Seat Leon 1.2 tsi 110bhp

[Midnight26]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to buy a polo or a Leon as my next car and I just wondered if the 1.2 tsi 110bhp engine in the Leon is up to the job? By this I mean does it every feel sluggish underpowered etc just with the car being bigger than a polo or fabia which I currently have wasn't sure this engine would be adequate in the Leon.

Thanks in advance.

 

[dephead2004]

Welcome to the best forum around for our cars. Lots of help on here.

I have a105 1.2 se and find that around town it is economical and nippy. It warms up quickly thanks to exhaust in head and. On medium journeys it is comfortable and economical too. I would not choose it for long distance work on the motorway as a rule. It'll get to 70+ comfortably but there's not a lot of headroom after that. It's a very quiet engine too.

Hippie that helps.

 

[100andthirty]

I have a 2015 110 1.2tsi and it is fine for everything I have used it for in the last 5 months of ownership....town, cross country and motorway, it pulls well from just over 40mph in 6th although you might want to drop to 5th if pulling out on the motorway if held up by a lorry. It is a significant improvement on a 1.4 non tutbo ibiza which we had before the Leon and better than the 1.6 mk 1 Leon we had before the Ibiza

 

[andrewpain]

you need to get it right, and that means driving a few!
1.4 150ACT gets rave reviews on here if it's an economical petrol you're thinking of.
If diesel, the 2.0 150 is smooth and punchy. The 184 is almost as economic as the 150 but costs more. From what I've read, the Ecomotive is dull, and barely cheaper to run in the real world than the 150. So why bother?
get some test drives in anyway....good luck.

 

[sootytorques]

I got the 105 model, engine more than capable considering size of car, what I would say is car drives well, but on some road surfaces due to the basic rear suspension the ride is busy and some times its like driving with an under inflated tyre.
Other words of advise, led headlights are crap imho, and dealer service is very bad, build quality is average.

 

[Rog.]

I'd say it depends on your needs - for short commutes, B roads or around town, mostly one-up, I should think you'd be fine, but if you need to do regular motorway slogs with the car fully loaded, maybe not.

The first test drive I took in a Mk3 Leon was actually a blind test - I didn't know it was a 1.2 when I took it out, and was impressed by how well it went, and then really surprised when I found out it was the smallest engine of the range.

Different cars I know, but I found the throttle response is better in the 1.2 petrol in the Leon than the 1.6 diesel in the latest Golf, and although the diesel is more torquey, I still found myself changing gear more often in the Golf.

 

[nokiauk]

I've the 1.2 TSI with 105bhp as its a 2013 model, I was seriously impressed coming from a 2.0 TSI and also a 140bhp TDi. Had mine for coming up shortly for 3 years and find it reliable and economic, fine for motorway work etc. Only really find it lacking on faster A/B roads when you need to plan overtakes a bit more and drop gears. Overall I would defiantly recommend.

LED lights are not bad not quite as good as Xenons but better than Halogen esp if raised. Up a bit as factory setting is too low.

 

[Midnight26]

Thanks for all the information everyone it's really appreciated.

Initially I was only looking at the new vw polo r-line 1.0 litre 110bhp but then I was told I could get a Leon for the same cost monthly due to seats recent 0% Apr deal.

One of the reason I'm looking into the Leon is because I'm slightly concerned that the polo is a little on the small side and the Leon has ample room- also I think it looks kind of better than the polo.

The only thing is for what I'm looking to pay the only engine I'll be able to afford is the 1.2 tsi.
I don't do many long journeys but every so often I may need to and the last thing I wanna do is get the car to then find out it can't hold its own when trying to overtake another car on the motorway.

I currently have a fabia 1.2tsi and it's a cracking engine but obviously it's smaller than the Leon.

 

[Midnight26]

I've the 1.2 TSI with 105bhp as its a 2013 model, I was seriously impressed coming from a 2.0 TSI and also a 140bhp TDi. Had mine for coming up shortly for 3 years and find it reliable and economic, fine for motorway work etc. Only really find it lacking on faster A/B roads when you need to plan overtakes a bit more and drop gears. Overall I would defiantly recommend.

LED lights are not bad not quite as good as Xenons but better than Halogen esp if raised. Up a bit as factory setting is too low.

Hey nokiauk,

you mentioned the lights not being great now I maybe completely wrong but aren't LEDs meant to be better than xenon lights ?

Thanks

 

[Midnight26]

Hey Nokiauk

you mentioned the lights not being great now I maybe completely wrong but aren't LEDs meant to be better than xenon lights ?

