Moley

iTrader: (9)

Anyone had one of these?

Looking at getting rid of my daily hack and getting a Seat Leon FR.

I assume the engine is good (being the 2.0 TDI from the VW's) but what is the rest of the car like?

Cheers

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Nice car I looked into these myself, I belive the later 09on engines are the better and more refined ones, but no arm rest in any of these models which is a shame, I like them but missus is not keen as it will be the main car, so now looking into the golf 1.6 d bluemotion.

EddScott

It is far more driveable than the old 1.9TDI but the engine itself is fairly poor. Unreliable and poor MPGs.

I've got an A4 170 Avant with the 2.0TDI and its been OK but lots of little niggles. Losing coolant all the time - still not sure. Loss of power - oil contamination of fuel system. Massive oil leak - currently in the garage for inspection hoping just a seal and not a f*cked engine.

On the other hand my mother has the 140 in her auto A4 and its not had one issue 12 month - although it is also not that great on fuel.

I wish I'd bought a petrol.

Moley

iTrader: (9)

That's interesting, i was under the assumption that the 2.0 TDI was bulletproof, will have to look into that.

I'd be getting it re-mapped anyway so a 1.9 wouldn't be an issue, as it'll have a better map put onto it.

EddScott

Sort of. Even with mapping the 1.9TDI won't rev like the 2.0. Granted neither have the pep of a petrol but the 2.0 revs much nicer and will just feel better.

The 2.0TDI engine is probably the worst diesel engine VAG have ever made. I firmly believe the coolant loss on my car is a cracked head.

pooeater

Had the 1.6tdi (12 plate) for the last 4 months, very well spec'd car alittle down on power but for the rest of the car is execellnt do like the FR's, had a golf 1.6 bluemotion (61plate) shockinglly bad new 2.0tdi astra very good also

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

What year cars are you quoting here? As the pre 2009 had its engine problems.

re the golf bluemotion, what's shockingly bad about it ?

EddScott

Ah, fair enough. I'm talking 2005-08 PD engines

oiler

iTrader: (1)

Had both models, the mrs has a 2009 with CR engine,she loves it!
2009 with CR engine is more refined plus lower road tax (£120). 2006-2009 pd engine has injector problems but a these can be changed under warranty, great cars for performance with resonable economy

yellowvanman

Gary,

the later Leon FR had have the same 170 engine as I have in the Golf.

1. Nice enough, but the mpg is poor for a diesel.

2. Was a bit concerned when my mechanic said, "Oh you bought one of those with the chocolate camshaft!" that said not had a prob and now approaching 90K miles.

3. The mapping improvements are not so big, as the engine is already more highly tuned.

In hindsight I would have bought a 140 model, and had that mapped, more power/torque and better mpg than I have now!

Wa

Saxo Boy

Yellow,

Is your engine the CR or PD? What sort of MPG are we talking here? I'm seriously considering a CR Leon FR TDI as my annual mileage is about to go up to 25-30k. I was banking on getting reasonable performance (possibly from remap) while still getting 45-50mpg on a run and around 35-40mpg in town. Is that not possible?

yellowvanman

Not sure CR or PD, it's a 57 plate Golf GT tdi 170 sport.

Round town with my wife driving averages 36 mpg, on a run 240 miles virtually all motorway, 42 mpg. A BMW 330D will equal or better this.

Nice to drive, but mpg is poor. As I said in the last post wish I had bought the 140 version and had it mapped.

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

A pd engine then which is the pre 2009 engine which are thought to be not as good as the cr engine which were made in the 2009 onwards cars. Better mpg,cheaper tax etc.

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Pd engine
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/review...fr-2006/34747/

Cr engine
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/review...fr-2006/43253/

Compare them all
http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/review...running-costs/

DT-SPD

iTrader: (7)

I ran a PD Golf GT Sport 170 for 4yrs and 100k miles and never got less than 50mpg. It was a company car and got abused daily. Had new injectors at 90k and a dpf delta pressure sensor at 20k. Was a great car but engine power delivery was v poor.

The newer cr engines are much better. Less noise, smoother, torque from 1k rpm and better*mpg. I have the 140 version in my Seat Exeo ST and average 50mpg so in a lighter Leon FR it will give v good mpg and performance. The 170 Leon FR+ would be my choice tho to be honest.

Jamescsti

They are not bullet proof, far from it but people still believe in the myth of VAG reliability.
I had the 140 version, the turbo was worn out at 40'000 miles and needed replacing.
170's suffer injector issues.

I would go for a Ford Focus TDCi personally if I wanted a diesel hatch.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Anything under a 2.5 diesel from vw then avoid, no where near as good as they use to be

Curtiz

iTrader: (2)

Unrelated but i just bought an Ibiza 1.9 TDI FR and its great. The amount of problems ive heard and read about the 2.0 TDI engine are frightening, enough to put me off ever wanting one. Suprised me

Saxo Boy

Are they substantiated Curtiz? Where are you reading these? If it's owner reports (lots of) on Seat, Audi and VW forums then, yeah, I'd be worried. If its one-off disgruntled owners, I wouldn't.

Brun

I do spend a fair amount of time on here VW/Audi bashing, but it is not without good reason. I very rarely see a broken down Seat but it is the 170 engine as fitted to the afor mentioned marques so I guess the issues are the same!

ChrisB

I had a test drive in one of the first Leon FR TDIs - would be able six years or so ago now. It had 18s on and the ride was terrible. It crashed and banged over everything.

Moley

iTrader: (9)

Test drove one today, and was pretty impressed.

It was the 550 model (different seats and wheels apparently) and actually thought the ride was very good.

I've looked into the engine issues, and being a 2009 car it 'should' be ok, as it seems the pre-07 2.0 models suffered the issues.

Got a decent part-ex price on the Fiesta, so just need the Mrs to take a test drive (technically it's her car) and will see if i can do a deal.

MPG isn't going to be as good as i hoped, but anything in the late 30's (or better) will be ok for me.

I've searched Pistonheads, and there really isn't anything else we fancy.

Saxo Boy

Moley, from your research what would you expect from a relatively steady 80mph run in terms of MPG? (guestimate PD & CR if you can).

Moley

iTrader: (9)

TBH i haven't researched much in terms of MPG.

I've been told to expect about 40 MPG from a guy at work (who has a 2011 Golf GTD), on a everyday basis (it'd rarely on on a motorway)

It might sound stupid, but i'm not buying if for the MPG, we're getting it just because we like the car itself.

Saxo Boy

40mpg on an every day basis doesn't seem bad; it suggests 45-50mpg is achievable on a run, which seems entirely reasonable to me.

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Sorry to go off topic but I could do with a review on the bluemotion as to why it's bad, as thinking of getting the wife one.