Seat Leon alternative suggestions

sigma · 4 Oct 2012 at 15:16

It appears that I need a car that'll do around 40+mpg on a 60 mile round trip, all motorway.

Debating on budget because I don't want anything too nice as it'll get marked in the car park no doubt (and I'm a bit OCD with things like that

) but equally I don't want anything too banger-esque.

So let's set a rough budget of around £5k.

I've ruled out 330ds due to reliability concerns - 330i won't really be all the economical.

That has lead me onto the Leon (not keen on the looks of the Toledo and the VW alternatives offer less value for money). In diesel form it'll do over the required 40mpg and I should be able to pick one up for far less than £5k.

Is there anything out there that I should go for instead?

Quite happy to go for a petrol, providing it won't rape the wallet at the pump. Doesn't have to be particularly fast either.

sigma · 4 Oct 2012 at 15:21

Tute · 4 Oct 2012 at 15:21

£5K for a motorway driver screams Mondeo to me - you might want to take a look at the petrol versions first though, the diesels get injector and DMF failure.

A 2.0 petrol should be ample.

sigma · 4 Oct 2012 at 15:26

Will the 2.0 achieve 40mpg on the motorway?

I prefer the smaller size of the Leon, the car will most likely be parked on the road and parking can be a bit tight.

I'd love an ST220 but I can't see that averaging more than 30 at best, it's around mid-20s from what I gather.

PAz · 4 Oct 2012 at 15:34

As a Leon fan (previously 2004 FR Tdi, and now own a 2007 Cupra) I'd say stick with the Leon idea. Under 5k should get you a very nice mk1 Leon FR. For that price you'll be able to pick one up with leather interior and cruise control if you are willing to put the effort in. The 1.9 TDI Engine is a nice enough for a diesel and will give you a decent mix between performance and economy.

Watch our for the leaky footwell issue if you are looking at the mk1s though

sigma · 4 Oct 2012 at 15:37

FR = Cupra, yeah?

I read a review on Honest John which said that the 130bhp is more reliable than the 150bhp and isn't really all that much slower. Coupled with smaller, cheaper tyres I'm thinking about just going for the 130 SE. If I'm doing it to save £, I might as well go all out.

Trouble is, there don't seem to be many of them about so that is partly the reason why I posted the thread up. I can wait for the right one to pop up but I don't want to be waiting for ages - I really would like cruise! I've seen a the cruise control stalk on ebizzle, do you know if it's just a case of plug and play for a car that doesn't have it already?

Tute · 4 Oct 2012 at 15:40

sigma said:
Will the 2.0 achieve 40mpg on the motorway?

I absolutely don't see why not as long as you're not nailing it.

I prefer the smaller size of the Leon, the car will most likely be parked on the road and parking can be a bit tight.

Find one with parking sensors then.

I'd love an ST220 but I can't see that averaging more than 30 at best, it's around mid-20s from what I gather.

Howard's the man to ask about that, but I can't see you getting 40MPG sadly. You'll have to sacrifice economy if you want one of those.

sigma · 4 Oct 2012 at 15:45

Tute said:
Find one with parking sensors then.

It's more a case of leaving enough space for the neighbour/visitor to park. Size isn't too high on the criteria list though.

Tute said:
You'll have to sacrifice economy if you want one of those.

Unfortunately

Part of me is tempted to think, **** it, just buy what you want and worry about the fuel bills when they arrive, they won't cripple me but fuel prices aren't exactly going to go down anytime soon and a motorway drive @ 70mph will feel the same whether it is in a dirty diesel or petrol.

sigma · 4 Oct 2012 at 15:47

320i?

DiscoKandy · 4 Oct 2012 at 15:52

I read a review on Honest John which said that the 130bhp is more reliable than the 150bhp and isn't really all that much slower. Coupled with smaller, cheaper tyres I'm thinking about just going for the 130 SE. If I'm doing it to save £, I might as well go all out.

out of interest, what is it that makes the 150bhp 1.9TDI less reliable than other outputs ?

sigma · 4 Oct 2012 at 15:54

No idea, this is what Honest John says:

The best PD units are mid-period 1.9s with solenoid injectors. Avoid the later piezo injector engines and avoid the 2.0 PD at all costs because of the likelihood of oil pump drive failure - especially in N-S installations. The earliest PD engines had a rather complex and flaky fuel cooling system which is also better avoided.

