Seat Leon 2013 Onwards - Which petrol engine?

Soldato
Joined
24 Sep 2007
Posts
4,566
Hi Guys

I'm thinking of buying a petrol Seat Leon, 2013 onwards. Has anyone got the 1.2 TSI? Do you find it has enough performance for decent acceleration/overtaking when needed? I don't want a fast car, but I like to have reasonable performance when it's needed for driving situations. I'd like to have the economy of the 1.2, but would consider the 1.4 if necessary.

Any other thoughts on this car?

Thanks
 
Don
Joined
24 Feb 2004
Posts
11,879
Location
-
If you're keeping the car long-term, the 1.5TSi is where I'd put my money.

(Well, actually if it were my money I'd be buying the 1.8Tsi or the 2.0TSi, but in your situation the 1.5Tsi should suit fine :D )
 
Associate
Joined
6 Jul 2010
Posts
2,059
I have the 1.2TSI in my Fabia and it is a very decent engine. It produces around 110bhp which is more than enough for everyday motoring. If I need to quickly accelerate without fully pushing the accelerator, I just put the DSG into S mode. This is due to the DSG in normal mode changing gears at 2,000rpm, which for an engine this small is not very nice when you want to accelerate quickly.

I also drove the 1.4TSI in an Octavia, and that is much quicker with a good dose of torque throughout most of the rev range.

In terms of economy I managed 62mpg going to from South Wales to Kent, driving not more than 70mph; mostly sat at 65mph, in the 1.2TSI in the Fabia. Normal driving (which is roughly 50% motorway traffic, 50mph average and 50% city driving) yields around 45mpg.

In the Octavia with the 1.4TSI, on motorway travel at 65mph I managed to achieve around 60mpg, and city driving around 40mpg. However when both cars were pushed above 75mph, the Octavia with the 1.4TSI engine would get slightly better economy.

All in all, I would say between the two engines, the economy is not that different and wouldn't affect my decision. Just get a car in the spec you like with either engine, as both are very good; however if faced with two cars with the same spec, I would pick the 1.4TSI even if it meant a slightly higher price.
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Sep 2006
Posts
2,781
Location
Hampshire
I have a 2014 1.8TSI and it's a lovely engine. Very smooth and quiet, but quick if worked hard. If I go steady on the motorway I can easily see 45-50mpg. Usually at around 70-80mph I get 40ish mpg.

Other benefit of the 1.8 is you get independent rear suspension. I also like the fact that the 1.8 has direct and port injection, meaning less chance of carbon build up.
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Apr 2009
Posts
3,159
Hi Guys

I'm thinking of buying a petrol Seat Leon, 2013 onwards. Has anyone got the 1.2 TSI? Do you find it has enough performance for decent acceleration/overtaking when needed? I don't want a fast car, but I like to have reasonable performance when it's needed for driving situations. I'd like to have the economy of the 1.2, but would consider the 1.4 if necessary.

Any other thoughts on this car?

Thanks

My wife has the 1.2tsi DSG in Lime Green :D. Its economical with her driving it will do about 450-480 miles a tank, and costs £30 to tax. Its smooth and has enough poke to overtake and pull away quickly, it does need to be rev'd as there isnt a lot of low down torque. You need to be mindful that going to the 1.4tsi is only in the FR trim where as the 1.2tsi is only in the SE trim making the 1.2tsi cheaper to buy. If you can afford it I would go 1.4tsi as you get more kit and a better enginer with cylinder shutdown.

I wouldn't bother with the 1.8tsi, its not that must faster than the 1.4tsi and the benefits of independent rear suspension are not worth the extra cost for a 150bhp hatchback.
 
Don
Joined
24 Feb 2004
Posts
11,879
Location
-
Thanks guys. Any more thoughts anyone?

Sorry, I should have given some background :)

My wife's 2013 Octavia has got the 1.4TSi engine. My father has a 2018 Golf with the 1.5TSi and my mother has a 2019 Leon FR 2.0Tsi and I did a number of test drives on the smaller engines :)

For the size of the car, the 1.4/1.5TSi are a much better match than the 1.0 or 1.2. Unless you go for the 1.8/2.0TSi..
 
