Seat Leon 2012: Any suggestions?

[TarekElsakka]

Hello there,

I'm in the market for a new car after losing my 2011 Mazda 3 in an accident which resulted in a total loss, and the 2012 Seat Leon is one of my two top choices, the other being the 2012 Opel/Vauxhall Astra.

I live in Egypt and most vehicles here are operated by 1.6 engines due to the high taxes/customs rate in the country. The Leon I am looking at has a 1.6 DSG engine with 102ps/75kw/5600rpm and 148Nm / 3800rpm Torque. The engine is the same as the one in the Golf 6.

I have a couple of questions regarding the Seat Leon and I'd appreciate it if someone can help me with them:

1) How is the ride? Do you like it? I have driven the 2010 Seat Ibiza and it's quite nice and speedy but I don't like how when you are stopping because of a red light, for instance, and you hit the brake, it automatically changes the gear to N and then takes a couple of seconds till it switches back to D.

2) How is the stability of the car? Is it as stable (more, less, equal) as the 2011 Mazda 3 which was very stable?

3) What do you think about the interior quality? To me it seems a bit like cheap plastic rather than the expensive plastic in the Opel/Vauxhall Astra.

4) Are there any problems with the DSG? A friend of mine has the Golf 6 (with the same engine as the one in the Leon, as I said) and he had problems with his DSG before and I wouldn't want that!

5) Are there any things I should know or beware of about the car?

Thank you very much, guys.

Oh and by the way, I heard there's a whole new Seat Leon model coming out in 2012, is that true?

If that is the case, then I'd much rather wait for it to come out or just go for the Astra as buying a car that is succeeded by another whole-new, better-looking model a little less than 6 - 7 months later as that would KILL the resale value and overall demand for of/for the car.

Thank you very much in advance!

 

[Hugo Nebula]

Hello there,

I'm in the market for a new car after losing my 2011 Mazda 3 in an accident which resulted in a total loss, and the 2012 Seat Leon is one of my two top choices, the other being the 2012 Opel/Vauxhall Astra.

I live in Egypt and most vehicles here are operated by 1.6 engines due to the high taxes/customs rate in the country. The Leon I am looking at has a 1.6 DSG engine with 102ps/75kw/5600rpm and 148Nm / 3800rpm Torque. The engine is the same as the one in the Golf 6.

I have a couple of questions regarding the Seat Leon and I'd appreciate it if someone can help me with them:

1) How is the ride? Do you like it? I have driven the 2010 Seat Ibiza and it's quite nice and speedy but I don't like how when you are stopping because of a red light, for instance, and you hit the brake, it automatically changes the gear to N and then takes a couple of seconds till it switches back to D.

I haven't had this problem with the 6-speed DSG. It doesn't drop into neutral, but it holds on to a higher gear, so that it will be wrong-footed if you need to pull away quickly. That's what the paddles are for; either that, or a stamp on the gas pedal will drop it down.

3) What do you think about the interior quality? To me it seems a bit like cheap plastic rather than the expensive plastic in the Opel/Vauxhall Astra.

Plastic is plastic! I care more about how a car handles and performs than whether the dash has squishy plastic or not.

4) Are there any problems with the DSG? A friend of mine has the Golf 6 (with the same engine as the one in the Leon, as I said) and he had problems with his DSG before and I wouldn't want that!

Search here and on VW forums for DSG problems, and you'll find some; mainly the mechatronic units. However, compare that to the number of cars with these gearboxes, and you'll probably find that it's no greater than for conventional gearboxes/clutches. I'm on my third (6-gear), and I had an issue with one having a jerky change which was sorted out under warranty. If you're buying new, then you have the advantage of a warranty if there is any problem.

 

[Nath.]

I used to have a MK2 Leon, I now have an Astra J and it's no where near as good as a MK2 Leon.

The Astra J is a very heavy car, this makes for bad MPG and not very much go. It also suffers badly with rain filling up the footwells. Oh and changing to LED running lights will cost you an arm and a leg.

Leon all the way (or forget both of them and get an Exeo)