Hi all,
Had my leon for about 6 weeks or so now, done some long trips and normal work trips, so just going to give my opinions and compare it to my old mk5 ibiza which I traded in for it! Hopefully this can help someone coming from Ibiza to leon or something similar, but don’t forget this is just my personal opinion!
I went into the dealer to see what options I had as I had a new job and felt I was ready for a bigger car, more power, more room etc… and ended up walking out with a leon!
Just to add both cars I have had on PCP deals, with very little deposit paid on both.
Sorry for the long thing but wanted to break it down to explain myself!
Ok see here’s my old car specs:
2012 Ibiza FR 1.2TSI from brand new,
tech pack
sunroof
Bluetooth/audio pack
17” alloys
Nevada white
And my new car:
2013 Leon FR 1.8TSI , 6 months old 4500 miles on the clock.
tech pack
convenience pack
winter pack
media plus
seat sound
18” black seat alloys
black wrapped roof
Leather seats
Lima Green
General:
I loved my Ibiza, I was my 3rd car overall (I’m only 24 but been driving since I was 17)) but my first car from brand new. Loved it, thought it looked brilliant, it rode well and had the power when you needed it. Nice little city car I found, easy to park, had a lot of extras like auto lights etc... Which were nice to have! I did a lot of research before I brought it, when I say a lot I probably spent about 6/7 months looking, and I’m so glad I went with the Ibiza! However I had it 18 months and got a new job and wanted a little upgrade, just bit more power, bigger car and main thing I wanted it to be nicer inside, I found the Ibiza not very different to 7 old car I had before it!
Leon, I love it, I went in with a 20k budget, expecting to get a 1.4tsi brand new Leon with a few extras but not a lot. Luckily they had this lovely 6 months old for sale, ex management and had every extra you can think of, with a few little extras! Paid more than I wanted per month but I’m happy I got it! It has improved on every little bit the Ibiza had (bar the gearbox but read below for that). It is a very solid feeling car, the media system is brilliant, and the inside looks lovely! The outside looks good, it rides well and is a fun car to have!
Ride: Ibiza: 7/10 Leon: 8/10
Ibiza ride I found perfectly acceptable, was comfy, the seats really hugged you, but it was a tad harsh over speed bumps.
Leon ride I don’t actually find too different to the Ibiza, rides nice even on the 18’s, however I find it much more forgiving over speed bumps on the bumpy rides.
Engine: Ibiza: 7/10 Leon: 8/10
Ok I loved the 1.2tsi from the Ibiza, for such a little engine it had some proper grunt! The only downside is I think the mpg wasn’t as good as I expected, I was probably averaging 35-38mpg. Long trips the mpg was much better but the type of driving I did was just poor.
The leon 1.8tsi is just brilliant. It has some really umph when its needed, specially in 2nd gear, you put your foot down and you just go! And I am pleasantly surprised at the mpg I am getting, I was expecting to take a big hit but im really not, I’m probably averaging 33-37mpg. Its not as economical on the long trips as I would of thought but I don’t do them that often so its fine!
Gearbox: Ibiza:8/10 Leon: 7/10
Ibiza gearbox I didn’t have a single problem with, thought it was brilliant, the clutch was nice and light and easy to find the bite, it was a nice feeling gearbox, only slight issue I had was sometimes it tended to smell a bit stuck in traffic on a hot day.
Leon gearbox I’m not so keen on, it defiantly has a much heavier clutch, which took me a while to get used to, still haven’t sat in heavy traffic in it but not looking forward to that! The shifter has a much heavier feel to it, but I actually prefer that as it feel solid. The worst thing abit this gearbox is changing gears from 1st to 2nd. I find it very juddery, not as smooth as I would have liked, it tends to be worst in colder conditions. When putting foot down it can be quite harsh sometimes. Don’t get me wrong it’s not terrible, but I preferred my Ibiza clutch.
Handling: Ibiza:6/10 Leon: 8/10
Ibiza, for such a little car I found it really fun to drive, it gripped itself nicely but I found you could quite easily make it slid a little for abit more fun!
Leon I haven’t tested out as much, but when I had a little bit of fun I was amazed! It just gripped and gripped, and tried to have a little slid but found much harder than the Ibiza! Gives you loads of confidence in the wet.
Sound: Ibiza:6/10 Leon: 9/10
Ok there is a massive massive difference in the sound for both cars, I brought both top options on sound for both so feel I can compare both well. Don’t get me wrong the Ibiza wasn’t terrible, I would of called it ok but was distorted at high volumes and the quality was ok.
The leon sound seat is just what I wanted. It has a very nice sub, not overpowering but very noticeable. The quality is amazing, don’t now what speakers they use but its sounds great. It can go very loud with very little distortion which a lot of cars can’t do!
Storage: Ibiza: 6/10 Leon: 8/10
For a little car I found the Ibiza had lots of room, didn’t struggle to fit things in the boot or around somewhere. The glovebox was a nice size and had some handy cup holders.
However the leon just seems to have loads of room! The doors have more room, the boot is obviously larger with nice little side pocket thing. And the little cubby holes everywhere! Love the storage beneath the climate control, just perfect for a phone or my glasses etc… had nice storage slots under the seats too which I only found the other day. Generally lots of room for your stuff!
Overall
Ibiza 40/60 = 6.6/10
Leon 48/60 = 8/10
I loved my Ibiza, but think Leon is just a more rounded modern mature car! It has everything you can want in a car. Would say the mpg could improve but if want that then there is diesel options which give you that! My only, only thing I dislike is the gearbox, could just be a tad smoother and clutch made a tad lighter, but I’m being picky.
Feel free to disagree with me and give your thoughts! But if you have a Ibiza and want to upgrade, do it!
