Faults:

Sometimes jumps out of reverse gear.

Clutch sometimes sticks and unable to engage a gear, this is rectified by lifting and re depressing the clutch.

Oil pump failed at 57,000 miles, This has caused wear on the cam shaft and valves, which are currently been replaced.

General Comments:

The handling of the car is superb, it sticks to the road well and enjoys cornering at speed.

The engine, despite only having 80bhp, is playful and has the performance of a bigger engine. It revs well and has vast amounts of power from about 3,000rpm. Sometimes needs downshifting or coaxing in 5th at 45mph, which is about 1,500rpm, but when it gets into the stride of the power band, it seems to keep to want going.

We currently own a 2008 Corsa SXi, and my little Seat will easily keep up and can even out corner and brake its bigger 1.6 cousin. =)

Faults:

Ignition coil went at 77,000 miles.

Alternator went at 76,000 miles.

Horn didn't work.

Passenger side seat belt only retracts when it feels like it.

Leak in both passenger and driver side foot well.

General Comments:

Overall I am very impressed with the Leon as I was a bit worried about buying what is essentially a cheap Golf.

The car handles very well. It also performs well, but only when it feels like it! There have been a few occasion's that the car has felt completely lifeless and has needed to be worked very hard. However, for the most part it performs very well, although it still requires a down-change when joining the motorway as it can be very sluggish from 40-55 in fifth gear.

The car grips the road very well, and it seems to make no fuss over cornering at 75mph.

It is easy to drive as both the clutch and steering are light, however the gearbox can be quite notchy. There is a lot of communication and feedback from the steering, but the brakes on the other hand can feel a bit ineffective - especially at speed.

Overall I am pleased with the Leon - as mentioned above. I have had just short of 40,000 miles worth of pretty trouble free motoring apart from the 2 blips with the coil and alternator. Fuel economy is good too, unless the car is worked hard - then it is very unforgiving on the fuel bill!!

Faults:

When I first purchased the car I discovered that the handbrake would knock when released, but this seems to have sorted itself out.

After about a week of purchasing the car, I noticed that there was a small leak in the passenger foot-well, but within a couple of days, this had progressed so badly that almost the whole foot-well was full of water. This was fixed at the dealer free of charge as it was supposed to have been dealt with before collection.

Had no further problems until at the start of this year when I noticed that the driver foot-well had also developed a leak, but was only small, and is only noticeable after heavy rain.

Again, no further problems until recently the alternator, front passenger-side shock absorber and front section of the exhaust broke. This all through fault of my own. Due to a family emergency, I was rushing home along very poor quality back-roads, and had actually become airborne on a number of occasions. Which is the cause of the broken exhaust and shock absorber.

Now, just last week the ignition coil went, but I have been assured that this is a common problem with the Leon, and was cheap to repair anyway at just £82.00.

Other than these I have had no other problems with the car, apart from there is a struggle to get the car into reverse gear at times, but have found it to be completely reliable.

General Comments:

Although this is my first car, I can honestly say that I have not driven a car that handles better. On a number of occasions I have driven cars belonging to other family members and I can honestly say that my Leon is better than all of them!

For a 1.4 16V, I am very impressed with its performance. With only 75BHP, and being really quite a heavy car, the performance given by the little engine is truly phenomenal. In this case, the 75 horses under the bonnet are raging stallions, which is not something you can say about every car! A close family member owns a 1.4 Renault Megane, and it just simply cannot keep up with my Leon.

I have found the car to be very easy to drive, and park. The car handles extremely well and is very grippy in dry conditions, although can be a bit twitchy in the rain. It is comfortable, spacious and has a good quality interior. Excellent fuel economy is achieved too.