Seat Leon FR 2.0 TDI 184 or BMW 120D Sport?

[daggerbolt]

Hi all - looking for opinions on which car to get.

Looking at a 15/16 plate with under 50k and both seem to be around £10000 to £13000.

Will be using for short journeys in the week and motorway driving at weekends.

Love both cars but anyone that has experience driving these cars I would appreciate your input to try and help me decide.

[Butter Face]

Strangely we’ve just bought a 120D today in place of our (company car) Leon 184!

We picked the 1 series as my wife likes them and wanted a specific colour, so we’ve gone for a 64 plate 120D Xdrive in Valencia orange!

They’re both great cars, the Leon is quite bland though and doesn’t feel as special as the 1 series IMO.

[Nickbrapp]

I Paid 12k 18 months ago for a leon 184 wth every optional extra going (LEDs, pan roof, ACC, upgraded radio, bigger wheels etc) it had done 40k when I got it, 1 series in the same price where all pov spec and awful.

It’s a really nice car, very refined, quick enough for a diesel, not the best drive but not the worst, interior is a nice place to be, nothing’s gone wrong In my ownership

[ZX10R NIN]

You should be able to get a M Sport for that budget:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

A Seat Leon FR with the Technology Pack is where I'd probably go as there's more choice & they're cheaper:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

A very good alternative is the Alfa Giulietta:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[jam_up]

I’d go Leon too. Lots of kit as standard, unlike the 1 series, and a DSG model will making driving a breeze day to day.

[The Voice]

I currently have a Leon, and previously had a 1 Series.

I preferred the BMW to the Seat in nearly every way. A much more premium product.

The Seat has more kit as standard, and more rear leg room. That’s about the only advantages it has over the BMW. The Leon is just so very... dull

Just make sure the BMW is well specced. Go for an M Sport with the upgraded headlights / Nav / ZF gearbox. The 8 speed is superb and suits the diesel power delivery perfectly.

Edited by The Voice on Saturday 14th July 05:33

[Gibby88]

Our family car is the FR DSG. It is easy to live with, it has a good turn of speed and £30 tax. I like that it is fairly unassuming. Not so good is the sat nav, also the seats stain easily with the webbed cloth material.

[JackReacher]

Wife has a 2014 Leon FR, overall build quality is better than my m240i I would say, less premium materials and a bit bland, but better built.

As a non performance car, I'd take a Leon/Golf over a 1 series.

[Wooda80]

2 years ago I gave up my company Jags for a succession of Golfs and 1 series with 1.6 and 2.0 diesel engines. (I work for a dealer so only kept each one for a couple of months at a time ) The BMWs were definitely a nicer drive, even the 116ed once you accepted it wasn't as quick as the others.

1 year ago I changed jobs and had to buy my own car. Based on my experiences I would have been happy with either a Golf or 1 series but couldn't get the age and spec that I wanted for the price that I wanted to pay. For me, the answer was a Leon with LEDs 18" wheels and Tech Pack on the basis that it was "Just like a Golf" but I got a newer, better spec car for the money. Interior feels a bit flimsier than the Golf but other than that I'm very pleased with it.

[The Voice]

JackReacher said:

Wife has a 2014 Leon FR, overall build quality is better than my m240i I would say, less premium materials and a bit bland, but better built.

As a non performance car, I'd take a Leon/Golf over a 1 series.

Whilst I would say that our current Leon Cupra 300 is far flimsier / squeakier than our previous M135i.

Just goes to show that the only way to decide is to look at both and decide for yourself

[robinh73]

Not really relevant in terms of engine choice, but I have literally just taken delivery of a Leon but the 1.4FR ACT version with the 1.4 petrol engine. Seriously impressed with it and the engine is superb. Came from a 2015 Honda Civic 1.6 diesel which was the biggest disappointment all round, whereas the Leon feels well made, is quiet at motorway speeds and has all the bits on it I really need. Still early days as I have only done 300 miles so far though.

[Terzo123]

Yup, the 1.4 is a great wee engine especially in 150bhp guise. Not much in it performance wise between it and the diesel.

[TheInternet]

robinh73 said:

Came from a 2015 Honda Civic 1.6 diesel which was the biggest disappointment all round,

Can you elaborate on this?

[robinh73]

TheInternet said:

robinh73 said:

Came from a 2015 Honda Civic 1.6 diesel which was the biggest disappointment all round,

Can you elaborate on this?

Well, it was a new company car which I had on a 3 year lease deal. I had it for 15,000 miles a year and initially it was good, but I did notice that the engine seemed very noisy in comparison to my friend's one. I took it into Honda who said it wasn't an issue. I carried on driving but over time the noise became worse and after much persistence on my part, Honda finally admitted that there was a tolerance issue in the cylinder head and that the head would need replacing. No issues here at all, the work was done and the local dealer was superb. However, I also noticed that had the car been standing for a few days or first thing in the morning, if it had rained overnight, the clutch would judder so badly that at times it would jump out of gear. Again I reported this to Honda, but was told that they were aware of this fault and it was moisture settling on the clutch plates. Now I am reasonably mechanically minded, but can't see how ambient moisture would settle on the plates. Anyway, the issue is unresolved and the car is going back to Honda at the end of the month.
Other things that became irritating after actually living with the car was the sat nav/media screen was horrendously slow and would frequently crash, resulting in a full reboot; the heater controls were so low down and the buttons so close together that you couldn't feel your way around it, you had to physically look at the system to make minor alterations; the surround around the rear view mirror kept on falling off, one point wedging itself under the brake pedal while I was approaching a roundabout; not a very comfy driving position on longer journeys (but this is probably just me and not the car); the split dash layout with speedo dead ahead in a separate binnacle was a royal pain in the whatsits as you could never get the steering wheel quite at the right height to see all the intsruments.
One the plus side, the rear side design was very clever as they would fold completely flat or you could also lift the seat bases up to allow taller items to be slid in. I could actually get my road bicycle in there rather than the boot (admittedly both wheels removed).
So, not a great experience with it, which is a shame, as I thought being a Honda it would be well made and well thought out. The Cirtroen DS3 that I had before it was leagues ahead in terms of build quality and the Seat Leon is so far proving to be a much nicer place to be and the 150hp 1.4 engine is just a gem.

[TheInternet]

Thanks. It sounds like someone of a different build in a petrol auto without satnav might have a better experience.

[robinh73]

TheInternet said:

Thanks. It sounds like someone of a different build in a petrol auto without satnav might have a better experience.

I reckon so and provided they didn't mind what temperature the car was inside and really weren't fussed about seeing all the gauges, I reckon it would be a dream!

[daggerbolt]

Thanks for all the help guys.

Sounds like Seat Leon is defo better value for money and tbh there is not as many on the road compared to the 1 series.

Now I just need to try amd find one that is not ex hire car!

[Butter Face]

daggerbolt said:

Now I just need to try amd find one that is not ex hire car!

Do you want a 67 plate Xcellence 184 in silver? 8700 miles

[daggerbolt]

Quick question, looking at a 14 plate leon fr, do they come with auto headlights / wipers as standard?

[Nickbrapp]

daggerbolt said:

Quick question, looking at a 14 plate leon fr, do they come with auto headlights / wipers as standard?

No, it was a option. I think as part of the tech pack that most of them had for free (led headlights, dab radio etc)