Had my leon for about 6 weeks or so now, done some long trips and normal work trips, so just going to give my opinions and compare it to my old mk5 ibiza which I traded in for it! Hopefully this can help someone coming from Ibiza to leon or something similar, but don’t forget this is just my personal opinion!
I went into the dealer to see what options I had as I had a new job and felt I was ready for a bigger car, more power, more room etc… and ended up walking out with a leon!
Just to add both cars I have had on PCP deals, with very little deposit paid on both.
Sorry for the long thing but wanted to break it down to explain myself!
Ok see here’s my old car specs:
2012 Ibiza FR 1.2TSI from brand new,
tech pack
sunroof
Bluetooth/audio pack
17” alloys
Nevada white
And my new car:
2013 Leon FR 1.8TSI , 6 months old 4500 miles on the clock.
tech pack
convenience pack
winter pack
media plus
seat sound
18” black seat alloys
black wrapped roof
Leather seats
Lima Green
General:
I loved my Ibiza, I was my 3rd car overall (I’m only 24 but been driving since I was 17)) but my first car from brand new. Loved it, thought it looked brilliant, it rode well and had the power when you needed it. Nice little city car I found, easy to park, had a lot of extras like auto lights etc... Which were nice to have! I did a lot of research before I brought it, when I say a lot I probably spent about 6/7 months looking, and I’m so glad I went with the Ibiza! However I had it 18 months and got a new job and wanted a little upgrade, just bit more power, bigger car and main thing I wanted it to be nicer inside, I found the Ibiza not very different to 7 old car I had before it!
Leon, I love it, I went in with a 20k budget, expecting to get a 1.4tsi brand new Leon with a few extras but not a lot. Luckily they had this lovely 6 months old for sale, ex management and had every extra you can think of, with a few little extras! Paid more than I wanted per month but I’m happy I got it! It has improved on every little bit the Ibiza had (bar the gearbox but read below for that). It is a very solid feeling car, the media system is brilliant, and the inside looks lovely! The outside looks good, it rides well and is a fun car to have!
Ride: Ibiza: 7/10 Leon: 8/10
Ibiza ride I found perfectly acceptable, was comfy, the seats really hugged you, but it was a tad harsh over speed bumps.
Leon ride I don’t actually find too different to the Ibiza, rides nice even on the 18’s, however I find it much more forgiving over speed bumps on the bumpy rides.
Engine: Ibiza: 7/10 Leon: 8/10
Ok I loved the 1.2tsi from the Ibiza, for such a little engine it had some proper grunt! The only downside is I think the mpg wasn’t as good as I expected, I was probably averaging 35-38mpg. Long trips the mpg was much better but the type of driving I did was just poor.
The leon 1.8tsi is just brilliant. It has some really umph when its needed, specially in 2nd gear, you put your foot down and you just go! And I am pleasantly surprised at the mpg I am getting, I was expecting to take a big hit but im really not, I’m probably averaging 33-37mpg. Its not as economical on the long trips as I would of thought but I don’t do them that often so its fine!
Gearbox: Ibiza:8/10 Leon: 7/10
Ibiza gearbox I didn’t have a single problem with, thought it was brilliant, the clutch was nice and light and easy to find the bite, it was a nice feeling gearbox, only slight issue I had was sometimes it tended to smell a bit stuck in traffic on a hot day.
Leon gearbox I’m not so keen on, it defiantly has a much heavier clutch, which took me a while to get used to, still haven’t sat in heavy traffic in it but not looking forward to that! The shifter has a much heavier feel to it, but I actually prefer that as it feel solid. The worst thing abit this gearbox is changing gears from 1st to 2nd. I find it very juddery, not as smooth as I would have liked, it tends to be worst in colder conditions. When putting foot down it can be quite harsh sometimes. Don’t get me wrong it’s not terrible, but I preferred my Ibiza clutch.
Handling: Ibiza:6/10 Leon: 8/10
Ibiza, for such a little car I found it really fun to drive, it gripped itself nicely but I found you could quite easily make it slid a little for abit more fun!
Leon I haven’t tested out as much, but when I had a little bit of fun I was amazed! It just gripped and gripped, and tried to have a little slid but found much harder than the Ibiza! Gives you loads of confidence in the wet.
Sound: Ibiza:6/10 Leon: 9/10
Ok there is a massive massive difference in the sound for both cars, I brought both top options on sound for both so feel I can compare both well. Don’t get me wrong the Ibiza wasn’t terrible, I would of called it ok but was distorted at high volumes and the quality was ok.
The leon sound seat is just what I wanted. It has a very nice sub, not overpowering but very noticeable. The quality is amazing, don’t now what speakers they use but its sounds great. It can go very loud with very little distortion which a lot of cars can’t do!
Storage: Ibiza: 6/10 Leon: 8/10
For a little car I found the Ibiza had lots of room, didn’t struggle to fit things in the boot or around somewhere. The glovebox was a nice size and had some handy cup holders.
However the leon just seems to have loads of room! The doors have more room, the boot is obviously larger with nice little side pocket thing. And the little cubby holes everywhere! Love the storage beneath the climate control, just perfect for a phone or my glasses etc… had nice storage slots under the seats too which I only found the other day. Generally lots of room for your stuff!
Overall
Ibiza 40/60 = 6.6/10
Leon 48/60 = 8/10
I loved my Ibiza, but think Leon is just a more rounded modern mature car! It has everything you can want in a car. Would say the mpg could improve but if want that then there is diesel options which give you that! My only, only thing I dislike is the gearbox, could just be a tad smoother and clutch made a tad lighter, but I’m being picky.
Feel free to disagree with me and give your thoughts! But if you have a Ibiza and want to upgrade, do it!
