Leon vs Golf vs Astra

CUPimus

I'm planning on buying a new car and I'm stuck between a Leon, Golf or an Astra. I want something that looks good but is also reliable. I'm buying second hand and my budget is around £5000. I realise the Golf is probably the better of the 3 but its tough to find a good one less than £6000. The leon looks great and is a little bit cheaper, however i dont know how reliable it is. I also really like the 3 door SRI Astra, which is probably the cheapest of the 3, but again im not sure how reliable it is.

gollywog

CUPimus wrote: »

I'm planning on buying a new car and I'm stuck between a Leon, Golf or an Astra. I want something that looks good but is also reliable. I'm buying second hand and my budget is around £5000. I realise the Golf is probably the better of the 3 but its tough to find a good one less than £6000. The leon looks great and is a little bit cheaper, however i dont know how reliable it is. I also really like the 3 door SRI Astra, which is probably the cheapest of the 3, but again im not sure how reliable it is.

As far as I know the Leon is basically a golf with a different body, both made by the same company

Tea 1000

CUPimus wrote: »

I'm planning on buying a new car and I'm stuck between a Leon, Golf or an Astra. I want something that looks good but is also reliable. I'm buying second hand and my budget is around £5000. I realise the Golf is probably the better of the 3 but its tough to find a good one less than £6000. The leon looks great and is a little bit cheaper, however i dont know how reliable it is. I also really like the 3 door SRI Astra, which is probably the cheapest of the 3, but again im not sure how reliable it is.

Petrol or diesel?

CUPimus

Tea 1000 wrote: »

Petrol or diesel?

Diesel

The Real B-man

Golf/Leon Same Platform Engine etc. Go for the Leon its abit more Sportier IMO dont go for the Reference or Costa Specs though they are poverty spec at best.

CUPimus

The Real B-man wrote: »

Golf/Leon Same Platform Engine etc. Go for the Leon its abit more Sportier IMO dont go for the Reference or Costa Specs though they are poverty spec at best.

is the stylance just identical to the reference only with a few more extras??

awec

This post has been deleted.

sean1141

Going by your price range I'm guessing it would be a mk5 golf and mk2 Leon you would be looking at? Both are basically the same car bar the body work. As said lower trim levels are very basic. Aim for a high trim level. Much nicer place to be. My sister has a mk2 Leon (105bhp diesel) and she never had any trouble with it in the 2 years she has owned it

CUPimus

any thoughts on the astra??

maximoose

In 2010 I was contemplating the same exact 3 cars (along with a Focus for good measure) and looking to get a 2 year old one of the above.

I drove them all, and found the Astra (SXi) to be an awful drive and it was between the Golf/Leon for the most comfortable. Went for the Leon in the end as it was basically a Golf in a far nicer shell, and I've had zero problems with it.

Edit: Actually, just remembered I did have one problem with it, a dodgy ABS pump which was easily replaced with a pump from a Golf

CUPimus

cheers, i was slightly leaning toward the leon anyway but this has helped. thanks alot.

Bpmull

CUPimus wrote: »

any thoughts on the astra??

Have a 2008 Astra 1.3 cdti van version but basically the same as the car. Its a good car. 1.3 can be sluggish when cold but I would kind of expect that surprising powerful other than take off. 6 speed gearbox will tip down the motorway at 120kph no problem and would do way more. So no hassle with it really 55 mpg can't really complain with that. Nice and smooth to drive. Was it a 1.3 or 1.7 you were looking at though.

ZETOR_IS_BETTER

Bpmull wrote: »

Have a 2008 Astra 1.3 cdti van version but basically the same as the car. Its a good car. 1.3 can be sluggish when cold but I would kind of expect that surprising powerful other than take off. 6 speed gearbox will tip down the motorway at 120kph no problem and would do way more. So no hassle with it really 55 mpg can't really complain with that. Nice and smooth to drive. Was it a 1.3 or 1.7 you were looking at though.

I can agree with all that
Had no issues what so ever with the astra.

Nissan doctor

If your going for a post 08 astra, I'd recommend going for the 1.7cdti over the 1.3. You get a useful amount more power, as near as makes no difference the same mpg and a much more drivable power delivery(the 1.3 is extremely underpowered off boost).

Bpmull

Nissan doctor wrote: »

If your going for a post 08 astra, I'd recommend going for the 1.7cdti over the 1.3. You get a useful amount more power, as near as makes no difference the same mpg and a much more drivable power delivery(the 1.3 is extremely underpowered off boost).

I'd half agree with you as the only reason I bought the 1.3 was it was ridiculously cheap other than that I'd of bought a 1.7 cdti. Although the 1.3 is unreal sluggish when cold once it's warm it's not to bad. Once you hit 2000 revs and the turbo kicks in it will move well. The 6 speed gearbox really really helps it. And unusually the car loves the motorway 120kph 6 gear a little over 2100 revs no hassle at all. If you drive it on it not too bad but at the end of the day its a 1.3 90bhp. So I wasn't expecting any miracles although for 1.3 you would be surprised. Really it's only take of is the issue. If you can get a 1.7 go for that. But if there's no 1.7's then 1.3 isnt that bad you get use to it and I wouldn't really call it slow at the end of the day it's 90bhp.

George Dalton

I would go for the Golf. I think they are much nicer than the Leon, especially inside. The Golf might cost a bit more than the Leon to buy, but it will also be worth more come resale time, so the cost of ownership will be similar.