims 31mpg - less than a cupra.
depreciation - i can only loose £19k on my cupra, tops.

oh, and when/if it goes on sale it is expected to cost £30k .

was there anything else i misconceived?

Evo are running a 335i and a cupra at the moment. One has a long term average in the high 20's, the other in the low 20's. Go see which is which.

Your cupra will be worth 6-7K 3 years, and the 135i will be worth high teens, so depreciation will be similar.

On the orriginal question though, it's a very good mid priced hatchback, that ticks most boxes.

 

[chrisboyle999]

On the orriginal question though, it's a very good mid priced hatchback, that ticks most boxes.

i think we can agree on that.

 

[20vt Tony]

Having come back to Seat after owning an ST, I must say I miss the Focus, but only sometimes. The ride is far better as is the handling IMO. The interior is a lot nicer as well. It's a heavy old girl, but the engine makes such a sweet noise!!!! Fuel economy is very poor, much worse than Ford's official figures (30mpg combined my ) I was getting about 25mpg and that wasn't even booting it. It has the turning circle of the titanic making car parks an absolute nightmare! Also you get so much attention from nearly every Chav/undesirable when driving through town. Always made the wife feel uncomfortable, so we came back to Seat after a short break. Best point about my Focus was I made £2500 on the car when selling it,

Tony