Buying Advice

[goonz]

Hello everyone new member looking to get my first Seat Leon FR/Cupra. I am looking at the MK3 petrol DSG around the 2012/13 age. Is the 178bhp the best engine in the FR range and is the Tech pack the best upgrade? I see it has what I want e.g. LED, USB etc but I really like heated seats and do not see them in the Tech pack. They seem to be in the winter pack.

I also notice members mentioning the 184bhp engine having better handling and rear suspension, I do not see any 184bhp for sale on Autotrader is this a diesel variant? Does the 178bhp petrol have the same handling as the 184bhp diesel?

Any help will be greatly appreciated. I notice the headlights appear to have a fogging up issue which is concerning since my MK4 golf never had this issue but also wondering whether these have the same leaks issues as the golfs do.

Cant wait to pick up the car just need to find one with everything I want.

Thanks in advance

 

[Woody_72]

I'm not an expert but yes, the 184 is a 2.0 diesel (engine code EA288}. As far as I understand it, of the non-Cupra cars only the FR models have independent rear suspension, the rest are solid beam.

 

[BoomerBoom]

Engine size is a personal choice, the larger petrol has more power and torque but also higher consumption - it's up to you if you need it and are happy to pay the fuel bill. All cars over 150hp should have independent rear suspension, I believe, the difference it makes is only really noticeable if you live life on the very edge.

The LED headlights on the pre facelift (2017) are not that bright, only about the same as halogen and do suffer from dust and moisture ingress.

 

[goonz]

So the FR is the best bet, I wont be going for anything less anyway. So the 178 petrol is the same as the 184 diesel version in terms of handling etc?

 

[goonz]

Engine size is a personal choice, the larger petrol has more power and torque but also higher consumption - it's up to you if you need it and are happy to pay the fuel bill. All cars over 150hp should have independent rear suspension, I believe, the difference it makes is only really noticeable if you live life on the very edge.

The LED headlights on the pre facelift (2017) are not that bright, only about the same as halogen and do suffer from dust and moisture ingress.

Whats the best fix for the moisture and dust ingress is this an easy fix on these?
So is the 178 FR a thirsty car?

 

[BillyCool]

I have the 184 TDI. The 150 TDI does not have the ind supsension. The 184 also has bigger brakes. Don't know about the 178 petrol version though. Mine is chipped to 220bhp and only costs an extra £60 on insurance. It is £30 a year in VED (bargain). The issues with the TDI's is they have a DPF (not the end of the world if you do enough mileage) and have had issues with blocked heater matrix (£1200 for dealer fix or £100 and 2 hours if you do it yourself).

Tech pack is fairly standard in FR models and I wouldn't consider a Leon without it.

For heated seats you do indeed need the winter pack.

The 3rd option is the convenience pack, which I have - welcome home lights, auto dip mirror, auto wipers? Can't remember the rest.

The headlights all seem to have issues with dust/moisture, some more than others.

Since it has been chipped, my 184 does 50-55mpg driven normally and on motorway runs it can do 65+ mpg. It is also quite quick if you put your foot down but can equally be driven quite sensibly. Handles really well and correct tyre choice helps. I have the ST version - looks like a mini-estate but handles like a hatch.

The petrol v diesel debate? No idea.

 

[goonz]

I have the 184 TDI. The 150 TDI does not have the ind supsension. The 184 also has bigger brakes. Don't know about the 178 petrol version though. Mine is chipped to 220bhp and only costs an extra £60 on insurance. It is £30 a year in VED (bargain). The issues with the TDI's is they have a DPF (not the end of the world if you do enough mileage) and have had issues with blocked heater matrix (£1200 for dealer fix or £100 and 2 hours if you do it yourself).

Tech pack is fairly standard in FR models and I wouldn't consider a Leon without it.

For heated seats you do indeed need the winter pack.

The 3rd option is the convenience pack, which I have - welcome home lights, auto dip mirror, auto wipers? Can't remember the rest.

The headlights all seem to have issues with dust/moisture, some more than others.

Since it has been chipped, my 184 does 50-55mpg driven normally and on motorway runs it can do 65+ mpg. It is also quite quick if you put your foot down but can equally be driven quite sensibly. Handles really well and correct tyre choice helps. I have the ST version - looks like a mini-estate but handles like a hatch.

The petrol v diesel debate? No idea.

