Leon 2.0 TDI FR vs Golf 1.6 TDI Highline

Ryath

Wife is considering changing her car and the current VW group 0%pcp deals are making them very attractive. These are the top two options we are considering. The Octavia Combi Ambition 2ltr Diesel we got a price of €26,600 with sport seats upgrade, metallic and service pack. We may have missed the boat on that as the skoda website is not giving 0% on the Octavia any more.

The Leon is my preferred option I think, Seat are offering an extra €1000 cash back on them this week with the service pack for free and a nice bonus of a weekend away in the Ice House Hotel. Leon ST 2.0 TDI 150hp FR is coming in €27500 cash price with the extra €1000 of. Golf Estate 1.6 TDI Highline haven't got a quote yet but ~€29200 with metallic and service pack should be doable as a cash price. The Leon works out a little cheaper too with the service pack included it's an extra €13.99 and €15.99 a month for the skoda and VW respectively.

She loves the Golf and the Highline interior is gorgeous and incredibly well specced with the upgrade pack for €161 but she can see the Leon offers better value for money. I prefer the Leon outside myself but know the Golf will age better and in the long run hold it’s value better. Really like the LED lights on the Leon.

She's has a 07 1.2 Corsa since new and I have a 08 2L Petrol Mondeo Estate which is presently the main family car. I'm leaning toward selling the Mondeo privately as it's worth a little more and the Corsa will be nice bit cheaper to run as our second car. (I will really miss my Mondeo though) She is though also considering the 5d Golf and Leon in which case we'd keep the Mondeo and sell her Corsa. The 5doors run at €1000 less than the estates.

We both average about 20,000km year at the moment though that will change about a bit as her new car will be used as the main family car and mine the local run about. My mileage will be coming down though. Have one less school run a day from September which saves 1100km per year and maybe no school runs if we let them get the bus. A new job has knocked a bit of my commute and I’m trying to cycle it more often.

We have one thing to consider though her permanent job is a 100k commute each way 90k on motorway, she's not doing it the last couple of years as she has a job swap that will hopefully last another 3/4 years but she will probably have to go back to commuting for a few years then. The commute alone comes to 36,000km a year

Would we be mad to consider the 1.2TSI in the Golf or or the Leon 5D is available with 1.2tsi in SE Select model @ €23500 or 1.4tsi in the FR @€;25000? They are a nice bit cheaper and I much prefer petrols but even at her current mileage we’d get the extra cost of a diesel back fairly quick. We were planning to buy the car outright in 3 years but one option I suppose would be get the petrol now and if she is going back to the long commute trade for a diesel then?

Sorry for the long winded post, lots of things I'm mulling over in my head. If she does go for the Leon FR I'm hoping I can get her to go for the 184bhp model and I’ll pay the difference myself!

GustavoFring

If you're planning on buying it outright and she will be doing the mileage at the end of the term then the diesel is the no brainier. The Golf is a real step up inside over the Leon, but the Leon is as good as anything else in that class. The Golf will have the edge with certain extras, the Leon with others. Options on the Leon are reasonably cheap though and it's got a far superior engine.

I had a 184 hatch and it was a cracking car, 120km commute each way and it would do mid-high 50s to a tank doing that exclusively. Passenger space inside was fine but the main reason I didn't go for another when changing it was the boot is a bit tight. It's not small but it fills quickly. The 184 also has independent rear suspension but unless you're really driving it on the only difference is a slightly smoother ride. The extra overtaking punch of the 184 is worth the extra few quid as it's very noticeable over the 150.

Golfgorfield

My wife has a Leon FR st 150, and comparable to anything it performs brilliantly. I certainly would choose it again over the golf, especially in white if you can. I drove the 184 and it was hugely quick through the gears.

