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Leon vs golf
- Thread starter cejsmith
- Start date
The one good thing about buying a car at this time of year is that the dealers are still open after it gets dark. Arrange test drives after 4pm and make sure they involve some unlit roads. A lot of manufacturers are using 25W xenons now that probably aren't a great deal brighter than the LEDs, but at least they're upgradeable...
never had xenon's lights before but I find the led lights much better than standard lights.
I like the golf gti mk7 but wanted a cupra as so many golf gti on the road
The pcp monthly payments are much the same but the deposits will differ, and the guaranteed future value/final payments will differ, so consider what you want to be doing in 3 years time, handing the car back, swooping for another or paying the balance off.
Choice wise they are pretty different.
More Golfs around so you will blend in more..I seriously considered a GTI, but add metallic and the PP and your close to £29k.
GTD is an excellent package, looks great, even better than the GTI imo, has a better stance and nicer alloys, again your talking close to £28k with metallic. Both get Dynamic Chassis Control and the Adaptive Cruise that are options on the FR, DCC is standard on the Cupra.
If money was no object must admit I would probably have gone for the GTI but am sure I won't be disappointed with the FR (around 8k cheaper). The Cupra is a great package, but if I was looking to spend £27k ish again I would probably go for the golf.
Have a drive in them and think about what you want to do at the end of the PCP period.
Re the lights, I've just read a report in the German equivalent of Autoexpress and they rate them highly, but I understand some on here are not impressed, haven't heard good or bad about the Golf Xenons I'm afraid.
Ps Golf facelift is on the way.
Choice wise they are pretty different.
More Golfs around so you will blend in more..I seriously considered a GTI, but add metallic and the PP and your close to £29k.
GTD is an excellent package, looks great, even better than the GTI imo, has a better stance and nicer alloys, again your talking close to £28k with metallic. Both get Dynamic Chassis Control and the Adaptive Cruise that are options on the FR, DCC is standard on the Cupra.
If money was no object must admit I would probably have gone for the GTI but am sure I won't be disappointed with the FR (around 8k cheaper). The Cupra is a great package, but if I was looking to spend £27k ish again I would probably go for the golf.
Have a drive in them and think about what you want to do at the end of the PCP period.
Re the lights, I've just read a report in the German equivalent of Autoexpress and they rate them highly, but I understand some on here are not impressed, haven't heard good or bad about the Golf Xenons I'm afraid.
Ps Golf facelift is on the way.
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the facelift isnt coming till 2016 iirc, so I wouldnt be holding out for that. If going PCP check the residuals like Rob says and work out which is the better deal for you.
Youve listed a rather wide range of cars there, I assume if youre considering a diesel you'll be racking the mileage up, if so dont expect the gti and cupra to be doing any 50 mpg journey lol, more like 40 at a push on the motorway and 30 on normal roads.
Youve listed a rather wide range of cars there, I assume if youre considering a diesel you'll be racking the mileage up, if so dont expect the gti and cupra to be doing any 50 mpg journey lol, more like 40 at a push on the motorway and 30 on normal roads.
I've driven a 280 Cupra and it was quick but I thought the seat lacked adjustment and I've driven a golf gtd which was nice. I do 25 k a year so as you can imagine ive got a real head v hearth thing going on.
Like for
I've there is about 3/4 k price wise between them but thr golf seems to be worth that more looking at the second hand market.
I think the golf might be better built what do people think?
Like for
I've there is about 3/4 k price wise between them but thr golf seems to be worth that more looking at the second hand market.
I think the golf might be better built what do people think?
25k is a lot of mileage in petrol mate, especially a thirsty one, id hate to ever be one of those people who have to go from a fast petrol to a derv because it wasn't economically viable, the diesels are great dont get me wrong and on a country lane I doubt id be able to lose my old FR, but the actual feeling and way a petrol drives is what makes it better imo and if I had to go back to a diesel now I think every journey id be driving along missing my gti. So with that in mind, id go for the GTD and upgrade to a petrol should your mileage ever drop, instead of having to go the other way.
It terms of build quality its questionable, yes my gti is better than my fr, but that was a mk2 so i cannot fairly comment, all cars rattle and squeak and my gti suffers a few too.
It terms of build quality its questionable, yes my gti is better than my fr, but that was a mk2 so i cannot fairly comment, all cars rattle and squeak and my gti suffers a few too.
