I picked up my new factory-order car on Tuesday after an 11 week wait (that seemed much longer).
Executive summary: I'm very impressed so far.
As well as the facelift changes I was expecting, there are several little bits that have been fixed: there's a proper hard plastic battery cover instead of a piece of cardboard, for one. And the useless CD holder at the back of the centre console has been switched for a slightly-more-useful fourth cup holder. Also, the car is configured for all doors to open with one click but they lock after a few seconds of driving - this is how the pre-FL should have been by default. (I changed my FR's locking behaviour via the MFD options, but the most logical setting should have been the default.)
The little compass at the top-left of the MFD was a pleasant surprise too - should be really useful for those occasions where sat-nav is overkill but you just lose your bearings slightly. I don't know if the compass is specific to the Media System though? Slightly less impressive are the seats - I was spoiled by the wonderful black/grey alcantara seats in my pre-FL FR and that's one of the few things I miss about it. My new one has rather plain velour type upholstery and they're still acceptable I suppose but just not as good as the FR seats by any stretch. You can't have everything though, meh.
The new climate controls are a big improvement IMHO. Still not convinced that there's a need to duplicate the climate info on the stereo screen, but maybe there's a good reason I can't think of? I like the new Auto setting with two modes - a gentle one for only front passengers and a more eager setting for cooling down a full car of passengers.
In terms of drivability, the Ecomotive is nippier than I remember from the test drive I had: 1st and 2nd are actually quite rapid for getting moving and - as long as you ignore the gear change indicator on the MFD - the taller gearing of the remaining gears is quite subtle; you just need to wait longer before changing up. The gear change indicator seems to be pretty dumb though... going up hill especially, it often suggests changing up too soon and things can get a bit laboured if you take its advice (it then suggests you immediately change down again of course, stupid thing!). Not sure really what use it is, tbh: surely people know that using the highest gear possible without labouring the engine is the most efficient way to drive? Good for learner drivers and those people who might forget they have a fifth gear maybe? Hmm...
Cruising on major roads is a relaxed affair in the Ecomotive: 60mph is about 1500rpm or so (in 5th gear), and the little common rail diesel is very quiet inside the cabin. With the window open soon after starting from cold, the engine is pretty noisy, but that's to be expected. Once warmed up it's only a bit noisy especially with the windows closed. I think road noise is slightly improved against my FR, although there's not much in it and it might just be down to the wider, lower-profile tyres I had on my FR.
I got the convenience pack because it was required for the technology pack and so far I'm not convinced that having auto-everything is much more than a gimmick. After using the screen washers, the auto-wipers seem to get a bit carried away, for instance, and it turns the dipped-beam xenons on if it's merely a dull afternoon... bit overzealous IMHO. I've already swapped the bog-standard yellow-candle DRL bulbs for some of the blue/chrome MTECs and they are an improvement. Unfortunately one of the resistor wires that worked fine with LED sidelights in my FR, doesn't want to play with the new car. Probably just a dodgy connection I guess.
However, the new stereo - Media System 2.1 - is an absolute delight so far. The Bluetooth system is very easy, very clear and simple to use. And best of all, I no longer get the random disconnects with my iPhone 3GS, which used to drive me crazy in my FR. My Brodit pro-kit phone holder still fits perfectly on the A-pillar so that's obviously something that hasn't been tweaked for the facelift.
Haven't tried using the sat-nav for directions yet but in map mode it's perfectly clear enough.
With my FR's standard stereo, playing an MP3 CD wasn't great: you got a crappy scrolling display of truncated title information - only if you pressed a button - and the MFD just showed "folder X track Y" type details.
Playing mp3s from an SD card on the new system is refreshingly well implemented: you just insert the card and a few seconds later, it starts playing with what appears to be decent ID3 support so you get the artist and album shown as well as the track name in full... and you can navigate the folders properly. Nice!
As I type this, I'm filling a 32GB SDHC card with tunes so I shouldn't need to bother with CDs for quite some time.
Parking is altogether more relaxed now. Much as I loved the DSG for most driving, I grew tired of the occasionally-jerky low-speed manoeuvres with it (especially going up an incline in reverse, the DSG sometimes just seemed to lose the plot). It's been a real relief to be the master of my own clutch again! In fact, I hadn't realised how much the DSG had lost its appeal for me until I went back to a quality manual box. (I'd taken my FR in for diagnosis on the DSG some months ago but their 'Master Technician' chap said it was normal and I was probably just used to old-fashioned automatic gearboxes...)
