2013 Seat Leon FR Diesel. nice. But Seat are scrimping - its no longer a Golf in drag
04 February 2014, 01:48 PM
#1
2013 Seat Leon FR Diesel. nice. But Seat are scrimping - its no longer a Golf in drag
Had the joy of doing a service on one. And thought I'd do a mini review of it.
Nice car, drives nice, goes nice, stops nice. Plenty of oomph (too much for the front wheels to cope without electronic aids at least), turbo kicks in at very low rpms with little lag. Steering feedback has the typical VAG feel, too light for my liking, but I'm used to it (no different to my R32's steering). LED array headlamps are cool (although probably very expensive to fix if they go wrong). Interior is nice.
Engine has a interesting turbo setup, the DPF/cat bolted straight to the turbo) with a chargecooler instead of a intercooler (like a Legacy 4cam Turbo
). Exhaust system has a exhaust valve in the middle, which is odd, I don't know if thats for extra engine braking or emissions 
Anyhoo what stuck out like a sore thumb underneath was the distinct lack of current Golf underpinnings that previous Leons enjoyed....The front subframe is pressed steel, not die-cast alloy. The front wishbones, bushings and mounting points are more comparable to a VW Polo or MK3 Golf as opposed to the chunky MK5/6 Golf wishbones.
The same at the rear too...its a beam axle. Like on Polos and MK4 Golfs. NOT independant like that on the old Leon and current Golfs and A3s etc.
So it look like Seat are pinching the pennies in the chassis department, this cars suspension is more like that of a Polo or old Golf MK4.
Strange as the magazine reviews said the FR would retain the independant rear suspension, but this FR clearly has a beam axle. So either Seat have altered the spec without telling anyone, or the journalists got it wrong (probably the latter). Maybe its only the petrol FRs that have the independant rear suspension?
Thats not to say it drove any worse for it...I can't comment too much on handling as I didn't drive it hard enough to challenge it. But it felt taught enough without being too jiggly. I suspect its true test would be at speed on bumpy B-roads as thats where the less complex suspension would suffer most.
But one thing is for certain the Seat fanboys can't any longer state claim its chassis and suspension (and therefore handling ) is shared with a Golf or A3. As they are now very different.
(unless VW plan to do it too...MK6 golf is still fully independant at the back, even on basic 1.4TSi models )
Nice car, drives nice, goes nice, stops nice. Plenty of oomph (too much for the front wheels to cope without electronic aids at least), turbo kicks in at very low rpms with little lag. Steering feedback has the typical VAG feel, too light for my liking, but I'm used to it (no different to my R32's steering). LED array headlamps are cool (although probably very expensive to fix if they go wrong). Interior is nice.
Engine has a interesting turbo setup, the DPF/cat bolted straight to the turbo) with a chargecooler instead of a intercooler (like a Legacy 4cam Turbo
). Exhaust system has a exhaust valve in the middle, which is odd, I don't know if thats for extra engine braking or emissions Anyhoo what stuck out like a sore thumb underneath was the distinct lack of current Golf underpinnings that previous Leons enjoyed....The front subframe is pressed steel, not die-cast alloy. The front wishbones, bushings and mounting points are more comparable to a VW Polo or MK3 Golf as opposed to the chunky MK5/6 Golf wishbones.
The same at the rear too...its a beam axle. Like on Polos and MK4 Golfs. NOT independant like that on the old Leon and current Golfs and A3s etc.
So it look like Seat are pinching the pennies in the chassis department, this cars suspension is more like that of a Polo or old Golf MK4.
Strange as the magazine reviews said the FR would retain the independant rear suspension, but this FR clearly has a beam axle. So either Seat have altered the spec without telling anyone, or the journalists got it wrong (probably the latter). Maybe its only the petrol FRs that have the independant rear suspension?
Thats not to say it drove any worse for it...I can't comment too much on handling as I didn't drive it hard enough to challenge it. But it felt taught enough without being too jiggly. I suspect its true test would be at speed on bumpy B-roads as thats where the less complex suspension would suffer most.
But one thing is for certain the Seat fanboys can't any longer state claim its chassis and suspension (and therefore handling ) is shared with a Golf or A3. As they are now very different.
(unless VW plan to do it too...MK6 golf is still fully independant at the back, even on basic 1.4TSi models )
Last edited by ALi-B; 04 February 2014 at 01:54 PM.
04 February 2014, 01:54 PM
#3
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The new Octavia comes with both Torsion beam and Multilink depending on model!
http://motoring.ninemsn.com.au/cars/...ple-rear-ends/
http://motoring.ninemsn.com.au/cars/...ple-rear-ends/
FR180 has multilink rear suspension, lower models have beam axle.
04 February 2014, 06:15 PM
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Wouldn't the steering be electric assisted but your R32 fully hydraulic?
Much as I kicked and screamed about electric assistance, I've now got used to it and rely on other messages from the chassis to know what's going on. Except in the van - there's no point in that...
Much as I kicked and screamed about electric assistance, I've now got used to it and rely on other messages from the chassis to know what's going on. Except in the van - there's no point in that...
05 February 2014, 07:04 PM
#6
No mine's electric. As you say you do get used to it. And it is better in feedback than alot of other cars (usually French).
My 31yr old Jag has better steering feedback than anything modern -inlcluding new Jags (XJR-S steering rack with polybushed mountings...2nd best mod I ever made - the 1st best mod being new front shocks ).
My 31yr old Jag has better steering feedback than anything modern -inlcluding new Jags (XJR-S steering rack with polybushed mountings...2nd best mod I ever made - the 1st best mod being new front shocks ).
Last edited by ALi-B; 05 February 2014 at 07:05 PM.
05 February 2014, 07:08 PM
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No mine's electric. As you say you do get used to it. And it is better in feedback than alot of other cars (usually French).
My 31yr old Jag has better steering feedback than anything modern -inlcluding new Jags (XJR-S steering rack with polybushed mountings...2nd best mod I ever made - the 1st best mod being new front shocks ).
My 31yr old Jag has better steering feedback than anything modern -inlcluding new Jags (XJR-S steering rack with polybushed mountings...2nd best mod I ever made - the 1st best mod being new front shocks ).
The M135i is electric (variable ratio) but it's so direct, it seems to work pretty well. I thought I'd hate it but it's actually quite good.
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05 February 2014, 11:11 PM
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No mine's electric. As you say you do get used to it. And it is better in feedback than alot of other cars (usually French).
My 31yr old Jag has better steering feedback than anything modern -inlcluding new Jags (XJR-S steering rack with polybushed mountings...2nd best mod I ever made - the 1st best mod being new front shocks ).
My 31yr old Jag has better steering feedback than anything modern -inlcluding new Jags (XJR-S steering rack with polybushed mountings...2nd best mod I ever made - the 1st best mod being new front shocks ).
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