Seat Leon estate engine choice

[rufusgti]

Hi
I think myself and the wife have decided after looking at various cars that the Seat Leon estate is going to be the next family car.
Looking for around 2016-18, petrol, estate. Not sure on specs etc. Can anyone recommend and particular specs to go for. I've seen 1.4, 1.5 and 1.8 litre models. Obviously I'm attracted more to the bigger engine with 178hp. Is that a good engine, any known issues or gripes. Most seem to be dsg but the odd manual does crop up which I'd prefer.
If anyone has experience of this model or.tge seat Leon in general please comment.

[Ecosseven]

Not the estate, but I've owned a 1.8 FR 5 door hatch for the last 6 years. It is a manual and I bought it as a pre-owned SEAT management car at 8 months old.

[p4cks]

The 1.4 is an absolute peach. Can’t speak for the 1.5 engine but I’ve heard it’s even better.

Unsure of the 1.8 so can’t comment

[rufusgti]

Ecosseven said:

Not the estate, but I've owned a 1.8 FR 5 door hatch for the last 6 years. It is a manual and I bought it as a pre-owned SEAT management car at 8 months old.

What are your thoughts on it

[Glosphil]

I have owned a 2018 1.4TSi (150) Leon FR for just over 2 years. I also test drove a 1.8TSi but decided I would rarely make use of the extra power - max torque is the same as the 1.4 but mpg worse. Been pleased with the 1.4.
However the 1.8 does have larger front discs & better rear suspension (independant not beam?).

Edited by Glosphil on Thursday 15th July 23:27

[georgeyboy12345]

Here are reviews of all three engines

EA211 1.4 TSI
https://www.motorreviewer.com/engine.php?engine_id...

EA211 Evo 1.5 TSI
https://www.motorreviewer.com/engine.php?engine_id...

EA888 Gen 3 1.8 TSI
https://www.motorreviewer.com/engine.php?engine_id...


The 1.4 and 1.5 units use a timing belt. In the 1.4 the belt only needs changing at 133,000 miles and no time span. In the 1.5 the belt is a non-service item and should last the life of the car. The 1.8 uses a timing chain.

The 1.4 is definitely the worst pick of the three, but it's not too bad, and certainly not as bad as the EA111 it replaced. Likewise, the 1.8 TSI Gen 3 is now pretty reliable as it has had the timing chain tensioners redesigned.

I think the 1.4's and 1.8's also suffer from carbon buildup on the intake valves, which robs power and increases fuel consumption on older engines, especially ones that have been driven gently. More of an excuse to give the engine a good workout every so often! The 1.5 employs a miller cycle, which should aid in keeping crud off the intake valves, as well as improving performance/economy.

Good power can be had from a remap of the 1.8 - over 250 bhp! It is closely related to the 2 litre units found in VW Golf Rs, Audi S3s, just slightly smaller bore and different turbos & other bits.

Supposedly you can get the power of the 1.4s and 1.5s up to 180 bhp, but a local tuning company near me won't touch them, which might tell you a bit about those engines!

If it were me, I'd go for a 1.8 version.

[anonymous-user]

p4cks said:

The 1.4 is an absolute peach. Can’t speak for the 1.5 engine but I’ve heard it’s even better.

Agreed. I ran the lower powered 125bhp version for 2 years and loved it. Surprisingly perky and flexible for it's power output and returned 45mpg with ease. I'd have another no problem.

[Terzo123]

The 1.4 150 ACT engine is a peach. I've read reports the 1.5 isn't as good, but have no experience of it myself.

The 1.8 is meant to be a decent engine, but its economy isn't anywhere near as good as the 1.4, and the performance is only slightly better.

I've had the 1.4 engine in two cars, an Audi A3 for 3 years and a Seat Leon for over 3 years, which we still have.

20 quid a year to tax, and an average of 40 mpg for city driving, isn't to be sniffed at.

[ED209]

Wife has an estate with the 150 hp 1.5 engine. It’s rapid enough for day to day transport and economical

[p4cks]

JackJarvis said:

p4cks said:

The 1.4 is an absolute peach. Can’t speak for the 1.5 engine but I’ve heard it’s even better.

Agreed. I ran the lower powered 125bhp version for 2 years and loved it. Surprisingly perky and flexible for it's power output and returned 45mpg with ease. I'd have another no problem.

I'm running the 125bhp version now in a shed Leon actually and it's very frugal. The 150hp version is much better in my opinion as it's a lot smoother, especially with the cylinder on demand thing it had in my A3

[valiant]

Anyone got one with the pano roof?

The Leon is on my list and keep returning to the Cupra version and quite fancy the pano roof but I’m quite tall at 6’1” and concerned about headroom.

Does it rob too much of available headroom? Pet hate is my head or hair rubbing the headlining or a car.

[Ecosseven]

rufusgti said:

Ecosseven said:

Not the estate, but I've owned a 1.8 FR 5 door hatch for the last 6 years. It is a manual and I bought it as a pre-owned SEAT management car at 8 months old.

What are your thoughts on it

.

It's been a good car. Mine has the technology pack which includes satnav and front and rear parking sensors - I think most of the 1.8 cars had this but best to check.

I average 40 MPG in mixed driving. Engine is smooth and revs well in my opinion. Quite linear in its delivery but continues to pull well all the way to the red line. Torque is the same as the 1.4 / 1.5 at 184 lb/ft. I run two cars so the Leon covers between 9 and 10k in a normal year and gets serviced once a year - I never have to top up the engine oil between services.

Gearbox is a bit notchy but perfectly usable.

It has the larger brakes than the smaller engined cars and also independent rear suspension.

Suspension is firm but not crashy. I personally think warm hatches are far better value than the top of the range hot hatches - the performance is decent, ride quality acceptable, cheap insurance, etc. The way I looked at it was I was buying a car on the latest MQB platform with similar performance to a mk5 Golf GTI for several thousand less than the equivalent age Leon Cupra / Golf GTI.

Whats gone wrong in 6 years ? Not much. One of the rear light clusters has a small crack in it and the rear wiper has an intermittent fault where it doesn't park in the correct position and occasionally stops half way across the back window. It may have resolved itself as I haven't noticed it in the last couple of months. Other than that it's been the usual consumables - tyres, brakes, etc.

One thing about the EA888 Gen 3 engine is that it uses a chain. I think the smaller 1.4 / 1.5 engines use a belt.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Edited by Ecosseven on Friday 16th July 12:05

[Paul Lazzaro]

Wasn't there a bad issue with bunny hopping on the 1.5 engine with the DSG? I seem to recall a lot of VAG owners had problems on the earlier cars with it. I presume a software update has fixed that issue?

[Glosphil]

Paul Lazzaro said:

Wasn't there a bad issue with bunny hopping on the 1.5 engine with the DSG? I seem to recall a lot of VAG owners had problems on the earlier cars with it. I presume a software update has fixed that issue?

With the manual as well.
One reason I bought a 2018 Leon FR 1.4TSi (150) rather than the same age Golf GT with the later 1.5. Both the Golf GTs I drove suffered with hesitation & roughness when engine cold.

[gatsanddogs]

Wife has a 2017 ST in FR trim with the 1.4 150hp and a manual box. It's been a great car, and as others have said, the engine is a sweet little thing, smooth and with enough power to enjoy a drive. It's economical as well if that's what you want. It has 18" wheels, and can be a bit crashy on poor surfaces at lower speeds, but seems to smooth out as the speedo numbers get bigger.