Thanks, for my next car I am only considering petrol as I had a PD130 golf before this and with Ulez now I dont want any issues going forwards with diesels. I have looked but cannot see many conveneicne packs around for sale but will only consider that if it comes with everything the winter and tech pack does! So basically I cant get heated seats with the tech pack goodies?

Will need to investigate the brakes etc on the petrol version compared to the diesel but I would presume they would be the same.

 

[Speedbird]

It is my understanding that the more powerful 1.8 petrol and 2.0 TDI 184 diesel have the larger brakes and independent rear suspension. There probably wont be much in the handling difference between the petrol and diesel, other than the diesel maybe slightly nose heavier.

When you try and find a 184bhp diesel on auto trader, obviously select diesel, and then select 0-60 time of less than 8 seconds, then only the more powerful diesels should come up in the results and not the 150 bhp ones.

I have a 2015 pre-facelift 2.0 TDI 184. It is a fantastic car. No issues with DPF, had the silica bag removed from my coolant tank at the last service, and so far its been a brilliant all round car.

Contrary to one of the comments above, my LED headlights are fantastic. No moisture or dust inside in the units, and FAR brighter than the halogens on the Ford Focus I also have use of in the household.

 

[goonz]

Thanks lots of good advice here, so I am definitely leaning towards the 178FR, Cupra may be just outside my budget. Tech or convenience pack for me then as I need heated seats and all the goodies lol.

 

[goonz]

Another question do any Leons have a sunroof?

 

[BillyCool]

Another question do any Leons have a sunroof?

You know you can Google this sort of stuff?

seat leon sunroof - Google Search

 

[SRGTD]

I think the tech pack is certainly worth having, and a high proportion of FR model Leon’s will have this as I seem to remember it was offered at a heavily reduced price by Seat for a fairly long period of time (I think it may have even been offered free at some point?). Are heated seats a deal breaker? If so, then you‘ll be limiting the number of potential cars out there to buy, and IMO if a car has cloth seats, then heated seats aren’t really necessary as the seats don’t ever really feel cold to sit on in the colder, winter months. I could quite happily live without heated seats in a car with cloth upholstery.

For me, if considering a used car purchase, I’d always rank condition and service history above specific options. But I appreciate we’re all different, and what’s important to one person might not be as important someone else. But that’s no bad thing - if we were all the same and had the same likes and dislikes life would be boring!

 

[goonz]

Yep agree totally, service and conditionw ill always be top but i like to shortlist and at least get most of the goodies that I want especially if i will be spending a lot of time in the car which I do. I do liek leathers so heated would be ideal but if I have to go cloth and Tech pack it wont be a deal breaker.

As from what i have seen so far on Autotrader most have the tech pack, barely any have the leathers and heated seats and even more difficult to find one with a sunroof lol!

And all within m budget of course!

 

[SRGTD]

I’d also not want a sunroof. Worth doing a sunroof search on the mk3 Leon forum board.

The mk7 Golf has essentially the same sunroof as the mk3 Leon, so it’d also be worth doing a Google search on ‘mk7 Golf sunroof issues’ - they’re not without their problems; common issues being creaks and rattles and leaks if the drain tubes get blocked.

 

[goonz]

Blimey I heard of those issues in the MK4 golfs i cant believe they havent managed to fix these issue in nearly 20 years! Beggars belief.

 

[jcbmally]

The petrol 2.0ltr 180bhp is a peach, had one for a few years (2013 reg) and it never let me down. The car I had was a launch car so had loads of extras like heated seats, sunroof etc. The car returned 34/39mpg on average (local/around town). Sunroof creaks are cured by a small service eg little bit of grease and rubber lube. I had mine 3 &1/2 years and only had the creaking sunroof once, did I mention the 2.0 petrol 180bhp is a peach ............

 

[black_sheep]

Pre-FL FRs were a pretty decent spec. Some of the packs and options worth considering included:

Tech pack: Front LED headlights, DAB radio, Sat Nav. This was included as free incentive in 2013, so most FRs had this fitted - I had to pay nearly £1000 extra for this as I bought my car for export to Germany.

Early cars had the MIB 1 infotainment unit; cars from 2014/5 had the MIB 2 unit which included bigger screen and CarPlay options etc.

Convenience Pack: Auto Lights, Dimming Rear View Mirror, Auto Wipers.

Winter pack: Heated Front Seats, Heated Windscreen Nozzles, Headlight Wash system.

Performance alloys - 18” vs 17” standard were another popular option.

Spare wheel.