FR (petrol) vs GTI

Rob GTI · Sep 14, 2006

Suprised I've not seem many posts about this already, (seen one or two about mag reviews though). Anyway just test drove both today and was really impressed with both. Just wanted to see if anyone else has tried the same and supports or has any different comments?

The Leon I drove is brand new offered at £16k with 18's met paint and bluetooth and the golf was £18.5k (05 plate, 22k miles) with leather, 3 door, met paint and cd changer.

Anyway here are my thoughts on comparison:

Golf GTI - better interior / quality of materials and design and layout
Golf GTI - better sounding exhaust note
Golf GTI - better heritage / more kudos (must be a Psychological thing when you are behind the wheel)
Leon - better looking as a five door
Leon - more exclusive (for now)
Leon - much better standard kit
Leon - Cheaper by £2.5k (even brand new with a choice of options its cheaper)

Performance - both very similar, hard to say which if any was faster.
Handling - again both similar (bearing in mind I was on a test drive not a rally)
Ride - the Leon was firmer (but this was probably due to the Leon had the optional 18s and the golf had 17s)

So what you people think??

All this and I'm not ready to change my car until Xmas (had a day off and got bored so decided to indulge myself!!!)

Syphon · Sep 14, 2006

Wait for the cupra!

Scott

Rob GTI · Sep 14, 2006

I think the FR would be a better buy (for me anyway) than the Cupra due to the purchase price and running costs I'd imagine being cheaper. If it were down to the Cupra or GTI I would probably go for the GTI and have it chipped as the prices maybe similar.

Also i think the cupra might be a bit too hardcore for me I don't need a race replica look: big brakes and seats, like it a bit more subtle! (must be getting old)

k4ith · Sep 15, 2006

the mk5 golf interior put me off, i dont like it, if it had the mk4 then bingo, the price also its to dear for what your getting,
I bought the new Leon FR again as you said more for your money, interior is ok could be better, then again most manu these days use horrible ones bar audi.
Accesor for the seat are quite good also, also has the vag group quality, but i gues it comes down to badge snobbery,VWgti or Seat or even Skoda good cars starting to gold their value now, but would you buy one but its a Vag group car.I looked above and beyond the badge and the Leon was a better package.I thinks. :blink:

m0rk · Sep 15, 2006

It's funny how you say the Leon had a harder ride, some of the comics say it's softer than the golf, some say harder

m0rk says - about right for a road car

Rob GTI · Sep 15, 2006

Maybe the mixed comments about the ride is due to the fact that the testers have tried 17's on one car and 18's on the other. Either way theres not much in it and its all subjective and will vary on different surfaces...

safcnige · Sep 15, 2006

get a focus st2

mrcoyote · Sep 15, 2006

I already have.

Rob GTI · Sep 15, 2006

Focus ST2 was on my list of maybe however the fuel consumption is the only thing that puts me off. If someone can enlighten me as to what it does per tank (crusing on m way at 70 -80) i might consider it. Most of my driving is motorway (as the car is an opt out of a co. car they pay me more for a bigger engine etc..) so as long as it returns a decent MPG cruising at 70 -80 all day I'll be happy. Ragging it on the weekend / evening dosn't matter what the MPG is, it's just I don't want to lose money on a long business trip..

moreno510 · Sep 15, 2006

i've driven both on 18" wheels and i've got to say that there was very little difference in ride if any.

what put me off the fr was the interior quality

the dash looks and feels cheap

and the seats though very supportive are not the best looking
in saying that the golf i ended up getting has a leather interior

although to drive there was very little difference the gulf in price will only widen as these get older

mrcoyote · Sep 15, 2006

Rob GTI said:
Focus ST2 was on my list of maybe however the fuel consumption is the only thing that puts me off. If someone can enlighten me as to what it does per tank (crusing on m way at 70 -80) i might consider it. Most of my driving is motorway (as the car is an opt out of a co. car they pay me more for a bigger engine etc..) so as long as it returns a decent MPG cruising at 70 -80 all day I'll be happy. Ragging it on the weekend / evening dosn't matter what the MPG is, it's just I don't want to lose money on a long business trip..

On a decent run at motorway speeds you're probably looking at around 32-35 mpg which isn't that bad considering the large engine capacity. On the trip to the ring cruising at 85-90mph, I was getting around 28-29mpg which was a bit of a shock, but then again anything under 40 was surprising as I came from an Ibiza TDI.

I think the most I've ever seen out of one (55l) tank must be something like 290 miles, but that's because I spend most of my time in town which kills the fuel economy a bit.

Ant FR · Sep 15, 2006

moreno510 said:
i've driven both on 18" wheels and i've got to say that there was very little difference in ride if any.

what put me off the fr was the interior quality

the dash looks and feels cheap

and the seats though very supportive are not the best looking
in saying that the golf i ended up getting has a leather interior

although to drive there was very little difference the gulf in price will only widen as these get older

i'm not so sure, just look at the cupra tdi leon mk1 vs the 150 Golf mk4 gti tdi, both have depreciated to around the same price, both seem to be holding price very well but comparatively same aged golfs and leon 150 tdi's the golf has actually lost more of its original value making the leon the better reidual holder. So don't assume tat just cos its got a vw badge it will be better on depreciation.

Plus look at the 2.0 Tdi golf mk5, dropping like stones in price and fast approaching 10k mark, with an 18k start price thats very very bad,

Golfs depreciation is effected heavily by the fleet drivrs flooding the market. and he golf gti surpriinglyhas been a top 10 fleet user car, so this will further reduce values.

Rob GTI · Sep 16, 2006

Another point thats worth bearing in mind when comparing these 2 cars is that the Seat is chepaer to insure (for me anyway). Got a quote of £711 for the Leon and £860 for the Golf from Confused.com. (The quotes are quite high because they cover business use upto 30,000K a year.)

So there's an extra £150 in your back pocket if you get the Leon!

Oh by the way the Focus ST2 came in an £998 a year to insure (all based on the same criteria).

Rob GTI · Sep 16, 2006

Not that I'm interested in one but thought I'd get a quote for anyone's interest ont the diesel FR (it only takes a minute or two once you enter your details once).

Anyway the diesel is £648 a year just over £60 cheaper than the petrol..

Ant FR · Sep 16, 2006

I checked the insurance the other day when i was bored ( more like dodgy work) at work and a leon fr tdi for me, wih everything, no claims protec and hire car came out at £345 for the tdi which i thought was quite reasonable, but it just means i must be getting old i suppose.

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FR (petrol) vs GTI

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