Advice for a small family estate - 2017+ Seat Leon FR DSG

Associate
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Hi Chaps,

Well the time has come that my wife needs to get rid of her trusty Fiesta and get something a bit bigger now that we have an 8 month old. The Fiesta has been doing OK up till now but with it only being a 3 door we figured getting something a bit bigger for a family car was the way to go.

After doing some searching around we'd quite like a small estate car as this will offer us the practicality we're looking for. Top of the list is a 2017+ Seat Leon Estate 1.4 FR Technology DSG (the 1.8 would also work as well). It seems to tick all of the boxes that she would like (auto, practical, pretty good MPG, not too big) and can be had in budget, £18k or less.

I'm very out of touch with modern cars these days but from what I have read about, there doesn't seem to be much that goes wrong with them. Are you guys aware of anything I should look out for? Servicing seems to be every year or 12k, cam-belt and water pump every 5 years and the DSG is a sealed unit so should be OK?

I'm thinking about going to see this (https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202112010137550) at the weekend so any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

W
 
Soldato
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The DSG being the 'sealed for life' dry clutch is probably the weakest link. I don't think the later ones are as bad as the earlier examples but I'd not typically expect it to be as reliable as the wet clutch varieties. That said, it's all relative and there's a huge number of these boxes out there now, so it's natural you'll see them going wrong.

You could well benefit from taking out the 'All In' warranty and service package though, at £750 or so for 2 years - it'll include 2 services, 2 MOTs, roadside assistance and a fairly comprehensive warranty. That would go a long way to easing any worries on the gearbox.
 

mjt

mjt

Soldato
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The gearbox is pretty much the only thing to look out for really. It’s a decent platform that is shared across many cars. Boot is big in the Leon and Golf estates but rear legroom suffers.

I found the 1.4 150 coupled with DSG a little too sluggish for me, so I punted it on after less than a year. The Golf 7 was refined and comfortable car though, so no complaints there.
 
Soldato
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The DSG being the 'sealed for life' dry clutch is probably the weakest link.
similar to better wet dsg higher power leon/skoda, is there also a distinction between rear suspension from torsion beam to multi-link ?

Seats targetting younger generation used to push superior infotainment over skoda variant - is that still a benefit, too.
 
Soldato
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In laws have one of these and they think it's great.

No major known issues I don't think.

similar to better wet dsg higher power leon/skoda, is there also a distinction between rear suspension from torsion beam to multi-link ?

Seats targetting younger generation used to push superior infotainment over skoda variant - is that still a benefit, too.
The 1.8 will get the multi link, the 1.4 torsion beam

Infotainment is the same MQB stuff across the range for that generation. The one with the buttons is probably better than the widescreen with touch only tbh. At least more practical
 
Soldato
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I have one as a company car, it is OK but in many ways I preferred the Focus I had previously.

On the plus side I think they are a nice looking car especially as an estate in FR Tech trim. Kit wise they are pretty good, my one had a few options but TBH I could easily live without them.

Downsides;
Build quality. I've had my one basically from new and it has squeaks and rattles pretty much from day 1. General finish is OK but they've scrimped on quality where they think it won't be noticed. Removing a chunk of skin on a bit of unfinished plastic down the side of the drivers seat was a particular highlight.

Ride quality. The rear torsion bar you get on the 1.4 does nothing for the ride quality. I've got the optional 18" wheels on my one and they only go to make matters worse.

Nav. I've used it maybe three times and that was enough for me. It's just not very good at all. Perfect example, A14 it sends you off the slip road, over the roundabout then straight back onto the A14 again... not just once, just whenever it feels like it :rolleyes: So make sure the car you are getting has Android Auto / Carplay enabled or budget the £250 to get it done.

Rear legroom. This is the trade off for that big boot. In my normal driving position I can barely get in the back seat and I sure wouldn't want to try and travel anywhere like that!

Paint. This might just be a modern car thing but my one is in the best colour IMO (mystery blue) so it is a shame that the paint scratches if you so much as breathe on it :rolleyes:

Overall for £15.6k as a pre-reg with 10 miles on the clock I wasn't going to get anything better with my 15k budget the company gave me to buy a used car. Not without shafting myself on BIK to drive a 3+ year old car anyway. As a private buyer and having had this one for three years I'm not sure I'd get one using my own money.
 
Soldato
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At 15k the Focus estate should be a good alternative but I'm not sure if their auto gearboxes are as good as the VAG offerings. The 308 estate has the biggest boot in the class btw
 
Soldato
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I was pretty impressed with the 308 although I didn't drive one. Huge boot and really nice inside with the pano roof.

Forgot to mention that my Leon is a manual so can't comment on the DSG but engine wise it is adequate if nothing more.

Just looked at the AT link and that car has the upgraded wheels which don't help with the ride quality, they do look good though... on the plus side it says it has the Full Link (android auto / carplay) already active.
 
Soldato
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Also worth a look:

Skoda Rapid Spaceback
Skoda Fabia

I test drove a Leon, but for me, I did not like the driving position, it felt like it was pointing inwards a bit rather than straight forward. They are decent enough cars though.

The Honda Jazz might also be worth a look, they are quite practical for their size.
 
Associate
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Thanks for the replies chaps.

Interesting point on the suspension between the 1.4 and 1.8, I hadn't realised that there was a difference. I must say I'm not set on the 1.4 as the extra power from the 1.8 may come in handy, I'm sure the test drive will be the decider for this.

We're specifically looking at 2017+ models as that is when they did a model refresh so you get a much better infotainment system amongst some other upgrades. Pretty much anything will be an upgrade from a 12 year old 1.2 Fiesta though haha.

Rear leg room probably wont be too much of an issue for us but thanks for pointing it out as I'll give it a test.

As for the DSG, I guess I should be looking out for sluggish gear changes to see if it has any issues?
 
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I was pretty impressed with the 308 although I didn't drive one. Huge boot and really nice inside with the pano roof.
My wife has a 308SW which has been great apart from a major failure caused by the cambelt failing less than 6 months after a warranty recall. Leaving aside the reliability angle it is very good as a small estate car, 660L boot is bigger than nearly all cars from the class above and it has decent kit in GT Line trim. Prices are silly on them now though, looking on AT cheapest petrol GT line in the country is £12.25k for a 66 plate :eek:

The other cars under consideration at the time (big boots in not very big cars) were the Leon ST, the Octavia Estate and the Civic Tourer so you might want to look into the latter two.
 
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