Seat Leon FR 2.0 TFSI
In politics and economics, they say that power and authority should be given to those who do not get dizzy later than that. Namely, the inexperienced immediately fall into temptation, as if a hidden devil in their head immediately came to the fore. Such people are - in a word - dangerous!
There is nothing different in motoring. Powerful, sports cars are most appealing to young, usually inexperienced drivers. Then they get their hands on the keys to a car they’ve never mastered, and combined with the company it happens ‘now I’m going to show you how it flies’. Which usually ends along the road with broken tin. At best!
Seat bets on youth, athleticism and. . visibility. That’s why (almost) all sporty Seatas are toxic yellow, with powerful engines and youth behind the wheel. Dangerous combination? The most dangerous, they say in insurance companies, are when they think about the amount of the premium, and at the same time (consciously) forget about the more experienced ones, whose annual sums should be reduced. However, cars that are tame despite the huge stable under the hood are easy to handle. Yes, the Seat Leon FR is one of them.
The Leon was basically born for the athlete: compact, with a relatively generous wheelbase relative to the overall length of the car, and with an excellent chassis. The better-stocked version of the FR has inherited some mechanical parts from the concern's Volkswagen, which sounds like the GTI, which can in no way be considered one of its disadvantages, as the legendary bouncy Golf is back. So we admit at the outset that he has his own good and even better cousin genes.
We can start with mechanics. The engine is, of course, two-liter, atmospheric, armed with direct injection and a turbocharger. Increasingly known as TFSI or Mr. 200 ‘horses’. His workday starts from idle onwards, above the 4.000 mark on the tachometer he even prefers to respond all the way to 6.500 when the red box starts. Of course, it should be noted that it easily climbs up to seven thousand rpm, where the safety electronics gently interrupt the driver's harassment, but we advise you to 'hunt' the most active revs.
This will not be difficult, as it is a real pleasure to walk through the gear assembly with a six-speed gearbox. The movements of the gear lever are short, soft, and the transmission is calculated so that the engine has almost no time to breathe when the driver shifts to a higher gear with a fast right hand. As we drove Leon FR to the track, we also found some weaknesses that are not otherwise noticeable on the road.
The electric power steering is for the road, and although the asphalt is slippery under the tires, eloquent enough that you won't miss the classic one, and it turned out to be too soft on the track. It would be best to be equipped with a button that would give the electric steering a command to harden, much like modern Fiats have a City function (which works just the opposite). Another drawback is of a more racing nature: if you ever brake with your left foot or just play with the toe-heel technique, we advise you not to do so in the Leon FR.
The brakes, which have never succumbed to our (even long-term) torture, bite hard into the brake discs with their jaws. Thus, the braking is effective, adapted to our long-legged delicate halves, but accurate dosing is unfortunately impossible.
Good chassis also includes the chassis, which is expected to be hard, uncomfortable only on successive short humps, when it also rocks live content (although it wasn't bad for anyone!), And during dynamic driving it is also long neutral, playful and above all predictable. If we mentioned earlier that we also drove on the Raceland track in Krško, let us whisper that Leon achieved a similar time with winter tires as the 191-kilowatt (250-'horsepower ') Alfa Brera on summer ones. Isn’t that fact telling enough? !! ?
Unfortunately, Seat again forgot about the differential lock (if you turn off the ESP, the internal drive wheel slides into neutral, and with the stabilization system on is not so much fun), and above all, the pleasant and sporty sound of the engine. But we really didn't expect that from the Spaniards, lovers of good music. .
Among the pluses, we also included shell seats, which, with generous side supports and a modest amount of space for the back, are intended primarily for young people (and not, as is usual in stronger and more prestigious limousines, where more than 100 can be anchored between the side supports). kilograms of drivers!), a sporty steering wheel, dual-channel air conditioning, as many as eight airbags, and we were less impressed with the large finish of the gear lever and the cheap plastic that reigns between the front seats and doors.
A good car is one in which you sit down and you immediately have the feeling that the designers made it according to your wishes and needs. Or to easily leave it to his inexperienced son or a less sporty girl. Leon definitely perfects all these requirements. Its only major drawback is that it is almost as expensive as a technically similarly equipped GTI. When you draw the line and look the truth in the eye, what would you prefer, a Golf or a Leon? And even though Seat’s power, manageable for a wider crowd, would undoubtedly deserve more attention!
Alyosha Mrak
Photo: Sasha Kapetanovich.
Seat Leon FR 2.0 TFSI
Basic data
| Sales: | Porsche Slovenia |
|---|---|
| Base model price: | 23.439 € |
| Test model cost: | 24.069 € |
| Calculate the cost of auto insurance | |
| Power: | 147kW (200 KM) |
| Acceleration (0-100 km / h): | 7,3 with |
| Maximum speed: | 229 km / h |
| Mixed flow ECE: | 7,9l / 100km |
Technical information
| engine: | 4-cylinder - 4-stroke - in-line - turbo-petrol with direct injection - displacement 1984 cm3 - maximum power 147 kW (200 hp) at 5100 rpm - maximum torque 280 Nm at 1800-5000 rpm min. |
|---|---|
| Energy transfer: | engine powered by front wheels - 6-speed manual transmission - tires 225/40 R 18 V (Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D M + S). |
| Capacity: | top speed 229 km / h - acceleration 0-100 km / h in 7,3 s - fuel consumption (ECE) 11,0 / 6,2 / 7,9 l / 100 km. |
| Mass: | empty vehicle 1334 kg - permissible gross weight 1904 kg. |
| External dimensions: | length 4323 mm - width 1768 mm - height 1458 mm - trunk 341 l - fuel tank 55 l. |
Our measurements
| (T = 7 ° C / p = 1011 mbar / relative temperature: 69% / meter reading: 10912 km) | |
| Acceleration 0-100km: | 7,1s |
|---|---|
| 402m from the city: | 15,1 years ( 155 km / h) |
| 1000m from the city: | 27,2 years ( 196 km / h) |
| Flexibility 50-90km / h: | 5,2 / 6,9s |
| Flexibility 80-120km / h: | 6,7 / 8,5s |
| Maximum speed: | 229km / h (WE.) |
| test consumption: | 10,2 l / 100km |
| Braking distance at 100 km / h: | 43,3m |
| AM table: | 39m |
evaluation
It’s one of the few 200-‘horsepower ’sports cars that I could easily leave to my son. It is not only very undemanding to use, but also benevolently forgives driving errors. And it's worth its weight in gold!
We praise and reproach
brakes
six-speed gearbox
engine
sports chassis
narrow shell front seats
cheap plastic inside
large gear lever end
chassis response to short humps
engine sound