With the front and rear parking sensors, the little cartoon of the car and surrounding space that appears on the stereo screen is totally pointless, of course, but it's a fun little "look at my fancy new car" type thing to show your friends. My 2 year old was impressed, anyway...
The main reason I switched, though, was the fuel costs: £350 per month on V-Power was slowly killing me and prices are only going to get worse. I'm happy to report that the Ecomotive is living up to its promises so far. I've only done just over 300 miles in it but already I'm seeing >60mpg journey average for my daily commute, according to the computer. Of course the engine is still running in and the trip computer probably needs to calibrate itself with a few tanks of fuel, but so far, the signs are very promising. I'm expecting to see >600 miles from the first tankful and that's impressive for a new engine I think. Once it's run-in a little, I reckon 850 miles per tank will be easily achievable and hopefully even more.
I was initially worried that the OE low rolling resistance tyres (Pirelli P7, 205/55 R16) were dangerously lacking in grip, but they just weren't scrubbed in. After a week's driving, they are so much better than when I left the dealer forecourt. For those who are interested, the recommended tyre pressures are much higher for this car than my FR - the petrol cap says 39psi on the front and up to 41psi at the back (depending on load). The OE tyres are exactly the same size as the winter tyres that I bought for my FR, so I'll swap to those in a few months time.
This hasn't adversely affected the ride quality in any way though... the ride of my Ecomotive is *so* much more comfortable than my FR - even compared to the Koni FSD/Eibach Pro combination that I'd had fitted to my FR. This is a real win for me as it's still not at all wallowy in the corners - just the right balance of firmness and compliance for a daily drive in my opinion (might be too soft for blasting it around a track, but then it's not the right car for that anyway!).
The auto start/stop thingey does it job perfectly although sometimes it doesn't kick in if, for instance, the engine is not yet warm enough or you have the air-con blasting away. I haven't quite worked out all of the conditions that need to be met for the stop/start to be enabled, but no matter: it works most of the time and at 40-50mpg around town, I'm not going to complain!
I will post some pics when this weather has cheered up enough for me to bother giving it a good clean.
If anyone else has one of these new tree-hugging Leons, I'd be interested to hear what you think of yours.
Executive summary: I'm very impressed so far.
As well as the facelift changes I was expecting, there are several little bits that have been fixed: there's a proper hard plastic battery cover instead of a piece of cardboard, for one. And the useless CD holder at the back of the centre console has been switched for a slightly-more-useful fourth cup holder. Also, the car is configured for all doors to open with one click but they lock after a few seconds of driving - this is how the pre-FL should have been by default. (I changed my FR's locking behaviour via the MFD options, but the most logical setting should have been the default.)
The little compass at the top-left of the MFD was a pleasant surprise too - should be really useful for those occasions where sat-nav is overkill but you just lose your bearings slightly. I don't know if the compass is specific to the Media System though? Slightly less impressive are the seats - I was spoiled by the wonderful black/grey alcantara seats in my pre-FL FR and that's one of the few things I miss about it. My new one has rather plain velour type upholstery and they're still acceptable I suppose but just not as good as the FR seats by any stretch. You can't have everything though, meh.
The new climate controls are a big improvement IMHO. Still not convinced that there's a need to duplicate the climate info on the stereo screen, but maybe there's a good reason I can't think of? I like the new Auto setting with two modes - a gentle one for only front passengers and a more eager setting for cooling down a full car of passengers.
In terms of drivability, the Ecomotive is nippier than I remember from the test drive I had: 1st and 2nd are actually quite rapid for getting moving and - as long as you ignore the gear change indicator on the MFD - the taller gearing of the remaining gears is quite subtle; you just need to wait longer before changing up. The gear change indicator seems to be pretty dumb though... going up hill especially, it often suggests changing up too soon and things can get a bit laboured if you take its advice (it then suggests you immediately change down again of course, stupid thing!). Not sure really what use it is, tbh: surely people know that using the highest gear possible without labouring the engine is the most efficient way to drive? Good for learner drivers and those people who might forget they have a fifth gear maybe? Hmm...
Cruising on major roads is a relaxed affair in the Ecomotive: 60mph is about 1500rpm or so (in 5th gear), and the little common rail diesel is very quiet inside the cabin. With the window open soon after starting from cold, the engine is pretty noisy, but that's to be expected. Once warmed up it's only a bit noisy especially with the windows closed. I think road noise is slightly improved against my FR, although there's not much in it and it might just be down to the wider, lower-profile tyres I had on my FR.
