m0rk's Leon FR article

[NeilW]

I've just got round to reading m0rk's excellent Leon FR road & track test article (been on hols for 2 weeks):

http://www.seatcupra.net/seat_news/reports/seatcupra.net_exclusive,_leon_fr_road__track_test.html

Is it just me or has anyone else made a mental note of some of the number plates in order to avoid a repeat of the Silver LCR debacle?

Or did all the journos warm up the cars first before thrashing the pants off 'em?

 

[m0rk]

Have to drive it at about 10mph MAX from the middle of the airfield out to the road for road tests - which probably is a good 5 mins all told.

wrt track use - they weren't lit up from the word go. quite pedestrian laps until you got into it.

However - the big difference is the lack of joe public, and show boating

You can log the plates all you like though, it won't stop people doing it (see Ibiza Cupra's & Leon Cupra's from 2001, Ibiza Cupra R's from 2003, Leon Cupra R's from 2004, Silver LCR's from 2005)

They weren't thrashed on my day. quite the opposite to be honest.

 

[NeilW]

That's good to know m0rk. I remember reading articles in the past in Autocar where test cars had been written off by journos as they'd been thrashed to within an inch of their lives!

How was it being driven by the instructor? It always feels much faster to me being driven rather than driving myself. That's what sold the LCR to me (the salesman scared the crap out of me on the test drive by flooring it when I wasn't looking).

 

[m0rk]

The instructor was fast and smooth with it, so it didn't feel 'unsafely fast'

[cocky mode]
I was pretty quick myself, I don't think the journo's on my day were all that into their driving
[/cocky mode]

No cars written off in the 4 days of it though.

 

[NeilW]

Did the FR TFSi have enough oomph, or could it easily take another 40bhp or so? What I'm getting at is, will the FR satisfy someone coming from a LCR (seeing as it's basically the same as the Golf GTi that everyone seems to rave about), or is it really crying out for more power? Should I wait for the new Cupra?

I test drove the FR TDi and wasn't that impressed with it to be honest. Like you I was impressed with the quietness of the thing, but it didn't inspire me like the first time I drove the LCR. Are the huuuuge rear view mirror and A pillar really annoying or can you live with it?