What_Car_UK_-_August_2020

whatcar.com^ August 2020 61

Ford Focus vs Seat Leon vs Volkswagen Golf

easiesttoreversein,because it

hasslimmerrearpillars than its

rivals.Whatyoucan’tsee will be

announcedaudiblybyfront and

rearparkingsensors,which are

standardonallthreecars. You’ll

needtoforkoutextraif you want

areversingcameraonthe Focus

andGolf,andyoucan’thave one

ontheLeon.

Interiorqualityissomething

that,onceuponatime,the Golf

would’vewalkedinatest against

aFocusoraLeon–butnot any

more.Andnotjustbecause its

tworivalshavestepped up their

games.It’salsobecause the

latestGolfhasgonebackwards,

feelingslightlylessplush than

itspredecessor.Itdoesjust about

enoughtobethebestof this

trinity–ithassomenice metal

trimhighlightsanddecent fit and

finish–butnexttoaBMW 1 Series

itwouldbeembarrassed.

Allthreehavesoft-touch

surfacesonthetopsoftheir

dashboardsandfrontdoors, and

theFocushasstitchedpads on its

centreconsole,whereyour knee

naturallyrests.Itfeelsthe least

robustinside,though,and its

plasticsfeeltheleastupmarket.

TheLeondropspointsto the Golf

withitsslightlylow-rent door

pulls,butit’saclose-run thing.

SPACEANDPRACTICALITY

Frontspace,rearspace,

seatingexibility,boot

Frontspaceisfineinall three;

rearseatspaceiswhere the real

differencesare.TheGolf isn’t

muchdifferentfromthe old

model,withenoughrear head and

legroomforanyonearound six

feetfallbutnotalotofthe latter

tospare.TheFocusandLeonhave

plentyleftover;evenifyou’retall

andsittingbehindsomeone

2019 Mercedes-BenzA-Class

Forthesamemoneyas any of

thecarsin thistest,you could

puta one-year-oldMercedes-

BenzA-Classonyourdriveway,

in petrol-poweredA250 AMG

Linetrim.Whatyou’llget is

a carthat’snotonlyfast,

comfortableandgood to drive

butalsofeaturesoneof the

mostdazzlingandhigh-tech

interiorsin thefamilycar class.

It alsocomeswitha whole host

ofwelcomesafetyfeatures.

USED ALTERNATIVE

The Focus has the smallest

screen and the least detailed

graphics of the bunch. Some

of the icons are also quite

small, but the menus are

mainly easy to understand. It

matches its rivals for kit, and

the screen sits in a prominent

position, so it’s easy to see

and reach. Voice activation

is standard, but unlike in the

Leon it’s not ‘natural speech’,

so you have to read out set

commands. A B&O stereo

upgrade is available that

soundswarmandpunchy.

TheLeon’sscreenis the

samesizeastheGolf’sbut

doesn’tlookquiteassharp.Its

softwareis completelydifferent,

andwemuchpreferit.The

unconventionalmenusseem

a tadconfusingatrst,but

within 15 minutestheymake

sense,andthescreenis more

responsivetoinputsthanthe

Golf’s.Youalsogetnatural

voicerecognitionasstandard;

thisunderstandsyoumost

ofthetime,althoughit does

takea whiletodigestwhat

you’verequested.

Thescreenis reallyclearand,

liketheLeon’s,is oneofthe

largestin theclass.However,

thesoftwareseemstohave

beendesignedprimarilyto

lookgood,withfancyimages

ofthecarthatrotateasyou

swipe.Yetit doesn’tworkvery

well.Asyouswipe,it chugsat

times,occasionallycrashing

andrebooting.Someofthe

menusareconfusing,with

featuresburiedin nonsensical

places.Unlikein theLeon,you

havetopay(alot)fornatural

speechrecognition.

INFOTAINMENT

INFOTAINMENT

INFOTAINMENT

BEST

SYSTEM

 Standard  Not available

 Standard  Not available

 Standard  Not available

Seat Leon

FR

Volkswagen Golf

Style

*Inc gesture control/streaming

WHAT YOU GET

WHAT YOU GET

WHAT YOU GET

Display

size

8.0in

Display

size

10.0in

Display

size

10.0in

Wireless

phone

charging



Wireless

phone

charging



Wireless

phone

charging



Android

Auto



Android

Auto



Android

Auto



Sat-nav



Sat-nav



Sat-nav



Bluetooth



Bluetooth



Bluetooth



Speakers

6

Speakers

7

Speakers

6

Upgraded

sound

system

£400

Upgraded

sound

system



Upgraded

sound

system



DAB

radio



DAB

radio



DAB

radio



Apple

CarPlay



Apple

CarPlay



Apple

CarPlay



Voice

control



Voice

control



Voice

control

£1600*

Emergency

SOS

response



Emergency

SOS

response



Emergency

SOS

response



Ford Focus

Titanium X Edition