One thing i would say though, 100% get it in the DSG gearbox, it is fantastic, i cant understand irish peoples allergy to Auto boxes, the DSG is never in the wrong gear, has many settings to play with and certainly wont affect resale. My advice would be buy the 150 with the DSG instead of the 183 upgrade.

kirving

GustavoFring wrote: »

The 184 also has independent rear suspension but unless you're really driving it on the only difference is a slightly smoother ride. The extra overtaking punch of the 184 is worth the extra few quid as it's very noticeable over the 150.

The standard Leon hasn't got independent rear suspension?! That's a big omission in my view if correct.

The first gen Focus had independent as standard even, and that's in the same class I would say. Might not make a huge difference from a driving point of view, but as a rear passenger I'd notice the difference for sure.

grogi

Golfgorfield wrote: »

One thing i would say though, 100% get it in the DSG gearbox, it is fantastic, i cant understand irish peoples allergy to Auto boxes, the DSG is never in the wrong gear, has many settings to play with and certainly wont affect resale. My advice would be buy the 150 with the DSG instead of the 183 upgrade.

2.0 TDi comes with reliable DSG6 - DQ250 - it's a solid gearbox.

GustavoFring

Kevin Irving wrote: »

The standard Leon hasn't got independent rear suspension?! That's a big omission in my view if correct.

The first gen Focus had independent as standard even, and that's in the same class I would say. Might not make a huge difference from a driving point of view, but as a rear passenger I'd notice the difference for sure.

None of the VAG MQB cars are coming with it (Leon, Golf, Octavia, A3) unless you go over 150bhp afaik. Cost cutting measure most likely.

Ryath

Got to test drive a 1.6tdi Trendline golf and the 2.0tdi Leon FR this morning. The 1.6 was just about adequate. Way down on what I'm used to with the Mondeo. The Leon was so much better I can only imagine how good the 184 feels. It handled and felt better to drive, though it probably wasn't a fair comparison base Golf on steel wheels with the salesman versus FR Leon which I took out by myself! :D

Got a price of €28300 for the 5D Highline Golf. I'm not mad about the shiny Piano Black dash trim on them much prefer the brushed silver trim on the Comfortline. €26500 for the 5door 150hp Leon FR or €28000 for the 184hp are the choices I think. With 3 years free servicing and the weekend away as a nice perk. She prefers the 5 door over the estate and I don't think I can face a year or two driving the Corsa it literally gives me a pain in the hole on long drives as I don't find the seats comfortable. The €1000 we save will keep my Mondeo on the road for a bit longer and I was planing in the long run to replace it something bigger a Ford Galaxy or even a VW Carvelle which would make her having an estate redundant.

Golfgorfield wrote: »

My wife has a Leon FR st 150, and comparable to anything it performs brilliantly. I certainly would choose it again over the golf, especially in white if you can. I drove the 184 and it was hugely quick through the gears.

One thing i would say though, 100% get it in the DSG gearbox, it is fantastic, i cant understand irish peoples allergy to Auto boxes, the DSG is never in the wrong gear, has many settings to play with and certainly wont affect resale. My advice would be buy the 150 with the DSG instead of the 183 upgrade.

Really like the white myself that or Alor Blue would be my choice but she wants a colour that doesn't stand out as much so that means silver or grey!
Do like the DSG gear box my mum had 1.9 Jetta with it for a while but I'd prefer the extra power.

GustavoFring wrote: »

None of the VAG MQB cars are coming with it (Leon, Golf, Octavia, A3) unless you go over 150bhp afaik. Cost cutting measure most likely.

The Golf and A3 petrol and diesels with 150bhp get it but Seat and Skoda's don't get it till above 150. It's about €1600 to go from a 1.6 tdi to the 150bhp 2ltr in a Seat/Skoda and about €2800 extra in a VW. Is multi-link rear suspension really that expensive. For €1500 in the Seat going from the 150 to 184 tdi you're getting the mult-link, upgraded brakes and nice few extra ponies!

ianobrien

I'm another with a 184PS Leon FR, and there is a 140PS Octavia at home also (previous generation to current, but only 10PS down on current). The difference in power is really noticeable, especially overtaking and on the motorway.

