Current Seat Leon- experience?

Current Seat Leon- experience?

Author
Discussion

Alfa Pete

Original Poster:

435 posts

233 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
I’m currently considering my next car and one that I keep coming back to is the Seat Leon ad they seem like good value.
If I were to get one I’d be getting a 2 year old example , probably the 1.5 FR or FR sport with the 150 TSI petrol.
Has anyone here got one or can comment on what they are like to live with and what are your thoughts on it?
How are they for reliability, cost of ownership and economy?


Antony Moxey

8,830 posts

226 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
quotequote all
Alfa Pete said:
I’m currently considering my next car and one that I keep coming back to is the Seat Leon ad they seem like good value.
If I were to get one I’d be getting a 2 year old example , probably the 1.5 FR or FR sport with the 150 TSI petrol.
Has anyone here got one or can comment on what they are like to live with and what are your thoughts on it?
How are they for reliability, cost of ownership and economy?
Driven one once or twice and have two thoughts: they don’t look as good as the previous model (I own a 2017 FR with the 150 engine, so I might be biased) and the screen is ridiculously fiddly to operate, especially when you’re driving. I’m in no rush to upgrade my current Leon to a new shape one.

SouthWestLad

2 posts

15 months

Tuesday 8th August 2023
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Nice looking car but a downgrade from the mk3.5 imo. Which is the best Seat Leon I’d say. The quality has taken a downfall for one. I’ve only been in the SE dynamic of the newer model but everywhere other then the wheel and gearstick felt very cheap and plasticky. The volume slider and AC controls are fiddly too. Not a massive fan personally. It was a rental car so limited experience

SteBrown91

2,571 posts

136 months

Wednesday 9th August 2023
quotequote all
SouthWestLad said:
Nice looking car but a downgrade from the mk3.5 imo. Which is the best Seat Leon I’d say. The quality has taken a downfall for one. I’ve only been in the SE dynamic of the newer model but everywhere other then the wheel and gearstick felt very cheap and plasticky. The volume slider and AC controls are fiddly too. Not a massive fan personally. It was a rental car so limited experience
Agreed, the last MY of the Leon 3.5 (when the cupras got a copper badge) they inexplicibly replaced alot of the interior pieces with much nicer quality ones. Id look out for one these instead.

Glosphil

4,503 posts

241 months

Wednesday 9th August 2023
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I have a 2018 Leon FR 1.4TSi (150). When it went in for a service I had the latest version as a ioan car. Seemed like a downgrade from mine in the way the minor controls & screen worked. Also seemed slower but then it had done less than 3,000 miles.

Alfa Pete

Original Poster:

435 posts

233 months

Friday 11th August 2023
quotequote all
Antony Moxey said:
Alfa Pete said:
I’m currently considering my next car and one that I keep coming back to is the Seat Leon ad they seem like good value.
If I were to get one I’d be getting a 2 year old example , probably the 1.5 FR or FR sport with the 150 TSI petrol.
Has anyone here got one or can comment on what they are like to live with and what are your thoughts on it?
How are they for reliability, cost of ownership and economy?
Driven one once or twice and have two thoughts: they don’t look as good as the previous model (I own a 2017 FR with the 150 engine, so I might be biased) and the screen is ridiculously fiddly to operate, especially when you’re driving. I’m in no rush to upgrade my current Leon to a new shape one.
I did like the previous gen and came close to buying one.
Agree the previous one looks nicer but I want a younger, lower mileage car.

khanage69

1 posts

78 months

Wednesday 16th August 2023
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If it helps, I have a 22 plate Leon. Granted it’s only the SE Dynamic model, but I have to say it’s by far the worst car I’ve ever had.
Everything about it is wrong. The fact that all the controls are managed through the touchscreen is a big frustration. As an example, the screen will intermittently freeze and reboot, or sometimes take a long time to boot up. First world problems you might say, but in the midst of winter it’s a frustration when you can’t regulate the temperature / defrost the screen.
The car is a lease and I’m handing it back early - I’d rather pay the fee to do so than keep it another year.

JackJarvis

2,569 posts

141 months

Wednesday 16th August 2023
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Another vote for the MK3.5 here, I loved mine and really didn't like the current model for all the reasons above. You can buy a 20 plate MK3.5 with under 10k miles, that's where my money would go.

blank

3,578 posts

195 months

Thursday 17th August 2023
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I went from a MK3.5 to a MK4.

I'd say the 3.5 is better as it has just the right blend of tech.


The main problem with the MK4 is the infotainment, and mine has been off the road for over 6 months in total waiting for new parts.

In fairness, the latest software update seems to solve the bugs (random reboots generally) so you're just left with the fundamental ergonomic failures of everything on a touch screen.

I can tolerate it now, having set all my shortcuts etc as I don't really need to use it when driving. E.g. the climate is on auto like every other car I've had in the past 15 years!


Unless you need something only offered by the new model (e.g. plug in hybrid) then the last gen is better.

blank

3,578 posts

195 months

Thursday 17th August 2023
quotequote all
khanage69 said:
If it helps, I have a 22 plate Leon. Granted it’s only the SE Dynamic model, but I have to say it’s by far the worst car I’ve ever had.
Everything about it is wrong. The fact that all the controls are managed through the touchscreen is a big frustration. As an example, the screen will intermittently freeze and reboot, or sometimes take a long time to boot up. First world problems you might say, but in the midst of winter it’s a frustration when you can’t regulate the temperature / defrost the screen.
The car is a lease and I’m handing it back early - I’d rather pay the fee to do so than keep it another year.
The latest software (version 1940) does actually solve these issues thankfully.

Antony Moxey

8,830 posts

226 months

Thursday 17th August 2023
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As an aside, chap I know has a new Arona (which I presume uses the same electronics and screens as all the other new shape models) and his has been back and forth with touch screen issues for weeks on end.

Alfa Pete

Original Poster:

435 posts

233 months

Saturday 19th August 2023
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Strikes Leon off list……..👍

BumFLuff

28 posts

202 months

Sunday 20th August 2023
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I have the Cupra Leon 300 mk4 version and though car nice to drive it feels very disposable it terms of it build, lots of crappy plastics, paint iffy in places, seat wear at 10k and I'm not a fatty, speakers rattle etc, infotainment pita.