New Leon - Dissapointed

[Ruddmeister]

Went to test drive a Mk2 today and took the wife, left the little one behind but took a few essentials (pram mainly). Took out a Ref Sport 140bhp TDI.

The engine was good, the brakes were excellent, decent steering feel and very good body control through the bends. Overall I was impressed by the driving experience. Diesel clatter was noticeable when cold but on the move the engine was responsive and had decent performance.

Having owned 2 Mk1 Leons I was then shocked that the mk2 is smaller in terms of boot size, boot appeture for squeezing in big stuff and inside the cabin the 'cockpit' feel of the Mk2 made it feel small. We tried the pram and couldn't shut the boot! (Bearing in mind it fits flat in the boot of a Focus at the moment). I'm afraid the boot size and appeture has ruled it out for me, if I can't even squeeze a pram in the boot so it's a no go........we tried an Altea which was far better with the extra height in the boot.

Following this dissapointment I drove a Volvo V50 estate, with the drivers seat pushed back for me the rear leg room was poor. Again the pram in the estate took up more room than I would have guessed. I was amazed how small this car is too.

Back to the drawing board Leon is ruled out, Volvo is a maybe, Altea was better than I thought TBH......I'm going to need to drive some more cars before I part with my cash

I wonder how you 'family men' with Leon's cope

 

[deano w]

Test the audi a4 avant probably very good. Thinking of an a4 2.0t next myself

 

[Tam]

Skoda Octavia VRS

Jetta

 

[Craig Senior]

It's amazing how a £17k car purchase is dictated by a £100 pram isn't it.

We took the pram when we bought the Smart Fortwo and to my amazement it fitted better in that than in the Forfour that she has now

Altea is nice. It does seem abit more practical, space wise, than the Leon.

 

[wurzel]

Hear what you are saying about the boot! I'm one of the first to sing praises of mk 2 leon, but today I put the rear seats down to put my neice's mountain bike in the boot and couldn't believe what a struggle it was to fit it in. Its not a big deal for me as don't have kids yet but if it ever does happen It'll have to go.

 

[MarkE]

The Volvo is lousy for space - I drive with the seat all the way back and you'd struggle to get an adult sitting behind it in comfort.

The boot is also not as wide as you'd think so you end up with the back seats folded down for stuff that you'd think would fit no problem. I guess like the other cars in this sector it's more of a "sportwagon" than an estate.

Oh, and interior storage is a joke - you could get maybe 3 CDs in each door bin and even then they'd probably fall out because the bins are only a couple of inches deep. I suppose this is to make sure that you can't injure yourself on a load of extra stuff in the event of a side impact.

On the plus side, I'm loving my new Koni FSDs - total ride transformation.

 

[spyke85]

How long will a pram be in use for though? The Leon will be much more fun when the little ones grow up!

 

[skullmunki]

Was waiting for a taxi to the airport a few years ago, and an Octavia turned up.

"you do realise theres 4 of us?" i asked the driver worrying about getting all the cases in.

"yep" he replied and opened the boot. Jesus! think you could have got the 4 of us AND our cases in! (ok, thats a going over the top, but it has great boot space)

 

[Ruddmeister]

How long will a pram be in use for though? The Leon will be much more fun when the little ones grow up!

The pram itself isn't the issue it's the amount of boot space and appeture of the boot (the pram being an example of what we haul around), we went away earlier in the year with the Focus (for all it's faults it has a practical boot) with 3 adults and 1 child we were loaded to the roof lining and just got away with it.....the Leon would not be an option.

Problem is my car is barely used by anyone but me 5.5 days a week, but I do need more space sometimes and was dissappointed to find less space than a Mk1 Leon.

The Volvo is lousy for space - I drive with the seat all the way back and you'd struggle to get an adult sitting behind it in comfort.

The boot is also not as wide as you'd think so you end up with the back seats folded down for stuff that you'd think would fit no problem. I guess like the other cars in this sector it's more of a "sportwagon" than an estate.

On the plus side, I'm loving my new Koni FSDs - total ride transformation

The exact model I was looking at is the same as yours V50 2.0D Sport, can't disagree with your comments although it 'felt' larger than the Leon I was expecting it to be bigger.

It's still an option though.....anything else I should know about the Volvo?

 

[alx_chung]

Was waiting for a taxi to the airport a few years ago, and an Octavia turned up.

"you do realise theres 4 of us?" i asked the driver worrying about getting all the cases in.

"yep" he replied and opened the boot. Jesus! think you could have got the 4 of us AND our cases in! (ok, thats a going over the top, but it has great boot space)

I agree. I was in an Octy Taxi once to the Airport and it took a huge amount of stuff in the back, its almost Tardis like.
Alex

 

[Ruddmeister]

It's amazing how a £17k car purchase is dictated by a £100 pram isn't it.

£100 LOL, been a while since you purchased a 'travel system' then (start at £600)...

 

[Ruddmeister]

Was waiting for a taxi to the airport a few years ago, and an Octavia turned up.

"you do realise theres 4 of us?" i asked the driver worrying about getting all the cases in.

"yep" he replied and opened the boot. Jesus! think you could have got the 4 of us AND our cases in! (ok, thats a going over the top, but it has great boot space)

OK here we go......Skoda is not an option as I can't live with that 'Skoda' badge.

[Let the flaming commence ]

 

[skullmunki]

OK here we go......Skoda is not an option as I can't live with that 'Skoda' badge.

[Let the flaming commence ]

thats harsh

 

[Ruddmeister]

thats harsh

It's my cash

 

[MarkE]

...anything else I should know about the Volvo?

They handle much better than you'd expect (even on standard suspension).

They look daft on the 18" wheels if you don't go for the lowered chassis kit.

The economy of the 2.0D is pretty unimpressive (6th at motorway cruising speed still has the turbo spooling away nicely - good for performance, not so good for the fuel gauge).

The usual, varied mix of common problems. Mine's had a new EGR valve and associated software update, new driver's door lock (deadlock problem) and the driveshafts out for regreasing but everything was diagnosed and sorted by the dealer with no grief.

Main dealer servicing isn't the cheapest around.

I'd have another one (although I'd be tempted by the D5).

 

[driveforward]

I'd have another one (although I'd be tempted by the D5).

I tested both an s40 and s60 a while back when I was driving a pd130 Ibiza. The D5 in the s60 was an excellent engine (smooth, powerful, refined), the 2.0 D in the s40 was lacklustre and IMO inferior to the VAG 1.9 lump that I had at the time

 

[MarkE]

I tested both an s40 and s60 a while back when I was driving a pd130 Ibiza. The D5 in the s60 was an excellent engine (smooth, powerful, refined), the 2.0 D in the s40 was lacklustre and IMO inferior to the VAG 1.9 lump that I had at the time

There's a 1.6D as well now. More refined engine than the 2.0D but feels really short of grunt once you get out of second gear.

I feel a bit sorry for Volvo - in trying to compete with the premium sector as well as the rep-market, they've ended up with a pointlessly large range of engines (1.6, 1.8, 2.0, 2.4, 2.5T5, 1.6D, 2.0D, 2.3D5 at the last count).

 

[Cupra_power]

Will having this debate soon in our family. We will be needing something bigger for the wife, as her Renault is beginning to give problems, nothing major, but time for something with less mileage on it. Not sure what to get though, estate , MPV, large hatchback, transit van ? But it will be diesel that I do know.