Seat Leon FR TDI - To replace or not? A diesel dilema | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Tue 26 Apr 2011 23:25

Seat Leon FR TDI - To replace or not? A diesel dilema - Nomag

I have a 4.5 yr old Leon FR TDI which I have owned since new and has covered 49k. FSH, cambelt + water pump changed@40k last year. It has given no trouble except a rogue engine management light on a couple of occasions which always extinguishes itself and has been checked by my independent VW specialist and only found as high exhaust temp.

I have been scared by stories of injector failure, here and elsewhere, in the 2.0 PD 170 engine which is in this car. My intention was to keep the car to 6 yrs old and replace in Sep 2012. As a family we run two cars, and pay for them over 3 yrs, the idea being we are only ever paying for one car at a time. However, the scares over injector failure and making me wonder whether I should change sooner.

I no longer do the miles to justify a diesel, at 10k a year. I like the performance of the 170 engine. The car is used primarily for a 32 mile round trip commute, more than half of which is on fast B roads. I have two small children so need to be able to accomodate them in child seats for transportation to and from childcare. We never use my car for family use otherwise.

So, my question to the back room is, should i bring forward changing the car or not? And if so, with what, given a budget of £15-20k max. I am happy to buy used, but prefer approx 1 yr to 18 months max. The Leon will need new front discs and pads all round in the next 2k miles. I have looked at what I might get up to a year old for £15k, and have drawn up the following list. One thing I do want is better comfort than the Leon gives - it's ride is terribly hard:

2010 Volvo C30 T5 R Design (£15k)

2010 Skoda Octavia VRS TFSI (we have had a diesel Octavia in the past so know what I'm dealing with here) (£15k)

2010 Honda Civic Type R (£15k)

2010 Mini Clubman Cooper S (£15K- This would be a leftfield choice for me!)

Your advice and comments appreciated...

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Tue 26 Apr 2011 23:42

Seat Leon FR TDI - To replace or not? A diesel dilemma - Avant

I'm delighted with my Octavia vRS TSI, my second Skoda: but not having driven a Leon I don't know how the ride compares. The Octavia's is on the firm side, but you can't have the vRS with smaller wheels and more sensible tyres: you'd have to have a test drive to find out.

You can get the Octavia with softer suspension and the 1.8T engine - worth a try to see if it's fast enough. It could well be.

I think the ride on the Honda Civic is also very firm: a further problem is the appalling rear visibility which I would class as potentially dangerous (you could reverse over a child and not have a hope of seeing him/her).

SWMBO loves her Mini Cooper convertible, but even the Clubman and Countryman aren't exactly roomy. Depends on your priorities. If space isn't an issue, you could add a nearly-new Golf GTI to the shortlist.

Edited by Avant on 28/04/2011 at 00:17

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Wed 27 Apr 2011 13:56

Seat Leon FR TDI - To replace or not? A diesel dilemma - Nomag

Thanks Avant. Space isn't too much of a concern but I have a feeling I would find the mini a bit cramped. I haven't driven a Civic but know what you mean about the visibility issue. Really the Octavia is the obvious choice - and would keep my wife happy, as she thinks I need 5 doors to get the kids in and out easily. I hadn't considered the 1.8T engine, as I like the styling of the VRS coming from a Leon FR. I think what I need to do is go and test drive a VRS and see if it suits.

Avant, what sort of mpg do you get day to day from the Octavia. I've heard that the 2.0 TFSI can deliver around 35mpg if driven sensibly. It's not the number one concern for me, but would be interesting to know a real world figure!

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Wed 27 Apr 2011 18:39

Seat Leon FR TDI - To replace or not? A diesel dilemma - mlj

I saw my old Leon TDI tonight in a local car park, well on its' way to 200K miles. Different engine though. If I can state the obvious, (apologies in advance!) any car can develop a fault. If I've read between the lines correctly, is it also a case of what afflicts most of us - you fancy a change and are in a position to do so? I would echo Avant's suggestion re the Octavia 1.8T. In Elegance trim you get a lot of kit and a new one for 15K and change. I suspect the mpg difference (compared to the Vrs) would almost be in double figures. Alternatively, there are used examples (around a year old) on the Skoda site for 12K ish, which is probably negotiable. Not many about mind.

Edited by mlj on 27/04/2011 at 18:42

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Thu 28 Apr 2011 00:16

Seat Leon FR TDI - To replace or not? A diesel dilemma - Avant

I wouldn't have thought that the mpg difference between trhe Octavia 1.8T and 2.0 TSI (in the vRS) was as great as that, although the vRS encourages spirited driving.

My vRS gives 30-35 mpg on a reasonable run depending on how much I use the acceleration (it's done only 1500 miles so far so this may improve a little): I'd expect a 1.8T to do 35-40 mpg - if you try one and are happy with the performance, then it ticks most of your boxes. But the vRS is just that much more fun - it's basically a Golf GTI with a more roomy body which you can also have as an estate (unlike the GTI).

Edited by Avant on 28/04/2011 at 00:20

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Thu 28 Apr 2011 11:18

Seat Leon FR TDI - To replace or not? A diesel dilemma - Nomag

Thanks MLJ and Avant for your input

MLJ - you are right of course - nothing might happen to the Leon. I guess I do fancy a change and I'm trying to justify it! However, there are increasing numbers of stories of injector failures on the 2.0 170 PD including in the Leon over on Seatcupra.net. This added to the warnings of oil pump failure on all 2.0PDs as documented here by 659.

I've looked at the 1.8TSI but I'm afraid in Elegance Spec it just doesn't do it for me - I like the styling of the VRS. I find it hard to believe that I'd get 10mpg more from the 1.8 as well! Avant, I would be more than happy with 30-35mpg as I get 38-40 from the Leon, which is a diesel. I believe yours is a DSG, whereas I would definitely go for a manual, which I guess may have a small effect either way (perhaps the DSG is actually more economical?)

I really do like the Golf GTI but you can't buy a year old one for anything less than £20k, mostly more, and I can't justify an extra £5k for the cachet of a VW badge I'm afraid. So I think I will try and test drive a VRS this weekend and see what I think.

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