Seat Leon FR TDI hatchback (2005 – ) six month test 6/6
Thursday 06 January 2011
Model: Seat Leon FR TDI CR
Mileage: 15,701
Fuel consumption: 46.0mpg
Insurance: 28E
Price: £18,900 on the road
Options: 18-inch Orion wheels in black (£500), Technology and Convenience Pack (£1,565), Bi-xenon headlights (£730)
More updates:
3,000 mile update
6,000 mile update
10,000 mile update
12,000 mile update
14,000 mile update
Likes
Looks and colour: The Leon is one of the most eye-catching hatchbacks on the road. The Lumina Orange paintjob with black wheels is an added bonus.
Performance: A 2-litre diesel engine doesn’t sound like a recipe for a stonking performance car, but its mid-range punch makes for exceptionally quick overtaking. And the more miles the car travels, the faster it feels.
Park sensors: The swooping lines of the car would make parking very difficult if it wasn’t for the visual park sensors which form part of the Technology and Convenience Pack.
Dislikes
Storage space: The boot is big and helpfully-shaped, but the glovebox is tiny and there’s very little space to keep things hidden from view.
Ride comfort: The firm ride is undeniably sporty, but there are more comfortable hot hatches in the Leon range, such as the Leon Cupra R.
Slow sat-nav: The sat-nav works fine, but the system, part of the £1,565 Technology and Convenience Pack can be slow to plot routes
Full gallery: Seat Leon FR TDI
Verdict
After six months, and almost 16,000 miles, the time has come to return our Seat Leon FR TDI, after working its way into the hearts of all to drive it.
Andy Goodwin, Auto Trader’s Senior Web Journalist remarked that the interior didn’t ooze as much quality as a Volkswagen Golf and that the diesel engine could be a little loud when starting from cold, but offered high praise for everything else.
Picture editor, May Starey spent 500 enjoyable miles, and found it “comfortable, fast, well built and an excellent all-rounder”. There was a downside, though with other road users singling out the orange hot hatch as a potential race rival.
Rhian Jones, Junior Web Journalist loved the boot (“it’s not the biggest, but it’s a good shape”), the comfortable and supportive seats and the fact the stereo quietens when reverse is selected so the park sensors can be heard.
And these highs and lows are reflected during the 15,000 miles I travelled in the car.
Sensible performance
Ultimately the car is a hot hatch with one eye on sensibilities, which means it’s not the last word in performance – Seat has the Leon Cupra R for that – but it does make for an excellent everyday companion.
The 170bhp, 2-litre diesel engine meant the Leon was suitably swift when it arrived with 500 miles on the clock, but the more mileage the engine covered, the looser it got with a marked increase in performance. By around 10,000 miles, it proved quick enough to show a clean pair of heels to most other sub-£20,000 performance cars.
But that grunt wasn’t at the expense of fuel consumption. Long motorway runs could easily see the Leon returning more than 50mpg, although stacking the car with four adults and luggage for a long weekend away saw that figure drop to around 47mpg.
Overall, the trip computer read an impressive 46mpg, which included a 100 mile daily round trip commute comprising of fast A-roads and congested rush hour traffic in London. There are very few cars that offer such a blend of performance and efficiency.
The chassis makes the most of the 170bhp, with firm suspension allowing the car to corner hard and fast.
But it’s the power steering where the Leon FR belied its more humble roots, with an electrically operated setup. A ‘dead spot’ in the steering when the wheels are pointing ahead removes absolute confidence from driving hard, but push beyond it, and it ceases to become an issue.
Comfortable all-rounder
The seats fitted to the Leon FR dispelled any myth sports seats are rock hard and backache-inducing over long distances, with them proving to be exceptionally comfortable. Less successful are the windscreen pillars, which are too big and allow cyclists and pedestrians to be hidden from view with worrying ease.
The Leon FR came well equipped as standard, with cruise control, a trip computer, electric, heated and folding door mirrors; dual zone climate control and six airbags coming as standard.
I specified 18-inch black alloy wheels in black (£500) and bright bi-xenon headlights (£730). The £1,565 Technology and Convenience Pack bundled automatic headlights, wipers, sat-nav, Bluetooth and park sensors.
With an extra £2,800 spent on the options list, my Leon offered all that a buyer could reasonably want from a car.
Objectively, the Leon FR TDI is an excellent car, but it also has the charisma to work its way into the hearts of all who drove it.