Theres over 50k on mine with no problems. Servicing costs are OK, but the car is sensitive enough to tyre choice (Don't use Dunlop SportMaxx). For overtaking, you have to build to boost, rather than just mashing the throttle and expecting it to be there. Yes the boot in the Leon hatch is small when compared to some of the opposition. Some Plastics are a little hard (bottom of doors, etc) but the black out windows in the back are loved by some at home! On the toys, I've heard the lane departure system is horrid in the real world, and I'm sorry the adaptive cruise control wasn't fitted.

Having driven some 1.6TDI's, they are painfully slow compared to the FR, and just terribly slow compared to the 140PS Octavia. Also, myself and some friends have found the fuel consumption to be equal between the engines.

Out of the two mentioned, I'd go for the Leon for the power mainly.

kirving

GustavoFring wrote: »

None of the VAG MQB cars are coming with it (Leon, Golf, Octavia, A3) unless you go over 150bhp afaik. Cost cutting measure most likely.

Obviously suspension systems have improved in the last few years, and the costs have shifted from mechanical components moreso to electronics. The customer feels like they're getting more for their money, and on the whole they are, but still disappointing to hear that VAG are cutting costs by doing this.

colm_mcm

the logic is hard to fault though. there are better handling cars for those that want them. i would doubt anybody with a basic suspension golf that came from a mk5 with IRS notices. for those that do, there is the option o a higher powered model.

Casati

I got a quote on a 150bhp FR two weeks ago - before this 1000 deal came in - 26500 cash, so it looks like the 1000 isn't really 1000 at all.

I think logically paying more for a 5 speed Golf with 45bhp less power is going to be something you regret. I would be tempted to go with the estate for resale alone- for 1000 extra you get a lot more car. Lot of car for the money especially with the 0% finance

Ryath

Casati wrote: »

I got a quote on a 150bhp FR two weeks ago - before this 1000 deal came in - 26500 cash, so it looks like the 1000 isn't really 1000 at all.

I think logically paying more for a 5 speed Golf with 45bhp less power is going to be something you regret. I would be tempted to go with the estate for resale alone- for 1000 extra you get a lot more car. Lot of car for the money especially with the 0% finance

Did that price include metallic and the service pack? Definitely better buy over the 1.6 golf. The 2ltr is good value but when I added all the optional extras to the Leon FR that the 2ltr Golf Highline has it actually came in at €300 more. Doesn't have and option of keyless entry but does have the led headlights so I suppose you'd have to xenons to the Golf to match. Adaptive cruise control and sat nav are very expensive upgrades on the Leon vs what they cost on the Golf

Would like the estate myself but she prefers the smaller car.

Looks like we've decided on white so that's €600 saved to put towards a few optional extras. Two that I think we have to get are Seat Full link for the phone €184 and Rear curtain airbags €361, any thing else that's a must have considering adding the winter pack. Think it will have to be the 150bhp, we are going this evening to get final prices with options and hopefully do the order and let her have a test drive. The 184 may be an option but I'll probably have to add a bit extra to the deposit the keep the monthly repayments down to what my wife fines acceptable.

duffman3833

i cant believe in this day and age, airbags are optional????

Golfgorfield

Ryath wrote: »

Did that price include metallic and the service pack? Definitely better buy over the 1.6 golf. The 2ltr is good value but when I added all the optional extras to the Leon FR that the 2ltr Golf Highline has it actually came in at €300 more. Doesn't have and option of keyless entry but does have the led headlights so I suppose you'd have to xenons to the Golf to match. Adaptive cruise control and sat nav are very expensive upgrades on the Leon vs what they cost on the Golf

Would like the estate myself but she prefers the smaller car.