I think everybody would have to admit to the VW is a better built quality and has a better interior finish that why there is usually a big price difference if buying . but PCP can vary
But you have to balance that against the price difference and compare all the spec like for like GTD 2.0 V FR 2.0
Plus the Leon has better looks
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Agree with the above that the petrol is far better to drive. I went from a 2010 octavia vrs petrol (stage 1 remap) to a mk3 Leon St fr184 as I was doing about 25k per annum and couldn't justify the fuel prices. Don't think you'll get the claimed mpg figures out of either unless you drive really slowly and mostly on motorways. My octavia averaged about 35mpg whilst the Leon is around the 50mpg mark. Biggest difference is when your driving quickly. Leon still gets high 40's at 85-90mph....The octavia would drop to low thirties.
Hi Mate - that mileage i would go diesel GTD or FR184 (or maybe TDi Golf or LEON 150)
I was really undecided between VW and SEAT. In the end i stayed with SEAT, for a number of reasons - My Mk2 has been almost faultless in 7 years of ownership, I like having something a little different (still looks pretty fresh imo), and of course what most of us cant ignore the price.
If you walk into a VW showroom and jump into the GTD its hard not to be impressed by the apparant quality - everything just ‘looks and feels right’, i love the steering wheel feel. The one exception the 2 new ones i looked at the paint quality was really atrocious one was Carbon Grey and had awful orange peel paint and the other Dark Blue cant recall the name but also poor paint quality. But then you look down at the Price Plaque in front of the car and see it starts with a 3 due to having bigger alloys. metallic paint and Sat Nav.
In the SEAT Showroom you jump in to the FR 184 and it looks good (you wish you hadnt seen the Golf) but everything is there the buttons and switch gear is near as damn it the same and the SEAT is just as comfortable - the engine is the same and the paint (on the ones i saw) one red and one Nevada White better than the Golf.
You look at the (new) price and its almost 7k less than the golf without a bit off okay the golf gets a couple of things that the Leon doesn’t but thats about it. You may well get more back when you sell it, but you need to pay for that first. I remember speccing a Mk5 GTI against my FR when i bought it and list the Golf was £5k more, be lucky to get £1k more for it now.
Looks wise well…. as i said i really like the look of the Golf, just saw a metallic white one on the way to the gym and it looked stunning, but i’ll see another on the way home and probably a couple on the way to work. i havent seen a LEON SC for weeks.
If they were a similar price i would have had probably had the Golf, but the price difference along with the zero % finance - makes a huge difference and nothing but positive experiences with SEAT to date has lead me to stay with them.
The only thing that does worry me slightly is that it will not live up to the Mk2. All reports i have read and seen in magazine and on the Net are really positive, just hope i avoid rattle and notchy gear changes some on here have experienced
Good luck with what you decide.
Rob
(ps let us know)
I was really undecided between VW and SEAT. In the end i stayed with SEAT, for a number of reasons - My Mk2 has been almost faultless in 7 years of ownership, I like having something a little different (still looks pretty fresh imo), and of course what most of us cant ignore the price.
If you walk into a VW showroom and jump into the GTD its hard not to be impressed by the apparant quality - everything just ‘looks and feels right’, i love the steering wheel feel. The one exception the 2 new ones i looked at the paint quality was really atrocious one was Carbon Grey and had awful orange peel paint and the other Dark Blue cant recall the name but also poor paint quality. But then you look down at the Price Plaque in front of the car and see it starts with a 3 due to having bigger alloys. metallic paint and Sat Nav.
In the SEAT Showroom you jump in to the FR 184 and it looks good (you wish you hadnt seen the Golf) but everything is there the buttons and switch gear is near as damn it the same and the SEAT is just as comfortable - the engine is the same and the paint (on the ones i saw) one red and one Nevada White better than the Golf.
You look at the (new) price and its almost 7k less than the golf without a bit off okay the golf gets a couple of things that the Leon doesn’t but thats about it. You may well get more back when you sell it, but you need to pay for that first. I remember speccing a Mk5 GTI against my FR when i bought it and list the Golf was £5k more, be lucky to get £1k more for it now.
Looks wise well…. as i said i really like the look of the Golf, just saw a metallic white one on the way to the gym and it looked stunning, but i’ll see another on the way home and probably a couple on the way to work. i havent seen a LEON SC for weeks.
