Advice welcome - FR Sport or Xcellence

[bonger512]

Hi Everyone,

I currently drive a VW Golf GTD (2018) DSG which I'm happy with. It is a company car which is up for renewal soon. To keep tax to a sensible level I need to get a plug in hybrid vehicle - I'm not ready for full electric yet. I enjoy driving hatches, and the golf is a great mix of performance, handling, economy, practicality and tech. I have test driven the BMW 330e - lovely car, but quite pricey and I need to save money at the moment. I also test drove the A250e Mercedes - and I was massively disappointed. It looks great in and out but was terrible to drive in terms of the PHEV aspects but also the ride, acceleration, handling, engine noise, road noise - arrggh. The golf is a much better car (in my opinion).

Anyway, on to my main point.... I am content to order a Leon PHEV based on similarities with the golf (I cant test drive the Leon sadly) and a better looking car actually in my opinion an d I would like a change. I don't need the extra bhp the Golf GTE offers. 204 is enough! I am undecided between Xcellence and FR Sport trims - I'd also add the medium pack so I can adaptive cruise (the golf has it and I love it for long journeys). The thing preventing me from getting the FR Sport is worry that the ride is too harsh and there will be too much road noise. If its excessive, I'd get the Xcellence instead -but the FR Sport looks great lol. Its a good dilemma to have! I'd welcome any views from anyone who has driven either of these trims and can compare to any other cars out there!

Thanks for reading and any advice! Looking forward to joining the Leon club soon!

Cheers!
John

 

[dan555]

In my first edition(with sports suspension and DCC) there's some road noise especially at 70mph and it's really noticeable on concrete road. I haven't driven one without sports suspension but most of the reviews I've seen have mentioned road noise.

I think it depends on how good your hearing is?

Have you looked at a first edition, you get DCC (adaptive damping), reversing camera and driving pack XL, it seems to be almost the same as a fr sport except electrically adjustable seats.

 

[Keith Roberts]

Hi, I had a similar dilemma when we bought our new PHEV a couple of months ago. Had decided to buy a FR spec as it was a good deal however when we went in to buy it they had a Excellence for sale as well. Coming from a mk3.5 excellence when we looked at the Excellence package in the new car it was a no brainer. Leather, heated seats, ACC, interior lighting etc etc. Had I not bought the excellence model I think I would have been comparing what we had to the FR. With the independent suspension, even with the 18 inch wheels mostly very quiet unless very poor surfaces. very supportive seats with lumbar support very happy with my choice plus 1000 miles to a 31 litre refill.

 

[Yern]

Hi, I had a similar dilemma when we bought our new PHEV a couple of months ago. Had decided to buy a FR spec as it was a good deal however when we went in to buy it they had a Excellence for sale as well. Coming from a mk3.5 excellence when we looked at the Excellence package in the new car it was a no brainer. Leather, heated seats, ACC, interior lighting etc etc. Had I not bought the excellence model I think I would have been comparing what we had to the FR. With the independent suspension, even with the 18 inch wheels mostly very quiet unless very poor surfaces. very supportive seats with lumbar support very happy with my choice plus 1000 miles to a 31 litre refill.

Hi, was this a 'New' car buy...what was the price difference between the 2 specs? My 3.5 FR spec seems better (in some areas) than the Mk4 FR.

 

[Keith Roberts]

Hi, it was new, originally looked at a pre reg with no miles on it at my local dealer, but for an extra £1800 managed to buy the Excellence Model. It did take a bit of online research but being the last couple of days of the manufacturer’s quarter, the dealer needed to register 5 more cars in four days. A bit of right place at the right time.

 

[izometric]

FR was way too rigid for me. I am used to softer suspensions so I went for the xcellence.

Specs and price absolutely identical between the two.

 

[Keith Roberts]

I’m sure you have ordered the right spec.