27 Jul 06
Although the Leon FR breaks my cardinal rule that states that hot hatches must only ever have three doors, I may just let it off. The Leon may have five doors, but the way the rear door handles are hidden within the rear window glass is just inspired. They make you want to open the rear doors just for the hell of it, and once you do, you see that there's plenty of space available for those in the back, if you take those things into consideration. This is something which can't be said for the cramped Astra VXR.
All in, the FR lacks the edge of proper hot hatch hooligans like the aforementioned Astra and the chav's favourite, the Focus ST (in orange, of course). That's intentional though, as Seat has the 240bhp Cupra version sitting in the wings ready to knock the gruesome twosome from their perch as leaders of the hot hatch clan.
For now, the Leon FR provides plenty of thrills for not a lot of bills. £16,995 is the list price: nearly £4000 cheaper than a 5dr Golf GTI, and even £500 cheaper than the Skoda Octavia vRS. Factor in the improved looks of the Leon, and its lower insurance grouping (Leon: 14E, Octavia: 15E, Golf: 17E) and you can't really go wrong. This may not be quite the case once the Leon Cupra arrives next year, but for the moment, the FR is an appealing all-round proposition, right here, right now.