If they were a similar price i would have had probably had the Golf, but the price difference along with the zero % finance - makes a huge difference and nothing but positive experiences with SEAT to date has lead me to stay with them.
The only thing that does worry me slightly is that it will not live up to the Mk2. All reports i have read and seen in magazine and on the Net are really positive, just hope i avoid rattle and notchy gear changes some on here have experienced
Good luck with what you decide.
Rob
(ps let us know
)I always smile when I see people talking about build quality on here... The build quality is the same across the whole group. VAG has spent billions upgrading its facilities at Martorell... If there were still differences between the factories, Seat would not be assembling the Audi Q3 alongside the Leon...
Certainly there is a noticeable difference in the quality of the plastics and such used in the different models, but don't be under any illusions that a VW or an Audi will be assembled any better than a Seat. It really isn't.
Certainly there is a noticeable difference in the quality of the plastics and such used in the different models, but don't be under any illusions that a VW or an Audi will be assembled any better than a Seat. It really isn't.
so much of this "difference" is in perception alone, as the parts are common....get a drive in an FR184 and see what you think.
if you're doing 25k miles PA you'll find it almost impossible to get below 50MPG, and motorway runs at 75-80 will give 55+.
It looks good.
it's not common. (especially the ST)
it's a great drive.
just get a good spec - there's loads in showrooms waiting for deals. Sure to be one you like
if you're doing 25k miles PA you'll find it almost impossible to get below 50MPG, and motorway runs at 75-80 will give 55+.
It looks good.
it's not common. (especially the ST)
it's a great drive.
just get a good spec - there's loads in showrooms waiting for deals. Sure to be one you like
Yeah, I noticed that some of the reviews available on some pretty well respected sites are completely contradictory for exactly that reason. One site in particular describes the aircon controls in the Leon as 'a bit flimsy' but has nothing but praise for exactly the same component in the golf, describing it as solid and sturdy...
Absolutely I've had two brand new VWs with nicely padded plastics that were an absolute nightmare dashboards in and out whole suspension replacements you name it ... and four brand new SEATs with slightly scratchy plastic and aside from a door rattle they've not put a wheel wrong ... so far
Agree on the driving quickly thing, I know for a fact I drove quicker in my fr than I do know just because I was content with 40mpg, same drive in the gti and it's 28 which is then makes me think I should drive slower lol.
so much of this "difference" is in perception alone, as the parts are common....get a drive in an FR184 and see what you think.
if you're doing 25k miles PA you'll find it almost impossible to get below 50MPG, and motorway runs at 75-80 will give 55+.
It looks good.
it's not common. (especially the ST)
it's a great drive.
just get a good spec - there's loads in showrooms waiting for deals. Sure to be one you like
I've been struggling to get over 50mpg
Calculated MPG over last 4.5k miles has been 48-49.
Last tank was on eco mode and careful not to accelerate quickly, motorway commute was 70-75 mph and still only 49mpg.
It's about the only thing I've felt dissappointed with in my Leon.
that's strange. Tyre pressures OK? makes a difference if they're a bit soft
i did a 250 mile round trip at the weekend, averaging 75-80 on the motorway, and got 53.9 for the day.
it was 56 until I did the house to house, visiting relatives etc stuff...that's with the winter tyres on. it was better with the summer pirellis.
i did a 250 mile round trip at the weekend, averaging 75-80 on the motorway, and got 53.9 for the day.
it was 56 until I did the house to house, visiting relatives etc stuff...that's with the winter tyres on. it was better with the summer pirellis.
To be fair I've not checked pressures since getting the car (sept 14), but given mpg hasn't changed significantly since then. Assume dealer would have inflated them correctly, but maybe that'd too much of an assumption!
On my last car I would use mpg as a measure of car health, when it dipped it was time to check tyres/get a service etc!
On my last car I would use mpg as a measure of car health, when it dipped it was time to check tyres/get a service etc!
I find that mine deflate 1 or 2 PSI a month. I got car in April, didn't bother checking till October, and they were down to about 26 from 33!
got a decent Michelin two-barrel pump with digital gauge and check everyones every few weeks...my dealer did check mine last week when in for service, and they were OK. Still had 8mm tread on the winters after nearly 2000 miles as well.
got a decent Michelin two-barrel pump with digital gauge and check everyones every few weeks...my dealer did check mine last week when in for service, and they were OK. Still had 8mm tread on the winters after nearly 2000 miles as well.
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