My Leon history starts way back so bear with me.
1.6s, 1.6sx, Cupra diesel and a Cupra.
All between 2002 and 2006! I was the dealer managers dream customer.
‘Take that for a drive while you’re waiting for yours to be serviced’ dangling a set of keys in front of me.
Me on my return- “go on then I’ll have one!”
Aged between 22 and 26 with a decent income and still living at home, they were all bought outright and part exchanged for the next one. Those were the days!!
Looked at other cars in between but nothing came close in my opinion hence owning 4 within a few years.
I was invited to the launch of the mk2
but didn’t take well to it, banging my head getting in, also the looks were questionable at the time after the curves of the mk1.
I did get to meet Jason Plato and later on Darren turner as drivers of the two works SEAT BTCC cars at the time so I’m glad I kept in with the dealer.
I moved on to Skoda and bought a mk2 VRS Octavia in 2006. I owned that for 13 years but never lost my love for the
mk1 Leon doing a double take whenever I saw one.
Fast forward to 2017 and buying a 2006 (55) plate platinum grey Cupra R.
Bought as a daily commute car whilst still owning the mk2 VRS, the Leon soon became another hobby car after picking up another cheap daily motor.
Picking up where I’d left off I joined this fantastic forum, attended a few meets and have met many fellow Leon fans (some of whom are on here)
The mk1 has become a bit of an obsession of mine, with new cars getting more advanced and fussy in design, the simplicity of the mk1 is still really appealing.
A steering wheel with no buttons on it. Simple controls for simple tasks, a cd (and cassette player) plus the engaging drive and well weighted steering still impress me to this day. And not forgetting the way it looks!
The VRS was sold and the Leon was kept much to my wife’s surprise after owning that from brand new and looking after it like a mother looks after a baby.
A yellow Cupra R followed a couple of years ago to join my growing fleet cause I always wanted a yellow one and my plan was to keep both.
Unfortunately earlier this year something had to give to free up some funds so reluctantly I moved the grey one on.
I still have the yellow one to enjoy and hopefully will do for many years to come.
I have taken both the grey one and the yellow one on trips to the Le Mans 24 hour, and both have always grabbed lots of attention.
So Here’s to 25 years of the Leon
and my 23 years of door locks and door seals!
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