If you have follewed a few of my threads you will have noticed I was struggling on what model Leon to go for (if indeed I actually went for one). The DPF issue was making me have major worries about the FR tdi but after meeting a fantastic dealer today we signed on the dotted line 
We decided on 2 cars to buy after looking at a possible 6 different cars) either the Astra sri 1.9cdti 150 or the Leon FR 2.0TDi 170. After driving both we both decided that it had to be the leon. Now although I am the Chairman of the Astra Owners Club (largest all astra club in the UK) I wasnt actually biast to the astra, although the price I could get a new one at made me think very hard about which car we went for. Sensible head and easy on the pocket would have been the astra without fail, but heart was on the leon FR especially after we drove it
The car is for my girlfriend Sarah for day to day use, but as my astra is a full on show car I will be using it outside of work and weekends etc. Here is how our day panned out with test driving both cars....
The Astra
We really liked the Astra and it was very easy to drive (more so than the Leon) for a first drive. However the main reason we didn't go for it was that Sarah (GF) couldn't get comfortable in it compared to the Leon. The seat didn't really go high enough and it was a struggle to see around the car once in a position she was sort of happy with. Although the 5 door Astra is a great car it also screamed family and not much fun, and sorry to say (and hard to say) not at all sporty . On the plus side the engine is fantastic and is smooth and pulls really well, to be honest it would be easier to live with than the Leon one. If we were buying a sport hatch we would have had it over the Leon.
The Leon
Styling wise its a love or hate affair we have found when talkign to people, both of us love it and it doesn't instantly shout 5 door family car to us. With its bold front bumper it looks aggressive yet it still has the practicalities of a 5 door car (which is what we required). Inside I have got to say is light years ahead of the Astra especially on the FR model, better seats, as good equipment and better put together. The fact that the astra has next to no storage also put us off. If vauxhall did a VXR diesel then I think it would have been a lot closer but at present there are no plans to do this. I honestly think this is a very stupid idea from vauxhall. We have the dealer specials 888 diesels and T9's but they are nothign more than modified cars from a dealer, and they dont address the poor interior on the astra.
So the car we went for is as follows:
Leon FR 2.0 Tdi 170BHP
Black Magic
Options:
Metallic Paint
18's
Bluetooth (which gives a better MFD and head unit)
Airbag deactivation
We can not have the car until the 1st of March but will be an ex-demo its currently done 1350 miles and will do around 2500 to 3000 miles by March (it will do no more than 3000 whatever). It comes with a tank of fuel, tax for 9 months and 2 years European+home AA cover.
We paid £15500.00 and got £1250 for the golf Mk4.
All in all I am very happy with the car, it was a little more than I wanted to pay, and I would have liked the convenience pack as well, but the dealer was fantastic, and we already have a good repour with him. Its a family run business and they are aware of cars being modified within warranty and are in tune to our needs The extra money was worth it really as I know we will be looked after there if we have any issues, most importantly they wont be charging us for cleaning of the DPF filter and are aware of the issues some people are experiencing This was a massive/huge reason why we got the car of them.
So all in all we are very happy indeed
I just wanted to say a MASSIVE AND HUGE THANK YOU to Irfan from M1 Autos (seatcarsdirect.co.uk) , he took some time to get us a cracking deal and was more than helpful in any possible way he could. If you are in the market for a new Leon or nearly new give Irfan a shout as I am sure he will do you a great price, as he did us. The only reason we didnt go with Irfan was due to my worries about the DPF and the fact we would have had to get rid of the golf privatly as well. After weighing up the options we are paying a little more than Irfan was offering but I think that is out weighed by a good relationship with a closeish dealer
Thanks Irfan and sorry I was unable to call you back to day it all got a little busy and then we had some family plans as well.
Next up is planning the mods
We decided on 2 cars to buy after looking at a possible 6 different cars) either the Astra sri 1.9cdti 150 or the Leon FR 2.0TDi 170. After driving both we both decided that it had to be the leon. Now although I am the Chairman of the Astra Owners Club (largest all astra club in the UK) I wasnt actually biast to the astra, although the price I could get a new one at made me think very hard about which car we went for. Sensible head and easy on the pocket would have been the astra without fail, but heart was on the leon FR especially after we drove it
The car is for my girlfriend Sarah for day to day use, but as my astra is a full on show car I will be using it outside of work and weekends etc. Here is how our day panned out with test driving both cars....
The Astra
We really liked the Astra and it was very easy to drive (more so than the Leon) for a first drive. However the main reason we didn't go for it was that Sarah (GF) couldn't get comfortable in it compared to the Leon. The seat didn't really go high enough and it was a struggle to see around the car once in a position she was sort of happy with. Although the 5 door Astra is a great car it also screamed family and not much fun, and sorry to say (and hard to say) not at all sporty
. On the plus side the engine is fantastic and is smooth and pulls really well, to be honest it would be easier to live with than the Leon one. If we were buying a sport hatch we would have had it over the Leon.The Leon
Styling wise its a love or hate affair we have found when talkign to people, both of us love it and it doesn't instantly shout 5 door family car to us. With its bold front bumper it looks aggressive yet it still has the practicalities of a 5 door car (which is what we required). Inside I have got to say is light years ahead of the Astra especially on the FR model, better seats, as good equipment and better put together. The fact that the astra has next to no storage also put us off. If vauxhall did a VXR diesel then I think it would have been a lot closer but at present there are no plans to do this. I honestly think this is a very stupid idea from vauxhall. We have the dealer specials 888 diesels and T9's but they are nothign more than modified cars from a dealer, and they dont address the poor interior on the astra.
So the car we went for is as follows:
Leon FR 2.0 Tdi 170BHP
Black Magic
Options:
Metallic Paint
18's
Bluetooth (which gives a better MFD and head unit)
Airbag deactivation
We can not have the car until the 1st of March but will be an ex-demo its currently done 1350 miles and will do around 2500 to 3000 miles by March (it will do no more than 3000 whatever). It comes with a tank of fuel, tax for 9 months and 2 years European+home AA cover.
We paid £15500.00 and got £1250 for the golf Mk4.
All in all I am very happy with the car, it was a little more than I wanted to pay, and I would have liked the convenience pack as well, but the dealer was fantastic, and we already have a good repour with him. Its a family run business and they are aware of cars being modified within warranty and are in tune to our needs
The extra money was worth it really as I know we will be looked after there if we have any issues, most importantly they wont be charging us for cleaning of the DPF filter and are aware of the issues some people are experiencing This was a massive/huge reason why we got the car of them.So all in all we are very happy indeed
I just wanted to say a MASSIVE AND HUGE THANK YOU to Irfan from M1 Autos (seatcarsdirect.co.uk) , he took some time to get us a cracking deal and was more than helpful in any possible way he could. If you are in the market for a new Leon or nearly new give Irfan a shout as I am sure he will do you a great price, as he did us. The only reason we didnt go with Irfan was due to my worries about the DPF and the fact we would have had to get rid of the golf privatly as well. After weighing up the options we are paying a little more than Irfan was offering but I think that is out weighed by a good relationship with a closeish dealer
Thanks Irfan and sorry I was unable to call you back to day it all got a little busy and then we had some family plans as well.
Next up is planning the mods
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