Volvo V60, Seat Leon ST - Crash safety

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Fri 22 Sep 2017 11:00
Volvo V60, Seat Leon ST - Crash safety - Wayne Dibbley

I have test driven both a V60 and Leon ST (petrols). The latter was by far the best car to drive.

As this is going to be our next family car, 2 growing girls I want more space and safety sysyems than my current 2003 130 TDI Leon (the beloved)

Even though the Euro safety tests put both cars pretty much eqaual, surely you would be safer in the bigger bulkier Volvo, particularly in a broadside situation?

With the rising scourge of SUVs it seems the smaller cars are at a disadvantage safety wise.

Would welcome other thoughts on this.

Edited by Wayne Dibbley on 22/09/2017 at 11:01

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Fri 22 Sep 2017 11:42
Volvo V60, Seat Leon ST - Crash safety - SLO76
It would be marginal. Both cars have strong safety cells and top notch NCAP ratings. I'd buy the one you enjoy driving the most but bear in mind the Leon will drop in value quite hard if you pick a drab colour and spec. The best for value retaintion are the sporty FR models, with the excellent 1.4 TSi the pick. Ride is a little firmer but not too harsh.
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Fri 22 Sep 2017 12:19
Volvo V60, Seat Leon ST - Crash safety - RobJP
It would be marginal. Both cars have strong safety cells and top notch NCAP ratings. I'd buy the one you enjoy driving the most but bear in mind the Leon will drop in value quite hard if you pick a drab colour and spec. The best for value retaintion are the sporty FR models, with the excellent 1.4 TSi the pick. Ride is a little firmer but not too harsh.

Regarding depreciation, do bear in mind that the current Volvo V60 is on runout, and discounts of 25% or better are available on new cars. That is leading to hard drops on the first 12/24 month depreciation numbers.

I saw a V60 D3 the other week. 2016/66 plate, so at most 12 months old, 6k miles. Ex-demo, basically. Was up for sale at £17k. Reasonable spec, £30k list price.

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Fri 22 Sep 2017 12:41
Volvo V60, Seat Leon ST - Crash safety - Wayne Dibbley

Wish the same could be said for the rare T3 petrols.

2nd hand now more expensive than equivalent deisels.

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Fri 22 Sep 2017 13:10
Volvo V60, Seat Leon ST - Crash safety - RobJP

Wish the same could be said for the rare T3 petrols.

2nd hand now more expensive than equivalent deisels.

Yup, just had a look. Real shortage of petrol cars.

I quite liked this one. Yes, it's 3 years old, but if you're keeping until 10 years old or so then it looks good. Only 25k miles on it.

paulrigbygroup.selekt.volvocars.co.uk/en/used-cars...p

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Fri 22 Sep 2017 14:35
Volvo V60, Seat Leon ST - Crash safety - Wayne Dibbley

Many thanks, yes had seen that and am thinking of going yo see it at the weekend.

Can you belive there was an equivalent car came up for sale in Feb this year at a small dealer for £10400, I missed that one!

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Fri 22 Sep 2017 16:58
Volvo V60, Seat Leon ST - Crash safety - Engineer Andy

Wish the same could be said for the rare T3 petrols.

2nd hand now more expensive than equivalent deisels.

Yup, just had a look. Real shortage of petrol cars.

I quite liked this one. Yes, it's 3 years old, but if you're keeping until 10 years old or so then it looks good. Only 25k miles on it.

paulrigbygroup.selekt.volvocars.co.uk/en/used-cars...p

Yep - the V40 T3 was originally on my list when looking to replace my Mazda3, but T3s aren't available on the broker websites and Volvo dealerships seem to only want to flog diesels or (to a lesser degree) the less powerful T2. Nearly new secondhand V40 T3s and T4s are like hen's teeth - I've yet to see one! Probably a similar situation with V60s.

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Fri 22 Sep 2017 12:43
Volvo V60, Seat Leon ST - Crash safety - Wayne Dibbley

Thanks SLO76

Value retention not really an issue for me as I keep my cars 10 years or so.

I was drooling over the FR models and am severly tempted. What a beautiful looking car!

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Fri 22 Sep 2017 14:19
Volvo V60, Seat Leon ST - Crash safety - badbusdriver

Bear in mind that the ride on the FR with its big wheels is likely to be pretty harsh, something worth consideration as this is to be a family car.

Regarding safety, I'd agree with other comments that both those cars are very safe, so picking what you enjoy driving most, is the best choice. But, a couple of points. Firstly, your 2 choices may have the same adult occupant protection, but the seat has a 10% higher rating for child occupants (i believe this is for child seats), and a 6% higher rating for pedestrian safety.

Also, your seat leon, which is relatively light in weight, with a relatively low centre of gravity, is going to be more able to avoid an accident in the first place than a taller heavier SUV.

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Fri 22 Sep 2017 14:39
Volvo V60, Seat Leon ST - Crash safety - Wayne Dibbley

Thanks for that.

The reason for the 10% higher rating for children is merely down to the lack of clear labelling or something silly like that.

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Choosing a child seat can be a quite baffling experience – there are so many sizes, types, brands and price points available that you might not know where to start.

How to choose the right child seat