Which Estate? Skoda Octavia vs SEAT Leon

Mac-Chops

With child Nr 2 on the way, the old reliable Golf will be pushed beyond its limits.

While initially looking at a straight forward VW transition to a Tiguan, after further research I'm now settled on an Estate body type for maximising storage space and a lower access boot for the mrs.

Looking at potentially buying new and with approx 30K budget I'm currently on the fence between a Skoda Octavia & a SEAT Leon.

Octavia seems to be the more sensible/comfortable option with a bigger boot space with the Leon being generally a bit sharper and seemingly more fun to drive.

Other factors in getting to this point were steering away from a diesel as it will be sitting in the driveway most of the week and I like the mild hybrid engines available on each, albeit the Leon gets 150hp vs 110hp on the Octavia in its equivalent trim price bracket.

Also, any other nearly new alternatives I should consider going back to, say, 2018?

crisco10

Did a similar exercise recently, for similar budget and number of children and ended up getting head turned by Ioniq 5. It is dearer on the upfront price, but when I modelled total ownership over 6+ years it was cheaper than New octavia Estate or Corolla Estate which were other cars on shortlist.

Really struggled to find value in nearly new 2nd hand market.

Boot of ioniq 5 is 500+ litres and back seat has plenty of space for car seats etc.

photosmart

I have the old leon estate and its a good all rounder but they depreciate very hard compared to octavia which means

I wouldn't consider buying one new (I bought mine 14 months old for 17k back in 2017).

It's Octavia for me

AMKC

A Renault Megane Estate is also worth a look. Very classy and they come in Hyprids too. It's also a really good hyprid system one of the best on the market. For 30k you should get a really nice one.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/renault-megane-st-iconic-phev-160-auto/29210681?campaign=3

Just an example.

yermanthere

Having owned 5 Skodas with kids, heres my 2 cents.

Octavia is the modern avensis. It will do everything you ask of it and no more. There are models/ engines for every option. More space, get an estate. More power choose an engine. More toys, choose a spec. New. nearly new. Mega mileage cheap as chips. all tastes catered for with the Octavia. It functions perfectly as the car that people actually need. The spec you get outmatches most of its rivals and space and quality is good. I feel quality has slipped in the past few years, but maybe all manufacturers are the same.

it used to be everyone had a workhorse model, not so much now. Heres my alternatives.

Kia Ceed , Seat Leon, Hyundai i30, Vw passat ( at right price).

Superb is a very long car. Is you driveway long enough? Are you regularly parking in a town?

I see the appeal of suv's. But their boots are noticeably smaller, along with higher cost.

The electric option is very appealing, if you are buying new. My basic calculations on fuel cost saving is about 1000 euro saved for every 12500km driven. but you also get automatic gearbox ( i know , but its like an automatic ICE), and a higher spec model, with electric. Also nicer to drive IMO.

This is what I don't understand about boards. Someone asks for advice on whether to buy a Skoda or Seat (both solid VWs underneath) and someone comes left of field talking about a Renault. Come on!

Do yourself a favour OP, go with the Skoda. They are workhorses, and have a higher resale value than a Seat. But either way, you are getting a good motor.

Best of luck.

EDITED: bazz26 made a good point

bazz26

Equally what I don't understand about boards is the fire side experts coming out of the woodwork talking about modern Renaults being unreliable, generally or not. They are as reliable as most other European brands these days but the experts down the pub say different.

Also if people bothered to read the entire original post, the OP did mention suggesting alternatives in their last line.

Leroy42

I had exactly the same question in 2019.

I went with the Leon Estate and love it I would have gone with the Octavia only we got a much better trade in ('000s in the difference due to a scappage).

On the Octavia, non Estate the boot is massive, there is almost no need for the extra cost of the estate.

When doing my test drives etc, I preferred the Octavia, but they are very similar .

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118308802#Comment_118308802

Fire side expert 😅 I could make a cheap joke about that but I won't.

I agree that their reliability has improved considerably in recent times. A regular serviced relatively new car will have pretty similar reliability across the board, and some people think Renaults look nice (I guess a bit like women, I am just a bit of an Eastern European man myself). But go back 10 years, and I think pictures paint themselves (look at the NCT data).

Anyway, fair point, I concede with dignity. :)

Mac-Chops

Cheers for the replies all. I was set on a Leon at one stage until I was put on to the Octavias so appreciate the shout on others.

Went to view a show room Octavia model on Friday and was pretty impressed. Trying to find one for a test drive now to make sure the 1.0TSI 110hp still has a bit of poke for an overtake on the N4 as the 1.5TSI 150hp only comes in the higher trim which has too many other unrequired extras for a €5K increase in base price.

Skoda have a 0% PCP €5K offer available too over 2 years which is handy for keeping the up front cost in the 20s.. good psychologically anyway! If the garage can offer a few more schillings for the Golf along with that then would be happy enough I reckon.

colm_mcm

Price Al Hayes in Ennis, they go all out on certain trade ins.