Looks like we've decided on white so that's €600 saved to put towards a few optional extras. Two that I think we have to get are Seat Full link for the phone €184 and Rear curtain airbags €361, any thing else that's a must have considering adding the winter pack. Think it will have to be the 150bhp, we are going this evening to get final prices with options and hopefully do the order and let her have a test drive. The 184 may be an option but I'll probably have to add a bit extra to the deposit the keep the monthly repayments down to what my wife fines acceptable.

Get the rear window tints at €140 if they're not included, really makes the car if its an estate

Ryath

duffman3833 wrote: »

i cant believe in this day and age, airbags are optional????

They're standard on the Golf aright but I think in a lot of cars in the segment the rears are optional. With two small children we have to have them.

Golfgorfield wrote: »

Get the rear window tints at €140 if they're not included, really makes the car if its an estate

Standard on the Fr

GustavoFring

Definitely go with the full link. It makes factory nav redundant to be honest, android auto and apple car play really integrate very well. Good call on the white, it's suits them best imo but I'm biased as mine was white:)

The LED interior pack is also a nice option to get. It's about €80 and makes a nice difference when you're trying to find something on the floor at night.

Casati

Ive just looked at the VW site and see they have a 2.0 TDI R-line that looks good value. Also the Lounge 1.2 TSI looks great value too as its got everything the SE Select Leon has plus sunroof and other goodies. Both of them are 1.9% apr which obviously adds a little bit but I'd be thinking the 2.0 R-Line might be worth more come trade in time?

Ryath

Woo Hoo! Deposit down on a White 184hp 5Door Leon FR! Should have it next week. Had to go with an in stock one to get the 0% finance lead time on a order is 12 weeks so it wasn't really an option. Wife won't know her self coming from a 80hp Corsa! Thanks for all the advice.

GustavoFring

Ryath wrote: »

Woo Hoo! Deposit down on a White 184hp 5Door Leon FR! Should have it next week. Had to go with an in stock one to get the 0% finance lead time on a order is 12 weeks so it wasn't really an option. Wife won't know her self coming from a 80hp Corsa! Thanks for all the advice.

Well wear, they really are a cracking all rounder.

Ryath

Picked up the car last week really pleased with it. For a diesel the engine is so quite and bloody hell it pulls like a train. Economy is not quite as good yet as I hoped but I assume it will improve a lot as the engine loosens up and we get used to driving a diesel. According to trip computer 41.8mpg long term though that includes about 2 hours running pre delivery. 42.5 since last refill only got about 42 on run to Dublin though that was with cruise control set to 127-130. Getting 48-49 on 20k local runs. As I said though getting used to different gear ratios and extra 6th gear over what we're used to with petrol isn't helping.

The seat full link to use the google sat nav on the phone works very well. And the internal led lights are a nice touch which we didn't realise the car was specced with all in all we got very good value I think.

Thanks again for all the advice.

Fist time the car has been clean enough to post pics with all the rain we've had!

Nonoperational

Lovely car.

GustavoFring

Lovely motor, well wear.

Economy will improve as the mileage goes up. They seem to take 10k km+ to give their best.

lleyn

Any chance of a pic of the screen with google maps linked to it? Lovely car..I am tempted!!

Ryath

lleyn wrote: »

Any chance of a pic of the screen with google maps linked to it? Lovely car..I am tempted!!

Not a whole lot out of info out there explaining it but it is nearly just plug and play if you are any way tech savvy. Not used it a huge amount and still need to mess around with the mirrorlink connection to see what it can do but andoid auto seems much better. From some things I've read apple phones don't work as well with the system. Never used a built in sat nav but it's a huge improvement in using the phone by it's self. Just better as it dims the radio giving directions and zooms in automatically coming to junctions so much easier see what exits to take on a roundabout and turns to make.

Only pic I can find of it running on the Leon


Best video I've found explaining the system VW but the Seat is pretty much identical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqYmjFlzRuU