Thinking of buying my first Leon

[Slaktare]

Hi guys,

I've been shopping around for a new (to me) car since my company have mandated a return to the office 2 days a week and my commute will be 1h 15m each way. I narrowed it down to a few pretty similar cars (Leon 2.0L 184ps, Golf GTD, Volvo V40 D4, BMW 120d) and have done a little test driving of some of these. I went to look at a 2017 Leon FR technology with 40k miles yesterday and I really enjoyed the drive. It's up for sale at £12,990 and I'm really considering pulling the trigger on it today.

I was just hoping for some general thoughts on the reliability of these, whether they would be fairly economical for the long drive, whether you enjoy driving yours and if there is anything I should be wary of before buying it? It seemed to be well looked after, FSH etc. I did ask about the cambelt change as i'd seen that this would be due at 50k miles but the service guy said that new information had come out that these are now due at 150k or something.

Thank you!

 

[H Rafiq]

Is it diesel or petrol? Diesel would be more economical on a long commute. Check the service book for what was actually done at each service. I bought my car with FDSH but, on closer inspection, certain work had been missed e.g. diff service, DSG service etc.

 

[txj2212]

I bought a 2019 Leon FR Sport, 2.0 TSI 190 DSG last week, as my old mk2 Leon was not ulez compliant. The car has been amazing, and even though I tested several other cars (A3, A-class & golfs), Leon just feels so much more sportier (interior & engine was more basic in the other tested cars I should mention, but similar price). It’s surprisingly rapid and a cannot recommend the car more! Go for the Leon, it’s cheaper, and you get much more for the money.

 

[SuperV8]

Hi guys,

I've been shopping around for a new (to me) car since my company have mandated a return to the office 2 days a week and my commute will be 1h 15m each way. I narrowed it down to a few pretty similar cars (Leon 2.0L 184ps, Golf GTD, Volvo V40 D4, BMW 120d) and have done a little test driving of some of these. I went to look at a 2017 Leon FR technology with 40k miles yesterday and I really enjoyed the drive. It's up for sale at £12,990 and I'm really considering pulling the trigger on it today.

I was just hoping for some general thoughts on the reliability of these, whether they would be fairly economical for the long drive, whether you enjoy driving yours and if there is anything I should be wary of before buying it? It seemed to be well looked after, FSH etc. I did ask about the cambelt change as i'd seen that this would be due at 50k miles but the service guy said that new information had come out that these are now due at 150k or something.

Thank you!

Hi,
Cambelts usually also have a time interval - which usually comes first - on the EA288 (Leon TDI 184/Golf GTD engine) according to my data is 5 years or 130,000 miles, which ever comes first.
So your 2017 would be due a cambelt/waterpump change.

Common issue (on all MQB cars including GTD) is the heater matrix blocking up - which in a 'simple' car would just reduce you cabin heat - BUT on the MQB cars, the heater matrix is on a micro cooling circuit with the EGR valve, so a blocked matrix causes coolant over pressure after a DPF regen and you loose coolant out your expansion tank. Simple to fit a new Matrix - after a cooling system flush.

Value for money I can't beat my Leon ST 184 - quick, cheap £35tax (compared to anything equivalent/GTD), efficient, big boot - and I think look nice with LED lights. Does high 50's - 60+mpg on a run at motorway speeds - and have seen 70+ a few times during slow/cruise journeys.
My 25mile work commute usually returns 60-62mpg unless DPF's regening then probably 55. Not dawdling, doing national speed limits + some traffic.

 

[Slaktare]

Thanks all, apologies for the late reply!

I took the leap in the end, bought the car and i'm picking it up on Friday! Really looking forward to it as I enjoyed the test drive a lot!