The best vintage PD is probably an '04 1.9 130 (AWX) - the 150 HP units are not as reliable and don't actually go much better.

NeverWinter · 4 Oct 2012 at 16:01

Looked at the Jetta?

sigma · 4 Oct 2012 at 16:12

NeverWinter said:
Looked at the Jetta?

A quick look doesn't seem to bring many up for sale.

If I'm going to get a car of that size then a 2.0 Ghia Mondy looks like it's going to be pretty much impossible to beat.

2.5 Ghia X for less than 2k and the rest kept for petrol?

NeverWinter · 4 Oct 2012 at 16:14

Well, it's essentially a Golf with a saloon boon stuck on it. But yeah, you're probably right.

Myshra · 4 Oct 2012 at 16:23

DiscoKandy said:
out of interest, what is it that makes the 150bhp 1.9TDI less reliable than other outputs ?

I want to say different turbo and injectors to the 130. The 150 had a FMIC rather than a Side mounted too. At a fairly obvious guess, one of these parts failed a bit more often than the others. Please, whatever you do, do the water test though - that leak is fairly common. I had 2 PD130s (both AWX) upto 120k each on all motorway miles, I lost 1 turbo between them (Borg Warner / Garrett make the 130's turbo) and one small wiring loom that cost £70 to fix. No DPF on any of these, never had any issues with the oem clutch or the like.

I think you have to enable CC with VAGCOM which can be had from £9 to £200 depending on your chosen source - make sure you get the right cable.

Going the petrol Ford path might allow you to get a petrol unit for under budget and then just using some of the excess for fuel, don't get too hung up on MPG unless you're coming to join us in the 25k+ club

sigma · 4 Oct 2012 at 16:44

Myshra said:
I want to say different turbo and injectors to the 130. The 150 had a FMIC rather than a Side mounted too. At a fairly obvious guess, one of these parts failed a bit more often than the others. Please, whatever you do, do the water test though - that leak is fairly common. I had 2 PD130s (both AWX) upto 120k each on all motorway miles, I lost 1 turbo between them (Borg Warner / Garrett make the 130's turbo) and one small wiring loom that cost £70 to fix. No DPF on any of these, never had any issues with the oem clutch or the like.

I think you have to enable CC with VAGCOM which can be had from £9 to £200 depending on your chosen source - make sure you get the right cable.

Going the petrol Ford path might allow you to get a petrol unit for under budget and then just using some of the excess for fuel, don't get too hung up on MPG unless you're coming to join us in the 25k+ club

Thanks for the very informative post!

Regarding your last point, I think this is probably the way forward. Why should I burden myself with a diesel?

Having had a look outside, it'll be pretty tight to park a Mondeo in the normal spot and still leave space for another car, might have to look at the Focus instead.

Or the 1.8T Cupra

ShiWarrior · 4 Oct 2012 at 16:47

sigma said:
Will the 2.0 achieve 40mpg on the motorway?

I prefer the smaller size of the Leon, the car will most likely be parked on the road and parking can be a bit tight.

I'd love an ST220 but I can't see that averaging more than 30 at best, it's around mid-20s from what I gather.

my clio sport (2.0) does 45 MPG on the motorway

Jono8 · 4 Oct 2012 at 16:50

I know this is opinion, but the pre facelift Leon interior makes me do a little sick in my mouth.

I was so close to getting a leon cupra/fr but couldnt stomach the interior so went for an Octavia VRS instead.

Or are we talking mk1 leons?

sigma · 4 Oct 2012 at 16:56

ShiWarrior said:
my clio sport (2.0) does 45 MPG on the motorway

No French cars

been burned in the past, they ruined my attitude towards cars.

Jono8 said:
I know this is opinion, but the pre facelift Leon interior makes me do a little sick in my mouth.

I was so close to getting a leon cupra/fr but couldnt stomach the interior so went for an Octavia VRS instead.

Or are we talking mk1 leons?

As long as the seats (har har) are comfortable then I'm not too fussed on the interior. I'm open to any mk.

Octavia is a good shout but, again, it is on the large side.

Jono8 · 4 Oct 2012 at 17:01

sigma said:
Octavia is a good shout but, again, it is on the large side.

Fair enough. Personally i prefer bigger cars.

mk2 leon interior really is super naff. The facelift and the mk1 interior is a lot nicer.