Opinions please on engines, 1.2 TSi and 1.6TDi and new finance plan

[alesi27]

Hi all,

Still a happy camper in my 2007 Leon Stylance 1.6L (with all it's 8 valves) and 50,000 kms on the clock. Has only cost me 3 tyres and normal servicing over the years. However, might be looking to change in the new year. The local dealer wrote to me last week with the details of the new offers coming up and so I called in yesterday.

Basically, if I order before 31st Dec I get 3 yrs free servicing, 1 yrs road tax and 1 yrs extended factory mobility (whatever that is). Total of €500-750. I was also informed about the new PCP product, a new concept to both me and the dealer. This is where you only finance 2/3 of the loan, repay deposit with your trade in, middle chunk over 3 years and the final value can be paid in full or refinanced, hand the car back or use it's residual value (minus their GFV) as a trade in.

Unfortunately, the choice of cars here is not the same as the UK. My budget plan (i.e. what I'm willing to pay per month) has me limited also. If the 1.4TSI FR was available here I'd snap it up, but it isn't. We are only able to get the 1.2TSi and 1.6TDi so that's what I've got to chose from. Can anyone give me a brief rundown on the pros and cons of both engines? (he didn't have a Leon to test drive with either engine, only a Pre-facelift 2.0 FR DSG...)

Another annoying thing here is that the Copa Models are not available here either. I can chose from a Reference Special edition (16" Elio Alloys, front fogs and cornering function, electric & heated mirrors, multifunction steering wheel and onboard comp over Reference spec; 'S' spec in the UK?) for €22,300 or a Style for €25,500. While the Style is my preferred choice, that's a lot of extra money for a leather steering wheel, cruise, full climate control and rear electric windows.

I really like the leather steering wheel though! The other thing to mention is that I have an RNS 510 fitted to my 07 car, will this transplant ok to the FL cars?

So anyone have any ideas on which engine to choose? Is the 1.2 asthmatic or gutsy? Diesel the way to go? (price difference is negligible here between the two, less than €1300).
Also, is there any good reason to opt for the 3 year part finance deal over the normal 5-year pay-for-all-the-car arrangement?

My other option is to wait till the spring and try to get a 2010 Exeo 2.0 tdi Style with 30K kms on the clock, for about €14k with my own.

Thanks all,
(a confused) Roy

 

[betty_swollox]

It might help if the figures were in £ not euros lol, I have no idea what the exhange rate is


Edit: go for the exeo

 

[AndyG_TSi]

Bit of a curveball option.........
Why not get the car you really want, the 1.4tsi fr from an English based dealer or northern Ireland based dealer......

 

[/dev/null]

It might help if the figures were in £ not euros lol, I have no idea what the exhange rate is

I usually just use roughly 1:1 these days lol.

 

[alesi27]

Bit of a curveball option.........
Why not get the car you really want, the 1.4tsi fr from an English based dealer or northern Ireland based dealer......

Dunno how I can finance that, if I was paying cash no bother. But then would still get screwed by Irish Govt. VRT (add 20% to what I pay Northern Ireland dealer) when I tried to import it and can't trade my own in against it, and can kiss any warranty goodbye...

Rough exchange rate is €24k is about £20.5K

 

[betty_swollox]

Dunno how I can finance that, if I was paying cash no bother. But then would still get screwed by Irish Govt. VRT (add 20% to what I pay Northern Ireland dealer) when I tried to import it and can't trade my own in against it, and can kiss any warranty goodbye...

Rough exchange rate is €24k is about £20.5K

Not really worth getting it imported then is it ? That is crap, just because you're from republic of Ireland lol?

 

[alesi27]

No, not really. You can save a few bob if you are importing a nearly new second hand car that's well spec'd and have the dosh in the first place.

More questions;
Is it
A; difficult and B; expensive to get a leather steering wheel & gear lever fitted to a car that doesn't have it from the factory? what about the silver dash surround, the SE only comes with the plain black?

It also appears from the Seat.ie website that Bluetooth is not an option on any of the Reference & Special Edition models. Surely not?

