2007 Seat Leon FR 2.0 litre TDI (170 BHP)

Summary:

Fantastic

Faults:

No faults to date.

General Comments:

This car looks gorgeous, goes like a train and seems to be really well built.

I wasn't sure if I was making the right choice when I bought this car, but after one month of ownership, I am completely sold.

The ride is hard but the handling is great. The performance still makes me smile every time I drive the car, and it shows many other hot hatches a clean pair of heels should I choose to mess about a bit. It struggles to put the power down in the wet despite having traction control, but in the dry it just grips and goes!

Even my wife is smitten and she's the most sensible, practical woman in the world! She keeps borrowing the car every time my back is turned - it could be the end of a beautiful relationship!

Some people have made comments about the interior being a bit cheap, but it is well put together and sporty - I have no complaints.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 10th March, 2008

15th Mar 2008, 02:00

I can't seem to average any higher than mid to late 30's mpg in the FR. Whilst I don't think my driving style is necessarily the most sympathetic, it won't even do it on a long run. Has anyone else experienced this with the TDI FR? On another note, the car is still great, and this is a small price to pay for the overall package.

25th Sep 2008, 12:13

I have a 2007 FR 2.0ltr diesel, and found the fuel economy to be pretty poor - 30's mpg. But bought a gadget off ebay for £20 that plugs into the fuel temp sender, which tells the ECU that the fuel is hot, I think? Am now getting late 40's mpg and the best so far has been 54 mpg (mpg taken from computer for overall mpg) Getting about 70/80 miles more out of a tank!!! Also has increased BHP but by how much who knows? Goes better than it did before! Pabs.

15th Oct 2008, 04:41

I have the TDI 2.0 Sport, 2005 model. I used to get about 49mpg combined on a long A-road run. Then I dropped my speed on the dual carriageways from 80mph to 70mph and the MPG I achieve has shot up to an average 56mpg. It seems outrageously economical to me, to the point that I often think the computer is fibbing.

So anyway, my tip is this; stick to 70mph and you'll save much more money.

17th Jun 2009, 16:30

There wasn't a 2.0L TDi FR in 2005 was there?? I had the 1.9 FR in 2005 and had extremely good performance and economy in that model. Now I drive a 2008 2.0L FR170 which seems to have a slightly slower acceleration rate than my 2005 FR150 and additionally, as stated earlier, has a really quite poor mpg record. I struggle to get better than 38mpg even driving very defensively and taking care not to be too heavy-footed.

My main gripe about this model is the road noise. The sound-proofing is truly awful and frankly, I'm going back to a petrol car because of comparable performance figures but less noise.

2007 Seat Leon Stylance Sport 2.0 litre TDI

Summary:

A lovely performer from Seat.

Faults:

Nothing so far - touch wood.

General Comments:

This car is a sheep in wolf's clothing. It has the latest DSG 6 speed gearbox which is just sublime. For a diesel, it goes like a bat - it can be a bit choppy at lower speeds, but suits an open road well. The interior is well laid out and all the instruments glow an evil red, with a lovely white dash to look at.

This car will compete with the BMW's out there and make them look shameful.

I love it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th August, 2007

24th Sep 2007, 06:46

This is my follow up of my ownership of the above car.

Mmmm. Well what can I say so far - After about 600 mile the interior rattles like mad. In fact it drives me crazy on motorway journeys. The sporty suspension in town is extremely uncomfortable to the point nearly all of my passengers, including me, have felt sick even after short trips. You really do feel every bump even on 'smooth' roads. The window washer container has now developed a leak. The gear ratio is set far too high in auto mode, to the point that I have to put my foot down to encourage it to change down gear. When the turbo kicks in with this car you better make sure no one, and I mean no one is near the front of the car as it rockets the car without notice. Another point I have noticed is the paint work in very very thin indeed - looks like a 2 coat job - you can even see the stripes of the the paint on the side!!!