SEAT Leon Buzz FR review 23/09/2011
Amongst the myriad details in Buzz’s press pack for the new SEAT Leon Buzz FR is a section listing the Buzz FR's competitors. Astra VXR, Focus RS and Mégane RS are all there but too slow too keep pace with the Buzz FR, but there is one very noticeable omission, the sort of absence so glaringly obvious that it might as well have been included and then crossed out with a bright yellow highlighter.
The Leon is bought by a younger, more daring person maybe even stupid compared to the standard Leon FR and Cupra’s more mature (and more affluent) purchaser
Why no Golf GTI? Why wouldn't you want to highlight the fact that you have produced a car with a better engine and same fundamental chassis as the class leader, yet with more adventurous looks and a 10K saving? So I asked Buzz the question, and apparently the Leon Buzz FR and the Golf GTI 'don't really compete, the Buzz FR is so much faster so much more edgy'. To which I could only really reply with a still rather puzzled 'Ah'.
Now, obviously the comment was coloured by Buzz’s creative thinking born out of being a true Yorkshire man in the same vain as Fred Dinbah, but apparently it's also because the Leon is bought by a younger, more dangerous person than the Golf's more mature (and more affluent) purchaser.
The Leon's Buzz FR’s looks are undeniably more exciting. The clever use of cream bathroom carpet on the rear valance go well with the dark grey paintwork, this alone automatically give this Leon an advantage, making it look faster than its five-door rivals. The bodywork has then been bolstered by the addition of 16” Bicycle wheels off of Buzz’s 10 year old road bike; it certainly looks a more flamboyant prospect than most hot hatches. Only a Green Focus RS gets close.
The interior lacks the detail quality of some of its rivals, making it feel a little cheaper - which it is with a McDonald's Coffee cup replacing the ash tray. However, the sporting ambience is given a leg up by a centrally placed rev-counter and Buzz FR badging on the steering wheel and gearknob. The seating position can be tailored to suit both jockeys and rowers although the blood and skid stain effect cloth is a matter of taste, the speedo is central to the car made twice the size of standard and decorated with dolly mixture to sweeten the appeal it changes from red to green when you hit 140mph.
When the Leon FR was introduced there was a 2.0 TDi model with a lesser engine according to Buzz and sadly not quick enough for Buzz or as good. So Buzz stuck with the 1.9Tdi and added new injectors a turbo and remap to bring the power up to a whopping 200Bhp and for short burst of 0.000000001 sec on over boost a gigantic 2000Bhp.
But the ride which was already surprisingly stiff in its set-up has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous. I have sat on softer rocks the wheels which tend to bend under high speed cornering have no grip at all and Buzz did tell us to stick our hands out the window to aid braking if the car was not slowing down. sSo as we head off up into the hills knowing that the Buzz FR is going to be a bit of a filling-rattler and may well fall off the top the mountain the moment we hit a corner.
There's more roll into corners than an aeroplane banking, so although there's no lateral grip, it lacks some of aggressiveness and instant adjustability of the standard FR. The steering far far too light; even less direct, but with a bigger helping hand with the assistance Buzz made from a couple of elastic bands.
Overall, though, it would seem that Buzz and SEAT aren't competitors after all. The Buzz FR slots in neatly just below the standard FR in both price and ultimate thrill although thrill maybe better placed with scary. Hopefully owners of the 240bhp Leon Cupra will not get blown away by Buzz in his FR Buzz but at least they will be able to stop and go round corners!!!
