Leon vs Ibiza vs A class

[45HL3Y]

Evening all,

Just want some other opinions or thoughts on which car I should go for next. I'll be buying soon and I have three in mind and I'm struggling to choose between them. I'm 23 and already drive another car, but I'm not the owner and want to build up my no claims bonus

Leon 1.2TSI 110 SE Dynamic

Pros                                   Cons

- better sound                   - dull
- better engine
- spacious
- cheapest

Ibiza 1.0TSI 115 FR Sport

Pros                                   Cons

- sporty/youthful              - poor engine
- hot hatch feel
- smaller
- manual handbrake

Mercedes A160 AMG Line

Pros                                   Cons

- best interior                    - expensive
- badge appeal
- desirability

Which would you choose and why? Thanks

[anonymous-user]

What makes you think the 1.0TSI in the Ibiza is a poor engine?

https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/press-relea...

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t choose any of those cars. Get an Up GTI or a Suzuki Swift Sport.

[Krikkit]

ajap1979 said:

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t choose any of those cars. Get an Up GTI or a Suzuki Swift Sport.

Yes I think I'd agree with that.

If I had to choose from the list it'd be the A-class I think. It'll be slow and uninspiring to drive but at least the interior is quite nice.

[45HL3Y]

ajap1979 said:

What makes you think the 1.0TSI in the Ibiza is a poor engine?

https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/press-relea...

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t choose any of those cars. Get an Up GTI or a Suzuki Swift Sport.

Too much turbo lag when compared to the 1.2TSI. I've driven both and while the 1.0 has more torque, it has a more narrow band. And for me the 1.2 sounds really nice

[45HL3Y]

Krikkit said:

ajap1979 said:

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t choose any of those cars. Get an Up GTI or a Suzuki Swift Sport.

Yes I think I'd agree with that.

If I had to choose from the list it'd be the A-class I think. It'll be slow and uninspiring to drive but at least the interior is quite nice.

Yeah that's what draws me to the Mercedes, because of the interior and desirability

[anonymous-user]

45HL3Y said:

ajap1979 said:

What makes you think the 1.0TSI in the Ibiza is a poor engine?

https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/press-relea...

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t choose any of those cars. Get an Up GTI or a Suzuki Swift Sport.

Too much turbo lag when compared to the 1.2TSI. I've driven both and while the 1.0 has more torque, it has a more narrow band. And for me the 1.2 sounds really nice

This is the official graph. Peak torque for the 1.2TSI happens very early, but then tails off very quickly after 3500 rpm. It’s almost diesel-like in it’s power delivery. At least with the 1.0TSI there is some pleasure to wringing it out. I’m probably biased though, I have the 1.0TSI in my Up GTI and I think it’s a fabulously characterful engine, there is barely any turbo lag, and certainly in VWs application of it, sounds great.



What is your budget for the car? There are probably many more alternatives to consider.

[Jamescrs]

ajap1979 said:

What makes you think the 1.0TSI in the Ibiza is a poor engine?

https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/press-relea...

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t choose any of those cars. Get an Up GTI or a Suzuki Swift Sport.

I agree with this, wouldn't have any of the cars on the OP through choice, The Merc will impress people who don't really know about cars if that's important to you but I'd say there are better cars for the money

[45HL3Y]

ajap1979 said:

45HL3Y said:

ajap1979 said:

What makes you think the 1.0TSI in the Ibiza is a poor engine?

https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/press-relea...

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t choose any of those cars. Get an Up GTI or a Suzuki Swift Sport.

Too much turbo lag when compared to the 1.2TSI. I've driven both and while the 1.0 has more torque, it has a more narrow band. And for me the 1.2 sounds really nice

This is the official graph. Peak torque for the 1.2TSI happens very early, but then tails off very quickly after 3500 rpm. It’s almost diesel-like in it’s power delivery. At least with the 1.0TSI there is some pleasure to wringing it out. I’m probably biased though, I have the 1.0TSI in my Up GTI and I think it’s a fabulously characterful engine, there is barely any turbo lag, and certainly in VWs application of it, sounds great.



What is your budget for the car? There are probably many more alternatives to consider.

I think it could have been that the 1.0tsi wasn't run in enough as it had only done 1100 miles. I do really like the sound of the 1.2tsi though, it sounds really fruity.

