New Seat Leon

briman1983

Hey guys just wondering what your thoughts are on the new seat leon and on seat cars in general. I currently have a 03 corolla spec'd out to the last which I brought in from the UK, Am thinking of buying a 06 leon.

anyone own one??? Whats it like to drive?

whats the 1.6 petrol like?

Are these cars reliable?

HashSlinging

I have an '05 altea 2.0 Tdi SPORT which so far im very happy with, previous to this I had an 01 1.6 (16v) Leon and an 02 1.8T Leon cupra.

All cars were reliable never had any problems with them despite high mileage, esp on the 1.6 (93k from new).

The new leon is really striking looking, and I've seen quite a few of them around so they are getting more popular, the only downside which I'm sure you can live with is the 8v engine in the 1.6, although this probobly is the most reliable engine ever, you dont get the raspy sound you get from the 16v, and although its is very smooth to drive, it might be a bit underpowered, depends on your driving style.

Id make sure you get it spec'd up also, they are very easy to sell on once they look right, and its not the basic low rent package, so get the higest spec you can afford, also if you can afford it go for the 1.9 Tdi or even better the 2.0 TDi.

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=604763

Mitch Connor

as a quick addition to the previous post - go for the S model, not the R, more comes as standard on the S, such as steering wheel mounted radio controls, rear electric windows and front fogs.

Wish i could afford one, would freakin love a 1.6S

bazz26

Disappointed that Seat don't seem to offer the Leon with the 1.6 FSi engine in Ireland. We seem to be stuck with the old 8 valve unit which is well past it's sell by date these days.

HashSlinging

I rang hispano motors before i bought the altea and asked was there any possibility of the 1.6 FSI arriving in the leon in '07 as it would be my preference for tax and performance, but its not going to happen, the 1.4 TSI "probably" will be included in the line up, maybe in '08. Its vw marketing dictating what brand get what engine..shame as I wouldnt be caught dead in a golf.

briman1983

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I've got a 03 corolla at the mo with the 1.6 vvti engine 110bhp and it's a great car. have the tspirit model from england so it has all the extras.Even though the sunroom has a mind of it's own since last week closes itself again when you open it. Any Ideas???

I might take a test drive of the 1.9tdi because i've never really driven many diesels and they aren't everyones cup o tea. But still with 110bhp and nearly 45 mpg it would be nice.

My Ideal lion but a little out of the price rance. http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=629749

bazz26

briman1983 wrote:

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I've got a 03 corolla at the mo with the 1.6 vvti engine 110bhp and it's a great car. have the tspirit model from england so it has all the extras.Even though the sunroom has a mind of it's own since last week closes itself again when you open it. Any Ideas???

I might take a test drive of the 1.9tdi because i've never really driven many diesels and they aren't everyones cup o tea. But still with 110bhp and nearly 45 mpg it would be nice.

My Ideal lion but a little out of the price rance. http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=629749

1.9 TDi Leon has 105bhp afaik. 2.0 TDi with 140bhp is much better but also more expensive.

briman1983

Your correct with your figures there. 140bhp 4,000 more between the 1.9 and the 2 litre,

cyborg

briman1983 wrote:

Your correct with your figures there. 140bhp 4,000 more between the 1.9 and the 2 litre,

most of which is VRT !!

omega man

Having had a couple of the old Leons i was very dissapointed with the new model. It just looks too similar to the altea and the toledo imo. The interior is dodgy looking and as said already the 1.6 isnt even the fsi unit in other vag cars. I went for a new skoda octavia over a new leon after having 3 mk1 leons. The only one that might tempt me is the new cupra but even that has issues compared to the mk 1 cupra R. Having said that, seat do some nice body kits for the new leon.

pburns

I was driving behind one of these yesterday and was considering it. From some angles it looks really good but why they felt the need to make it so tall when they have other MPV-like thingies across the range I'll never know. The front in particular is ghastly.

I came very close to buying an old model Leon - had a real soft-spot for that car. The new one is a dog's dinner though IMO.

The 1.9TDI would probably be the optimum engine. The price of a 2.0TDI is just too much to pay for a SEAT.

Renegade_Archer

The new Seats look ****e, IMHO. Have had a MK1, MK1.5, and now a MK2 Toledo (put >100K miles on each), but who in their right minds would swap an MK2 Toledo for an MK3(the new one with the big arse?) That DeSilva dude has alienated a lot of Seat's loyal customer base.

gyppo

Renegade_Archer wrote:

The new Seats look ****e, IMHO. Have had a MK1, MK1.5, and now a MK2 Toledo (put >100K miles on each), but who in their right minds would swap an MK2 Toledo for an MK3(the new one with the big arse?) That DeSilva dude has alienated a lot of Seat's loyal customer base.

Could'nt agree more. I'd be suprised if the newer models were selling in the same numbers as the previous ones. Although, tbh the newer leon is not too bad compared to the newer toledo - now thats one ugly f****r of a car.

HashSlinging

The sales dont reflect your opinion, sales are up. I think they are stunning machines for the money. I agree the toledo has issues alright, but its growing on me also.