 

[AndyG_TSi]

Question:

if i as a UK national moved to the republic of Ireland permanently and brought my UK registered Leon, would i have to have it re-registered in Ireland, pay import duties etc??.

If the answer is no then what's the difference of you buying a UK spec car having it registered here with a UK number plate and taking it to Ireland.......

Just thinking out loud here........

I was looking at Leon accessories and for a matching red/black leather gearknob armrest and handbrake cover it was £300.....if that is any help in giving a guide for adding spec

 

[alesi27]

magnum, thanks for that.

You would have proof of address in the UK for the last x number of years (utility bills, income tax certs etc.) proof of ownership of the car and presumably a new address and possibly new job in ROI, so no you would not have to pay VRT.

I on the other hand, arrive in Rosslare with a brand new car, mileage equivalent to the trip from UK Seat dealer to Fishguard and data on Irish Revenue records of being employed here and living here for the last 20-odd years, would have to pay 20% of the vehicle value for a pair of Irish number plates.

Some people have done it, and of course, the more expensive the car the more sense it makes, but you are talking Range Rover size money to make it worth the hassle. Used cars, it also makes sense for them, but not in this case.

So, anyone got any recommentations on the engine choice? I am also considering another option, which is keep my 07 Stylance with it's comfort goodies and leather steering wheel, and drive it on. This means I'll have to start all over again in another 3 years when going to finance a new car, as by then it will be worth nothing, whereas at the moment I'm getting a reasonably decent trade in value on it.

He also offered to sell me the 2.0FR DSG at a bargain, about 17K with my own. I asked him how many free penalty points I get with it.....

 

[alesi27]

Still wondering about the engines? Anyone?

(Other questions still relevant too!)

 

[markmeus]

Well the TDI is not as economical as the brochure states! I find it's MPG extremly variable, it can be as good as 65mpg or as low as 40mpg.

As the Leon is a bigger can than the Ibiza i'd expect the figures to be even lower.
But having said that some people on here get exceptional mpg.

The nice thing about the TDI is the torque, though I havn't driven the TSI to compare.

 

[ToroNegro]

I have a 1.2 Tsi and having driven a 1.2 8v Grande Punto for the last 4 years as well as having driven a 3.0 V6 CRD Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Skoda Fabia 1.6tdi.

Can say the amount of pull from the 1.2tsi is really surprising and very impressive. Unless you are doing the annual milage which warrants the higher initial purchase price and price per tank of a diesel then go for the 1.2tsi. Me and my friend, baring in mind I'm new to the car, were getting high 40mpg just messing around with the start stop etc on a car park. You also have the added bonus of no tractor sound.

 

[AndyG_TSi]

Well, this choice will very much depend on how many miles you do per year and on what roads the majority of those miles are done on.

If your normal car use is in town driving and you do say 10 - 12k miles per year then id be inclined to plump for the 1.2tsi petrol.

If your doing over say 20 - 30k per year and have lots of motorway use id go for the diesel.

If you use a modern diesel for short stop start journeys you are storing up issues for later on.

If you are only doing average miles per year you will not make any cost saving on fuel. The cost differential between petrol and diesel will not be clawed back with the extra economy the diesel offers.

If the 1.2tsi is similar to the 1.4tsi in my car i say go for the petrol. Its peppy enough

 

[alesi27]

Thanks for all that lads.

Well, after 5 years, 2 or 3 yearly long hauls (i.e. the length of the country) and 3 months working in Dublin and commuting home at the weekends I've still only done 50,000 kms, or 31,000 miles.

Diesel is cheaper than or the same as Petrol here, but as the price of both is only likely to go up I thought the diesel was a better bet. The difference in the price of the cars is only €1300 (or £1090 Stg to you lot!). Or about €14 a month.

The bugbear is that the Style is over 3 grand more than the Reference/Special edition, and only has the leather steering wheel, gearknob, cruise, full climatronic and rear elec windows over the special edition. So I'm looking at spending money on a lower spec car.... and not the car I really want...