I got the convenience pack because it was required for the technology pack and so far I'm not convinced that having auto-everything is much more than a gimmick. After using the screen washers, the auto-wipers seem to get a bit carried away, for instance, and it turns the dipped-beam xenons on if it's merely a dull afternoon... bit overzealous IMHO. I've already swapped the bog-standard yellow-candle DRL bulbs for some of the blue/chrome MTECs and they are an improvement. Unfortunately one of the resistor wires that worked fine with LED sidelights in my FR, doesn't want to play with the new car. Probably just a dodgy connection I guess.
However, the new stereo - Media System 2.1 - is an absolute delight so far. The Bluetooth system is very easy, very clear and simple to use. And best of all, I no longer get the random disconnects with my iPhone 3GS, which used to drive me crazy in my FR. My Brodit pro-kit phone holder still fits perfectly on the A-pillar so that's obviously something that hasn't been tweaked for the facelift.
Haven't tried using the sat-nav for directions yet but in map mode it's perfectly clear enough.
With my FR's standard stereo, playing an MP3 CD wasn't great: you got a crappy scrolling display of truncated title information - only if you pressed a button - and the MFD just showed "folder X track Y" type details.
Playing mp3s from an SD card on the new system is refreshingly well implemented: you just insert the card and a few seconds later, it starts playing with what appears to be decent ID3 support so you get the artist and album shown as well as the track name in full... and you can navigate the folders properly. Nice!
As I type this, I'm filling a 32GB SDHC card with tunes so I shouldn't need to bother with CDs for quite some time.
Parking is altogether more relaxed now. Much as I loved the DSG for most driving, I grew tired of the occasionally-jerky low-speed manoeuvres with it (especially going up an incline in reverse, the DSG sometimes just seemed to lose the plot). It's been a real relief to be the master of my own clutch again! In fact, I hadn't realised how much the DSG had lost its appeal for me until I went back to a quality manual box. (I'd taken my FR in for diagnosis on the DSG some months ago but their 'Master Technician' chap said it was normal and I was probably just used to old-fashioned automatic gearboxes...)
With the front and rear parking sensors, the little cartoon of the car and surrounding space that appears on the stereo screen is totally pointless, of course, but it's a fun little "look at my fancy new car" type thing to show your friends. My 2 year old was impressed, anyway...
The main reason I switched, though, was the fuel costs: £350 per month on V-Power was slowly killing me and prices are only going to get worse. I'm happy to report that the Ecomotive is living up to its promises so far. I've only done just over 300 miles in it but already I'm seeing >60mpg journey average for my daily commute, according to the computer. Of course the engine is still running in and the trip computer probably needs to calibrate itself with a few tanks of fuel, but so far, the signs are very promising. I'm expecting to see >600 miles from the first tankful and that's impressive for a new engine I think. Once it's run-in a little, I reckon 850 miles per tank will be easily achievable and hopefully even more.
I was initially worried that the OE low rolling resistance tyres (Pirelli P7, 205/55 R16) were dangerously lacking in grip, but they just weren't scrubbed in. After a week's driving, they are so much better than when I left the dealer forecourt. For those who are interested, the recommended tyre pressures are much higher for this car than my FR - the petrol cap says 39psi on the front and up to 41psi at the back (depending on load). The OE tyres are exactly the same size as the winter tyres that I bought for my FR, so I'll swap to those in a few months time.
This hasn't adversely affected the ride quality in any way though... the ride of my Ecomotive is *so* much more comfortable than my FR - even compared to the Koni FSD/Eibach Pro combination that I'd had fitted to my FR. This is a real win for me as it's still not at all wallowy in the corners - just the right balance of firmness and compliance for a daily drive in my opinion (might be too soft for blasting it around a track, but then it's not the right car for that anyway!).
The auto start/stop thingey does it job perfectly although sometimes it doesn't kick in if, for instance, the engine is not yet warm enough or you have the air-con blasting away. I haven't quite worked out all of the conditions that need to be met for the stop/start to be enabled, but no matter: it works most of the time and at 40-50mpg around town, I'm not going to complain!
I will post some pics when this weather has cheered up enough for me to bother giving it a good clean.
If anyone else has one of these new tree-hugging Leons, I'd be interested to hear what you think of yours.
