Seat Leon FR - Diesel or Petrol?

[Lippyx]

I am thinking about selling my Mk5 Golf and getting a Seat Leon FR. My otherhalf wants to go for the diesel, but this whole thing with issues with the DPF is really putting me off.
the last thing I need is to buy a car that needs serious £££ spending on it!
When is this filter meant to be replaced?

What would you do? Go for diesel for great MPG, but have this DPF issue in the back of your mind, or go for the petrol, and have not so good MPG?

Are there any issues with the Petrol versions (other than not so good MPG)?

cheers

Lx

[StottyZr]

With the way fuel prices are going the diesel is worth a serious look. If your talking around 05 Leon Fr's? I know petrol is 177hp, diesel is 150 but with a remap I think it would probably be faster than the petrol whilst still getting much better economy.

[james_tigerwoods]

I had a TDI Leon FR - a Mk1, that is:

A 55 plate Seat Leon TDi FR - A truly hateful, steaming pile of ste that I'd rather have set fire to:

Sketchy service history
Ride was horrendous - think of the worst car you've seen bumping down the road - that was the Leon
Dodgy handling - Oversteer, aquaplaning
A break-in - the alarm didn't go off....
Road/Cabin noise
Off camber at the rear (Never got round to sorting that)
Not very economic - averaged less than 42mpg over 10,000 miles - 55mpg my arse
Smoky, very smoky
Creaky front dash
Squeaky pedals
Creaky suspension
Leaky boot (Apparently)
Leak around the driver's sill
Leak in the front passenger footwell
The bonnet wasn't on quite right
Not sure where the second key went - I never got it (Got one cut though)
Sounded awful at idle/low/mid/high revs
Never tracked straight (despite many attempts to fix)

It was st. Supremely st.

But that was my experience of it...

[Lippyx]

Thanks. I was thinking about getting the 2006-2007 version, the TDi 170bhp.

[james_tigerwoods]

Lippyx said:

Thanks. I was thinking about getting the 2006-2007 version, the TDi 170bhp.

Ahh - in that case, I wouldn't worry too much about the DPF, but I'd be concerned about the (expensive) injector failure problem - I think that problem is with this engine...

[Zippee]

We've got a 2008 model Tdi FR and have put over 30k on it in the past 2 1/2 years we've owned it. Only problem we've had is a duff injector loom that was replaced under warranty. DPF is only a problem if you drive constant short journeys and don't warm the car up as it needs a long run and hot engine to regenerate every so often.
It's a nice car, we average about 42mpg as a lot of time is spent around 80odd on DCs, ride is a little firm but thats due to the stiffer shocks of the FR, handling is good, as is passenger space. We looked at the equiv petrol and whilst it's a bit faster for the mileage we do and also considering resale where everyone wants diesel we went for the tdi.
The dash and door cards are a little plasticky but IMHO for the money you couldn't get better. We paid 11.5k for a 10 month old one owner car from a main dealer with 8500 miles on it - list was north of 17k.

[Fatsterjack]

My experience means I won't be considering another DPF car. Funnily enough we're considering an FR too A's a replacement for my wives A4.

DPF has been done twice on the A4 now, luckily both under warranty. Almost gives me as much worry as the engine going on my 911! Perhaps disproportionate concern but it doesn't help.

Experience of the VAG 170 diesel is that it also struggles to make the claimed mpg even on a good dual carriageway run.

[Zippee]

james_tigerwoods said:

Ahh - in that case, I wouldn't worry too much about the DPF, but I'd be concerned about the (expensive) injector failure problem - I think that problem is with this engine...

Fortunately for us our injector was covered under warranty as the bill was several hundred. I believe it is quite common and it will leave you stranded, even more embarrassing when the AA turn up and it then decides to start and not show itself up.
DPF I believe can now be removed and is a common 'mod' once out of warranty.

[Lippyx]

This is my thinking. I work only 5 miles from home, so only in the car max 10 mins. Its not all 30 mph driving, there is a stretch thats 50 mph. At weekends, it may get "pushed" slightly harder as OH will give it a bit of welly, but it won't be up and down the motorway that often, maybe 2-3 times a month... hence me being a little concerned with the DPF issue.

The Injector issue - Is that only in the diesels, or the petrols too?

I'm not too worried about the ride or the interior, My last car was a classic Subaru Impreza, so I'm use to hard bouncy journeys and plastic looking interior (although, I didn't think the Leon's was THAT bad)

[Moley RUFC]

Swapped my '56 FR diesel for my new vRS. Really enjoyed the 3 years I had with the FR which by the time I got rid of it had 109,000 from new on it.

Didn't really miss a beat apart from 2 injectors going on the way to Cornwall last summer which which fixed in a few days although I'm not sure of the cost as it was a company car.

Regards the interior, basic springs to mind and as mentioned you'll have no chance of getting the MPG figure. I ran about half of the miles I did on motorways and even at a steady 50/60mph it would still fall below the recommended figure.

Boot was fairly small and one of the reasons I choose a vRS. My wife has just had a new Ibiza ST which has a larger boot too than the Leon I would say.

Go for one with 18'' wheels, Bluetooth and xenon spec if possible and I think you'll enjoy it.

[james_tigerwoods]

The injector problem is more prevalent on diesels (so I read) and can be VERY expensive (a friend of mine ended up about £800 out of pocket) - the main problem with them is that if one goes, the whole engine will shut down and not restart.

If the journeys are short, I'd consider the petrol, you won't really see the cost benefit of the diesel. And the DPF will eventually play up for those short journeys.

I also hear that the 170 has a problem with getting its power down and spinning the wheels a lot - but that could just be a Passat problem.

Might be worth looking at a 140 and getting it remapped - from what I read, this is a more popular path...