If the Special Edition didn't exist it wouldn't be an issue for my wallet....

The FR DSG is tempting but madness (upper limit of my budget and I'll never be able to trade it in against anything) not to mention trying to keep it in petrol and keep my license.
The Exeo is 2010 and a high spec Style, with 30k kms.

Or my own car is paid for in Jan. Drive it on and stay repayment free? But then have to start all over again in 2 years time... (prob with Leon Mk3?)

AAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!

 

[AndyG_TSi]

So you're averaging 6,200 miles/10,000kms per year

to try and give you some idea, prior to getting the Leon 1.4Tsi Sport, i had a 2002 '52' plate 1.6 Zetec Focus. A 'Chic' special edition.

The 1.4 turbo engined Leon feels like it has a lot more grunt than the non turbo'd 1.6 zetec in the Ford that i was used to for the past 4 years. it feels a lot quicker than the 1.6 zetec powered Ford. The 1.4 Leon has got 125Bhp and the 1.6 Focus has 100Bhp...
Plus the Leon is more economical than the Focus, i'm getting 33 - 35 mpg in the week on my 14mile round trip commute in busy traffic and on the motorway on a 60mph cruise i've had it up to 49Mpg per the MFD.
Not shoddy MPG return for a petrol engine

I would imagine that the 1.2Tsi Turbo engine would feel quick enough and be on a par with a 1.4 non turbo engine, but I would imagine it'd be even more fuel efficient/economical than the 1.4Tsi. As has been said by Toro Negro above, he got 40mpg from the 1.2Tsi 'messing about'.

So whats the point of getting the soot chucker, when it not going to be used that much and you can get as near as good MPG return from petrol power

I know it doesn't really matter to you, but you're not going to get back the 1300 euro difference in cost between the 1.6 Diesel & 1.2Tsi in less trips to the pumps, as your mileage is too low

The trouble is Diesels need to be used in order to be kept running smoothly, if all your doing is pootling about with the occasional long run, then your storing up problems with clogged filters etc which will be very costly to fix if something goes wrong.

if it was me in your shoes, i'd be looking at the 1.2Tsi rather than the 1.6 Diesel.

the 1.4TSi is a good, reliable performer and the 1.2Tsi is basically the same engine with 200cc less capacity

The best thing to do is insist your dealer gets a 1.2Tsi for you to test drive and give it a go.........

EDIT:
After just googling it the 1.2TSi petrol engine in the Leon has 103Bhp, so compare that to the 100bhp from the 1.6L Ford zetec Engine and your getting more power from a 1.2 than a non turbo'd 1.6 engine
That cant be too shoddy now can it!

 

[ToroNegro]

magnum pi makes a very valid point.

Basically for the milage you say you are doing, it doesn't warrant a diesel really.

When my dealer said the car we were looking at was a 1.2, myself and my parents laughed. Then we drove it. Seriously, the pull of the 1.2 is amazing and the mpg to go with it is damn good too. Once I've gotten used to it I'm expecting ill beat the quoted mpg.

My old punto 1.2 was supposed to get 40 mpg best (parkers says 47 mind) the best i had though was 76.3 driving from Harbourne in rush hour.

 

[Jarre]

I own a Seat Leon 1.2TSI, the engine is fantastic and also cheap to insure, i'm only 17 and its cheaper than my old 1.2 clio! It really pulls after around 1500rpm, it has 6 gears so quiet on the motorway too. MPG is not as good as stated in the brochure though! i only manage around 37-37mpg, although i mostly do town driving, i will spend around 30 mins a day at a standstill so that won't help! I reckon if it wasn't for this i would be getting around 42mpg?

If the 1.4TSi is an option go for that, it will be a fair bit quicker, although insurance is higher, i think mpg is around the same.

 

[G.P]

Or my own car is paid for in Jan. Drive it on and stay repayment free?

IMO, I hate owning money. . .

 

[alesi27]

Owning or Oweing?????

Thanks lads, I think a test drive is in order.....

 

[G.P]

Owning or Oweing?????

Need I answer