I haven't got a specific budget I'm sticking to, probably anywhere between 10-14k which is quite a broad choice. For now I just want something around the 100-115bhp mark because of insurance. Once my premium has gone down a bit I wanna aim for something with around 180-190bhp

[45HL3Y]

Jamescrs said:

ajap1979 said:

What makes you think the 1.0TSI in the Ibiza is a poor engine?

https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/press-relea...

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t choose any of those cars. Get an Up GTI or a Suzuki Swift Sport.

I agree with this, wouldn't have any of the cars on the OP through choice, The Merc will impress people who don't really know about cars if that's important to you but I'd say there are better cars for the money

Yeah, that's one thing that puts me off the A class, apart from it being nice to look at, it's hardly a drivers car at all

[carlove]

If it helps I had an A180 (current model) hire car, it had the badge, it looked good (in my opinion) but it was a crap car. Painfully slow, not that refined or comfortable, it was a manual and I’ve never driven such a bad manual in my life. The A160 can only be worse.

I was really glad to be back in my Astra, not got the badge or street cred but a much better car.

Out of the list I’d get the Ibiza (youthful and I like how they look), but I agree with the other poster re swift Sport, good value, obscene amount of standard equipment. If I didn’t do 20k miles a year I’d get one myself (I nearly did last year!) but the diesel needs to stay really.

Edited by carlove on Thursday 31st December 11:18

Edited by carlove on Thursday 31st December 11:19

[45HL3Y]

carlove said:

If it helps I had an A180 (current model) hire car, it had the badge, it looked good (in my opinion) but it was a crap car. Painfully slow, not that refined or comfortable, it was a manual and I’ve never driven such a bad manual in my life. The A160 can only be worse.

I was really glad to be back in my Astra, not got the badge or street cred but a much better car.

Out of the list I’d get the Ibiza (youthful and I like how they look), but I agree with the other poster re swift Sport, good value, obscene amount of standard equipment. If I didn’t do 20k miles a year I’d get one myself (I nearly did last year!) but the diesel needs to stay really.

Edited by carlove on Thursday 31st December 11:18

Edited by carlove on Thursday 31st December 11:19

What engine have you got in the astra if the A180 felt slow?

[carlove]

45HL3Y said:

What engine have you got in the astra if the A180 felt slow?

It’s the 1.6 diesel 140bhp, not a fast car but quicker than most ordinary cars. The A180 felt so underpowered, I tried passing a Corsa on a two lane roundabout exit and the Merc could barely get ahead with my foot on the floor in 2nd. It apparently has 134bhp, so by all accounts should have been a lot quicker, maybe I’m too used to the torque the diesel offers. But then I had a Renault Kadjar hire car with a small turbocharged petrol and that felt adequate enough.

There’s positives, I don’t know if you’re looking at the current model or previous, the current interior is lovely, a bit cheap in places but really nice place to sit. And the stock sound system was the best stock sound system I’ve encountered. Headlights were amazing too.

I’ve linked a picture just because, I really liked the looks but was disappointed by the car itself. I think an A200 or above with an auto box would be a really good car.

[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/EibLC1F3[/url

[Jag_NE]

Out of that group (and just speaking for myself) I’d knock out the Ibiza immediately as the Leon and A class are bigger and better. The Mercedes would edge it for me over the Leon if it were not too dissimilar age and mileage.
Have you looked at a Golf? Probably a good mix of badge/style/price and some subtle mods could make a base model look pretty smart.

[rfn]

I'd probably go for one of the SEATs. We have had an Arona 115ps for 2.5 years and, considering I usually drive something with 3x the power I really enjoy it. Pulls quite nicely almost to the red line (graph above demonstrates ably).

[ZX10R NIN]

45HL3Y said:

I think it could have been that the 1.0tsi wasn't run in enough as it had only done 1100 miles. I do really like the sound of the 1.2tsi though, it sounds really fruity.

I haven't got a specific budget I'm sticking to, probably anywhere between 10-14k which is quite a broad choice. For now I just want something around the 100-115bhp mark because of insurance. Once my premium has gone down a bit I wanna aim for something with around 180-190bhp

I have to say I'd take a serious look at the Focus in Titanium 1.0T 125bhp spec it really is a very good car:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009013...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010235...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011075...

If you like the 160 AMG Line then go for it's identical cousin the Q30 in Premium (they're the same car just with different sheet metal) Tech spec:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010235...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011196...

