What_Car_UK_-_August_2020

WeatherconditionsDamp

58 August 2020 whatcar.com

uphere.Andthat,dearreader,was

indeedtheplan.Whatturnedup,

though,duetoamix-upatSeat

HQ,wasamorepowerful1.5TSI

150 model–somethingweonly

discoveredwhenwequestioned

whyitwasunexpectedlynippy

(moreonthatlater).

Butfarfrombeingadisaster,

thishasactuallycreatedagreat

opportunityfortheLeon’s

supposedlysportycharacterto

reallyshine–somethingithas

noexcusesfornotdoing,given

itsextrapowerandthestiffer

suspensionthatFRtrimbrings.

It’llneedtoreallyimpress

ontheroadtobettertheFord

Focus,though.Thishuge-selling

hatchbackhaslongbeenthekeen

driver’schoiceinthisclass,and

thelatestversionisanythingbut

aone-trickpony.

DRIVING

Performance,ride,

handling,renement

Bythetimeyoureadthis,some

changeswillhavebeenmadeto

theFocus’sengineline-up.The

same123bhp1.0-litrepetrolengine

willstillbeavailable,butifyou’re

placingafactoryorderratherthan

buyingfromexistingstock,itwill

comewithmildhybridelectrical

assistancetoimprovefuel

economyandperformance.

That’sagoodthing,becausethe

Focusdoesn’tcurrentlyimpress

ineitherofthoseareas.We’lldeal

withreal-worldeconomylater,

butperformanceisprobablybest

describedas‘acceptable’.That’sto

say,youwon’tstruggletogetup

steephillsorkeepupwithtraffic

onthemotorway,andthere’s

enoughpullfromlowrevstoavoid

theneedtothrashtheenginehard.

We’vealreadytriedthenewmild

hybridsysteminthePuma,andit

shouldgiveasmallbutnoticeable

increaseinoomphwhenyouput

yourfootdownintheFocus.

ThemildhybridFocuswould

stillbetheslowcoachofthis

particulartrio,though.Thelarger

enginesintheGolfandLeonoffer

muchquickeracceleration,with

eventheGolfcapableofhitting

60mphfromrestmorethana

secondquickerthantheFocus.

Givenourtestcar’sextrapower,

youprobablywon’tbesurprised

tolearnthattheLeonisquickest.

Youdon’treallynoticeanyextra

punchatlowrevs,partlybecause

ithaslongergearingthanitstwo

rivals,butlettherevsbuildandits

accelerationadvantageoverthe

GolfisasgreatastheGolf’sisover

theFocus.Itmanagedtosprint

from0-60mphinjust7.7sec.

Moreofasurpriseisthefact

thattheLeon’sengineisalso

morerefinedthanthatofthe

Focushasplayfulhandlingwhenit’spushedhard,butitssteeringfeelsunnatural

Agile,grippyandsweetlybalanced,theLeontrumpseventheFocusforhandling

Golfis capablebuthardlyexciting,withmorebodyleanin cornersthanitsrivals

Acceleration

30-70mph

through the gears 9.7sec

30-50mph

3rd 4.5sec 4th 6.6sec 5th 9.3sec 6th 15.2sec

50-70mph

3rd 5.7sec 4th 7.4sec 5th 9.3sec 6th 12.5sec

Braking

30-0mph 10.6m

70-0mph 57.9m

Acceleration

30-70mph

through the gears 7.5sec

30-50mph

3rd 4.6sec 4th 6.4sec 5th 8.7sec 6th 13.6sec

50-70mph

3rd 4.7sec 4th 6.3sec 5th 7.8sec 6th 9.9sec

Braking

30-0mph 10.2m

70-0mph 53.4m

Acceleration

30-70mph

through the gears 8.2sec

30-50mph

3rd 4.6sec 4th 6.3sec 5th 7.9sec 6th 11.5sec

50-70mph

3rd 4.9sec 4th 6.6sec 5th 8.5sec 6th 11.2sec

Braking

30-0mph 11.2m

70-0mph 61.2m

COMPARISON

PERFORMANCE

PERFORMANCE

PERFORMANCE

FORD FOCUS

SEAT LEON

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

0

0

0

10 0

10 0

10 0

0

0

0

10 0

10 0

10 0

Noise at 30mph 62.0dB

Noise at 70mph 67.8dB

Noise at 30mph 61.7dB

Noise at 70mph 70.1dB

Noise at 30mph 61.7dB

Noise at 70mph 67.9dB

BEST

HANDLING

Top

speed

134mph

0-60mph

7.7sec

Top

speed

124mph

0-60mph

9.9sec

Top

speed

133mph

0-60mph

8.8sec