SEAT Leon FR+

If you want a hot SEAT Leon, it’s all or nothing. Skip past the 123bhp 1.4-litre TSI on the price list and the next petrol engine that you come to is the 209bhp one in the FR+ model you see here. It’s the closest thing in the Leon range to the Focus Zetec S.

Our first impression is that this puts the SEAT at a disadvantage, as it costs a whopping £1,445 more than the Ford. But you do get a lot more for your money.

Outside, styling additions include smart 18-inch alloy wheels, more aggressive bumpers, LED rear lights and contrasting door mirrors. It’s more credible than the boy-racer Ford and restrained VW. But the real gains are to be found inside, as the FR+ is loaded with kit. Unlike its two rivals, the SEAT features sat-nav and xenon headlights as standard.

The extra kit helps to distract you from its shortcomings, as this car has the most dated cabin of our trio. There’s nothing wrong with the sports seats, which hold you firmly in place, and the racy dials add to the high-performance theme, but the layout is poor. Our chief complaint is the location of the stereo/sat-nav display low on the centre console. Overall, the cabin also has a lower-quality feel than its rivals.

Yet when you start the car, it’s easy to understand where your money has gone. The 209bhp 2.0-litre is the most powerful engine here, and produces 40Nm more torque than the Focus and Golf, at 280Nm. It’s effectively the same engine that you’ll find under the bonnet of the Golf GTI, so the Leon feels like a car from a higher rung of the hot hatch ladder. It blitzes from 0-60mph in 7.5 seconds – that’s eight tenths faster than the VW and 1.1 seconds up on the Ford.

The performance advantage is even more pronounced on the move, as the SEAT saw off the Focus and Golf in all of our in-gear tests. You can rarely drive cars like these flat-out on the road, so the gap is less obvious in real-world conditions, but the FR+ will still show the Zetec S and GT a clean pair of heels exiting slow corners.

Firm sports suspension keeps body roll in check, and while the trade-off in comfort is greater than in the Ford, the SEAT is no worse than the VW over bumps.

What it really lacks is the driver involvement of the Zetec S. The steering is lighter and inspires less confidence, while the brakes are grabby and over-sensitive.

There’s little wrong with the way the FR+ grips and handles. You can carry lots of speed through corners, but the engine’s noise generator provides an artificial soundtrack – which makes this a hot hatch for the digital, not analogue, age.

Details

Chart position: 2
WHY: SEAT trades on the sporty flavour of its cars, so the Leon should be in its element here. It’s the most expensive choice on test, but it does deliver more muscle and kit than its rivals.