A160 AMG Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010235...

A180 AMG Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011276...

As you can see they're the same car, I also think you should go for the A180 the extra torque will make it a better drive than the 160.

The Sport's are to powerful for you needs but do come in budget if you can get a sensible insurance number:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011186...

[45HL3Y]

carlove said:

45HL3Y said:

What engine have you got in the astra if the A180 felt slow?

It’s the 1.6 diesel 140bhp, not a fast car but quicker than most ordinary cars. The A180 felt so underpowered, I tried passing a Corsa on a two lane roundabout exit and the Merc could barely get ahead with my foot on the floor in 2nd. It apparently has 134bhp, so by all accounts should have been a lot quicker, maybe I’m too used to the torque the diesel offers. But then I had a Renault Kadjar hire car with a small turbocharged petrol and that felt adequate enough.

There’s positives, I don’t know if you’re looking at the current model or previous, the current interior is lovely, a bit cheap in places but really nice place to sit. And the stock sound system was the best stock sound system I’ve encountered. Headlights were amazing too.

I’ve linked a picture just because, I really liked the looks but was disappointed by the car itself. I think an A200 or above with an auto box would be a really good car.

[url]|https://thumbsnap.com/EibLC1F3[/url

Wow, must have been something wrong with the car if it felt slower than a Corsa and Renault Kadjar. It's actually the older model I'm looking at, face-lift so 2016-2018. The interior in both generation A class is nice

[45HL3Y]

Jag_NE said:

Out of that group (and just speaking for myself) I’d knock out the Ibiza immediately as the Leon and A class are bigger and better. The Mercedes would edge it for me over the Leon if it were not too dissimilar age and mileage.
Have you looked at a Golf? Probably a good mix of badge/style/price and some subtle mods could make a base model look pretty smart.

As much as I love the Golf, the regular trims are too dull for my liking. If insurance wasn't an issue I'd more than likely have a higher powered Golf such as a 2.0TDI R-line or even a GTI. Not the GTD though as they're too common

[45HL3Y]

rfn said:

I'd probably go for one of the SEATs. We have had an Arona 115ps for 2.5 years and, considering I usually drive something with 3x the power I really enjoy it. Pulls quite nicely almost to the red line (graph above demonstrates ably).

Interesting that the 1.0TSI feels quick in the Arena. Is there much turbo lag? Or barely any at all?

[45HL3Y]

ZX10R NIN said:

45HL3Y said:

I think it could have been that the 1.0tsi wasn't run in enough as it had only done 1100 miles. I do really like the sound of the 1.2tsi though, it sounds really fruity.

I haven't got a specific budget I'm sticking to, probably anywhere between 10-14k which is quite a broad choice. For now I just want something around the 100-115bhp mark because of insurance. Once my premium has gone down a bit I wanna aim for something with around 180-190bhp

I have to say I'd take a serious look at the Focus in Titanium 1.0T 125bhp spec it really is a very good car:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009013...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010235...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011075...

If you like the 160 AMG Line then go for it's identical cousin the Q30 in Premium (they're the same car just with different sheet metal) Tech spec:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010235...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011196...

A160 AMG Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010235...

A180 AMG Line

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011276...

As you can see they're the same car, I also think you should go for the A180 the extra torque will make it a better drive than the 160.

The Sport's are to powerful for you needs but do come in budget if you can get a sensible insurance number:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011186...

The Focus is tempting to be honest, I'd be a fool not to look at one. But again, they're too common for my liking. The Infinity Q30? That's an interesting option as I didn't know it was the same as an A class. If I saw one of them I'd be very tempted to buy

[carlove]

45HL3Y said:

Wow, must have been something wrong with the car if it felt slower than a Corsa and Renault Kadjar. It's actually the older model I'm looking at, face-lift so 2016-2018. The interior in both generation A class is nice

Maybe it did, maybe my expectations were too high when I got given the keys (I had a Golf booked)

I haven’t driven the old model so can’t comment, I do like how they look, but I think looks wise it needs to be AMG line, they don’t look half as good without the LED lights.

The Focus is a good shout, driven one of them, they’re fun cars to drive, the interior doesn’t do it for me, too much black plastic for my liking. But they’re very good cars, I reckon worth a test drive at least, I was quite taken with the one I drove.