New Seat Leon, VW Golf or Renault Clio

Wailin

Missus will be changing in Jan for a brand new car, possibly one of the above. I know the clio is a bit smaller than the other two but she loves the look of it. Her mileage is very small so a petrol engine will be needed. She is driving an 03 Fiesta at the moment, had it from new and only has 45,000 miles. The new Fiesta is also a possibility but she prefers the look of the clio. She also likes the new Golf, which I like myself although most people find them dull and boring. The Seat is a cheaper alternative to the Golf, haven't really took much notice of them until now, what are peoples views on them and the other cars here?

bazz26

Golf and Leon are the same car so reliability will be the same. The argument that the Golf will retain it's value more than Leon can be counter argued that the Leon is cheaper to buy in the first place and generally they are better equipped. Also imo the Golf unless you really spend money on specing it up it is bland compared to the Leon with say the Titanium Pack and full LED headlights which looks tasty.

Clio is from the class below so don't expect the same sort of car but it is one of the best looking cars in it's class and despite Renault's reputation for poor reliability they rarely got it wrong with the Clio. One thing to note though is that the basic 1.2 litre engine is chronically slow so try and go for the better 1.0 litre.

Wailin

bazz26 wrote: »

Golf and Leon are the same car so reliability will be the same. The argument that the Golf will retain it's value more than Leon can be counter argued that the Leon is cheaper to buy in the first place and generally they are better equipped. Also imo the Golf unless you really spend money on specing it up it is bland compared to the Leon with say the Titanium Pack and full LED headlights which looks tasty.

Clio is from the class below so don't expect the same sort of car but it is one of the best looking cars in it's class and despite Renault's reputation for poor reliability they rarely got it wrong with the Clio. One thing to note though is that the basic 1.2 litre engine is chronically slow so try and go for the better 1.0 litre.

Cheers Bazz. What's the 1.2 TSI engine like in the Golf and Leon? I know there is a 1.4 TSI version also for the Golf, which I would go for if I was buying but the wife doesn't care for such things!

bazz26

1.2 TSi is available in both 85hbp and 105bhp. The 105bhp would be the one to go for.

Casati

If she is going to keep the car as long as she's had the Fiesta, then depreciation isn't really important - as such I'd happily go for a Leon- try to get the 1.2 105 bhp and she will have a great car. Might find a couple of pre reg zero mileage cars around. Clio looks very nice too and is great value so if budget is tight its not a bad option

MuppetCheck

Wailin wrote: »

Cheers Bazz. What's the 1.2 TSI engine like in the Golf and Leon? I know there is a 1.4 TSI version also for the Golf, which I would go for if I was buying but the wife doesn't care for such things!

If the 1.4 Golf is in budget the you should be able to wrangle the 1.8tsi Leon for a similar price which is only slightly less economical. A family member bought the 1.4 Golf last year and has had so much bother with it that they are going to order a Leon FR ST Monday to replace it with.

Wailin

The 1.8 wouldn't be suitable, since she only does city driving and wouldn't need the extra power. I think the 1.2 is the way to go in both Golf or Leon (105bhp of course).

Anyone know roughly what a main dealer will add to the price of the car that you get when you configure your car on the website? Would the cost vary from dealer to dealer? In other words, should you shop around when buying a brand new car or will they be roughly the same price?

MuppetCheck

Wailin wrote: »

The 1.8 wouldn't be suitable, since she only does city driving and wouldn't need the extra power. I think the 1.2 is the way to go in both Golf or Leon (105bhp of course).

Anyone know roughly what a main dealer will add to the price of the car that you get when you configure your car on the website? Would the cost vary from dealer to dealer? In other words, should you shop around when buying a brand new car or will they be roughly the same price?

Ball park is about €750...nice sneaky one that is.

Moneymaker

Clio is not a competitor to the leon or golf. Test drove one though and it's comfortable, refined and looks the business inside and out imo.

Only thing is the heavy depreciation.

RandomAccess

Worth driving the Clio anyway, I had one on hire and really liked it.
The boot is larger than I expected but it is a smaller class of car than the Leon/Golf which would be competitors to the Megane.

I found the Clio a nicer car than the Megane though.
Clio competes with Polo, Ibiza, Fiesta, and competes well.