Thanks

 

[stu_m]

I came from an Ibiza 1.2TSI to the Leon 1.6TDI

I must admit I prefer the TDI over the TSI any day!

the TSI is a cracking engine and the same power output as the TDI but the TDI has a lot more torque and it shows!

my ibiza would easily get to 90 with no trouble but it is a smaller car!

the thing I didnt like about the TSI is that it felt week! and that revving it would break it!! the TDI is a more solid motor IMO

the TSI is a good motor and likes to be revved I struggled with the lack of torque though but I did have a 1.9TDI for 6 years before the TSI

you really need to get out and drive the TSI in the leon to see how you feel in it really

 

[Midnight26]

I'm still trying to get to grips with how to use the site so I didn't know how to reply to you all individually or add you into my reply. Sorry everyone lol

Also would you all say the Leon is a better car all round than the new version of the polo?

 

[stu_m]

no need to reply individually just a cheers guys would suffice or if you need to then click on the "quote" button on the right

I haven't driven a polo but if I compare it to the ibiza I had its was a massive difference

I have also had a toledo on loan which was not as good as the leon but slightly better than the ibiza!

 

[Midnight26]

no need to reply individually just a cheers guys would suffice or if you need to then click on the "quote" button on the right

I haven't driven a polo but if I compare it to the ibiza I had its was a massive difference

I have also had a toledo on loan which was not as good as the leon but slightly better than the ibiza!

Thanks for that stu,

You said that you could easily get your Ibiza up to about 90 what about your Leon ?

 

[stu_m]

the leon gets there and higher up the speedo a lot easier!!

as I say though I have the 1.6tdi in the leon

if you are mainly around town with the odd motorway trip then get the 1.2tsi it will be more than good enough and will probably still pull better than your fabia does now

the 0-60 on the TSI is supposed to be quicker than the TDI

 

[Midnight26]

the leon gets there and higher up the speedo a lot easier!!

as I say though I have the 1.6tdi in the leon

if you are mainly around town with the odd motorway trip then get the 1.2tsi it will be more than good enough and will probably still pull better than your fabia does now

the 0-60 on the TSI is supposed to be quicker than the TDI

That's good to know thanks, also have you had any major issues with your Leon?

Also the led lights on the Leon are they any good? just I've red a few issue on here about them.

Thanks for all the info

 

[stu_m]

the only issues I have had is the touch screen playing up which was changed under warranty

I like the LED lights and think they are great

others think they are crap!! which I find odd to be honest!

 

[kazand]

the only issues I have had is the touch screen playing up which was changed under warranty

I like the LED lights and think they are great

others think they are crap!! which I find odd to be honest!

Depends what you are comparing them to. Personally I do not think they are as good as previous mk2's adaptive xenons, particularly on rainy country roads.

 

[weirdkerr]

Previously I had the 1.2TSI 105 SE and it preformed faultlessly over the 42,000 miles I did in it over the 2 years I owned it (picked it up ex rental with 15,000 on the clock). The main reason I upgraded to the bigger engine I have now (1.4ecoTsi 150) was I preffered the look of the FR inside and out and got a very good PCP deal

The 1.2 gave me around 49-53 mpg on my daily commute (60 miles of A roads no dual carriageway) and was a very comfortable car to drive best car ive had (only had the FR 2 weeks so too new to say but its great)

 

[JACUPRA280]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to buy a polo or a Leon as my next car and I just wondered if the 1.2 tsi 110bhp engine in the Leon is up to the job? By this I mean does it every feel sluggish underpowered etc just with the car being bigger than a polo or fabia which I currently have wasn't sure this engine would be adequate in the Leon.

Thanks in advance.

If it helps, my previous car was a 2010 Polo 1.2 TSI (105) SEL. The 105 is the same engine as the 110. I had mine remapped so it was more like 130 in the end.

My current car is a Cupra 280.

The Polo was an exceptional car. I loved it. It was well built and reliable. It was also fantastic on fuel. Mine had a 6-speed manual gearbox. The shift was excellent. I kept it for three years and in that time it never missed a beat. The engine was lovely to drive hard and extremely good around town. Keeping up with traffic was no issue whatsoever.

Getting to the point, I was loaned a Leon 1.2 TSI 110 recently. It obviously felt a lot slower than my Cupra; but it was fine compared to my previous car, the Polo (before it was remapped). The Leon was fine with a little engine. I was loaned it for a week while some work was being done to my car. I enjoyed driving it and the engine had plenty of character.

I can't comment on the 1.4 TSI ACT vs 1.2 TSI 110 debate unfortunately because I have not had the pleasure of driving the former. However, the latter felt really good to me.