Soldato
Joined
15 Aug 2005
Posts
22,947
Location
Glasgow
1.4 TSI ACT. Make sure it's the ACT, you get more power (150PS), better fuel economy and it's apparently more reliable.

The 1.5 unit has only been available since the facelift so presumably given you've said 2013 onwards, you're looking at pre-facelift. The 1.4 ACT came in in 2014 if I remember correctly and is available on the FR trim; before that it was a different 1.4 engine without Active Cylinder Tech and was about 140PS.
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
18,299
I had a 1.2tsi rental for a couple of days. Quite a decent engine, it's not fast but thanks to the turbo it's not sluggish either, for a city car it's nice, found it very economical too. Looking to get one with a DSG box for the other half but they aren't too plentiful on the market.
 
Associate
Joined
25 Sep 2016
Posts
885
Wife drives a 1.4tsi ACT great little engine - if your careful 60mpg at 70mph, 40-45mpg around town, and 150hp if your not :p

ps.ACT means it goes to 2 cylinders when under light load conditions

Its not the most refined engine but clean, nippy and economical
 
Soldato
Joined
30 Sep 2003
Posts
15,875
Location
Norwich
The 1.5 unit has only been available since the facelift so presumably given you've said 2013 onwards, you're looking at pre-facelift. The 1.4 ACT came in in 2014 if I remember correctly and is available on the FR trim; before that it was a different 1.4 engine without Active Cylinder Tech and was about 140PS.
Not necessarily. My 68 plate Leon ST is the non-ACT version with 125bhp.

I've read lots of negativity about the 1.5 TSI at low revs but I don't know how much of that is just internet noise.
 
Soldato
Joined
5 Dec 2008
Posts
17,283
I have 14 plate 1.2 TSi automatic, I can't compare to other cars as its my first however, its quick to go considering its size and does very well on motorway etc.

I don't know how much diff the auto compared to the manual would be though
 
Associate
Joined
5 Mar 2017
Posts
2,216
Location
Cambridge
My wife has the 1.2tsi DSG in Lime Green :D. Its economical with her driving it will do about 450-480 miles a tank, and costs £30 to tax. Its smooth and has enough poke to overtake and pull away quickly, it does need to be rev'd as there isnt a lot of low down torque. You need to be mindful that going to the 1.4tsi is only in the FR trim where as the 1.2tsi is only in the SE trim making the 1.2tsi cheaper to buy. If you can afford it I would go 1.4tsi as you get more kit and a better enginer with cylinder shutdown.

I wouldn't bother with the 1.8tsi, its not that must faster than the 1.4tsi and the benefits of independent rear suspension are not worth the extra cost for a 150bhp hatchback.
Ti must disagree about the 1.8. Owned one. The only reason the torque is capped at 250 is because of the automatic gearbox, which can't handle more than this. Mine was remapped to 260 odd hp. Quite hard to compare with the 1.4, really. The 1.8 standard is more than 150bhp.
 
Associate
Joined
31 Oct 2010
Posts
300
Mrs V has the 1.4 ACT 150hp, and it’s a great little engine.
Oil consumption is a little higher than I would like - maybe 1L in-between services, but that’s not unusual, apparently.
40mpg+ in daily use, and loads of torque up to 4500rpm, after which it tails off.
 
Associate
Joined
5 Mar 2017
Posts
2,216
Location
Cambridge
Mrs V has the 1.4 ACT 150hp, and it’s a great little engine.
Oil consumption is a little higher than I would like - maybe 1L in-between services, but that’s not unusual, apparently.
40mpg+ in daily use, and loads of torque up to 4500rpm, after which it tails off.
Exactly the difference for the 1.8, where it still going to the red line. Don't forget the 1.8 is the engine used for the polo/Ibiza GTi. Clearly capped because they wanted to use the poor DSG 7 speed which can't handle more than 250nm of torque.
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2010
Posts
21,785
Wife drives a 1.4tsi ACT great little engine - if your careful 60mpg at 70mph
impressive (your wifes driving) that's diesel territory.


had a glance at the 1.5 ACT wltp/nedc scores (4l/100Km~60mpg = 235/4)
https://www.seat.de/content/dam/cou...e/leon/cars-models-pricelist-5F1-NA-NA-NA.pdf
48923773002_634689b2a7_o_d.jpg

... pity we don' get the gas versions here.
 
Back
Top Bottom