Boy racers getting ready for hot hatch

SPANISH boy racers will be rubbing their hand in anticipation with the launch of the new SEAT Leon FR 2.0 TDI. It is the Barcelona based car maker’s answer to the Volkswagen’s diesel powered hot hatch, the Golf VII.

Leons are a favourite with young Spaniards for their sporty looks and performance at a reasonable price, typically several thousand euros cheaper than their Volkswagen Golf competitor.

And that is ironic as the Spanish manufacturer is owned by the German giants and uses the same chassis platform developed by VW for the Golf VII and also used for the Audi A3.

In fact the platform will be rolled out for use across many of the VW group’s different manufacturers. SEAT promise it will combine hot-hatch sporty performance with small car running costs thanks to a mixed use fuel consumption figure of 5.3 litres per 100 kilometres. And with a CO2 rating of just 109g/km it should keep the green brigade happy too. 

It will sprint to 100kph in 7.5 seconds and has a top speed of 229kph. Prices start at around the €25,500 mark for the three door version.

The SC version comes with a high level of equipment fitted as standard including LED rear lights, sports suspension, climate control, sports seats and Bluetooth and MP3 connectivity.