Thinking of buy exeo?

leontsibob

Active Member
Feb 6, 2014
201
9
Buckinghamshire
Hi everyone, I currently own a Leon tsi sport, but im thinking of getting a exeo estate, they seem really good value for money, I even think they r better looking than the b7 Audi, I was just wondering if there is anything I should look for and any common problems I should know about. Thanks for your info
 

Flobadob

Active Member
Apr 6, 2015
83
1
Warwickshire
I've had my 2012 Sport Tech saloon for nearly a year and 15k miles later still enjoying driving her. She feels planted, grown up and she gets a lot of glances of people trying to work out what she is. I think a lot of the mechanical problems have been ironed out by Audi and the car is very reliable but there's bound to be a few niggles.


Things to note:-
1 If you are tall there is not a lot of leg room for people behind you. If you have kids you will struggle to fit them comfortably on a booster seat behind you.
2. I haven't experienced it but water in the foot well via the bulkhead due to blocked channels is a regular post on here.
3. If you are buying one with Xenons make sure there is no water / moisture in the headlight or signs of damage as its very expensive to replace them especially if they are the DRL versions.
4. The car is heavy and the secret to 50mpg fuel economy is to keep the car moving fluidly reducing the starting and stopping of the car and predicting the traffic movements. Otherwise you may be disappointed in the economy as a number of people have noted since moving from another Diesel car.
5. Sat Navs fitted only have 4 digit post codes unless you upgrade to a 3rd party disc. This can be a bit of a pain finding the right destination quickly.
6. I found that the SEAT recommended tires tramline badly on my car, so watch out for bumps in the road when test driving as you can find yourself veering across the road. Its not the car it the tires.


At the time of purchase the new shape Leon FR was out of my price range and since driving a 2015 FR while my car was having a service I would of gone for one of those as they feel so much more lighter, nimble and modern than the Exeo and have more room inside for the passengers.

Just my thoughts and experiences :D
 

LeonCR

Active Member
Oct 22, 2009
2,389
2
I own and 2011 Exeo and a 2015 Octavia VRS TDi and on long trips prefer the Exeo

The exeo eats up the miles with such little effort and regularly sees over 60MPG
 

Mrski1

Active Member
May 12, 2008
233
0
Aberdeen
Be prepared for the "what car do you drive?" "A Seat Exeo". "A Seat what?" conversations!

And 'That's an Audi isn't it?!'

I have the 2.0 TDI 140 ST and had troubles with the HP fuel pump not long after I bought it, this was fixed under warranty though and since then I have had no issues.
 

decadent

Active Member
Apr 1, 2012
421
1
Herts
I've had my Exeo for circa 27K and just over 2 years. I bought it when it was about 8 months old and it's been a great car and I have no reason to believe it won't be for many years to come (as long as it suits our requirements as a family car).

The only gripe I have is the lack of rear leg room. I have two small children, both in car seats and they only just fit in behind me and I'm not that tall - 5ft 10.

That aside it is a very competent car but not sporty like a Leon would be and not class leading for other interior space either. However it's not as big as say a Mondeo either so it's not cumbersome to drive around a multi storey car park for example and it has an excellent turning circle too.

It's also pretty old tech but it does everything I need and is tried and tested in the old A4, which on the whole was a reliable car - I still see loads on the road compared to other cars of that era and they look like they wear the mileage well too.

Mpg is as others have said - not great, but I get 45ish mpg based on a mixture of driving, which was comparable to the Leon Mk2 Cr170 DSG I had before it too. I couldn't get on with the DSG box though, it was either driving too economically or too enthusiastically; it would be in 4th leaving a roundabout where as I wanted 3rd but by the time it had worked out I wanted 3rd and kicked back I actually wanted to be in 4th as I wasn't planning on gunning it so to speak. I could have got round it by driving manually but never did and left it in D most of the time.
 

gletts

GL53TTS
Jan 7, 2008
121
8
Crawley, West Sussex
Parking sensors that don't work when it's wet/cold/damp/any combination!

I have had my Exeo ST Sport Tech TDI 170 for 3 years, and it's been into dealers 14 times for this without any success. I know others have had this too.

Other than that - fantastic car and I do love it, although as others have said it's not 'sporty' in the same sense that the Leon is.

Gripes I have with it other than the parking sensors are:
- Very hard ride (I have got used to it but passengers often mention it)
- Antiquated satnav system - fiddly without touchscreen
- Irritating that the satnav/radio cannot do audio streaming (although a bluetooth adapter in the aux-in does the trick)
- Juddery clutch particularly in the cold
- Horrible notchy gearchange for the first 2-3 miles when it's cold (well known 'fault' to do with gearbox oil)
- Poor electric folding mirror design - you have to fold manually BEFORE you turn the engine off (meaning you then can't look in your mirror to see if any cars are coming before you open the door...)

Interestingly, a gripe I have seen mentioned several times is the position of the armrest. Yes you do hit it with your elbow every time you change into 2nd/4th gear, but actually you get used to it pretty quickly.

Other than that - fantastic car! And don't get me wrong - I do like it, these are only fairly minor gripes (other than the parking sensors which drive me mad!)

New Leon ordered now though...
 

gletts

GL53TTS
Jan 7, 2008
121
8
Crawley, West Sussex
I get this one alot, lol

lol and me! I usually complete the sentence by saying "... it's based on the old-shape Audi A4" and usually get a polite smile back as they really don't have a clue what I mean!

Nice to drive something quite rare though... you definitely get attention from other Exeo drivers - I saw an identical one to mine not long ago on the M25 in traffic, we gave each other a smile and a wave!
 

greg.r

Active Member
Jun 9, 2014
55
0
Wat annoys me about the armrest is that you have to put it up to put on/take off the hand brake.
 
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gletts

GL53TTS
Jan 7, 2008
121
8
Crawley, West Sussex
I've actually got user to it, I leave my armrest down all the time, and can put the handbrake on or off easily, although I agree it's a 'different' grip needed to other cars.
 

Mr Bigglesworth

Active Member
Dec 13, 2008
385
0
Herts
My take on some of the gripes here is that:

Rear leg room isn't great - but for me I'm 5'10'' so there is enough room up front and it's only kids in the back. I did once have 4 adults and a child in a car seat and packed luggage on the way to Gatwick. Wasn't the most comfortable for those in the back but wasn't terrible.

Size is perfect for me - not a full on Passat/Mondeo estate, but something bigger than a 5dr Leon (which I changed from).

I have to say I don't find the ride hard at all (but then I came from a MK1 Cupra) other than really nasty speed bumps.

Changed the HU to an android one so can now audio stream etc.

Notchy gear change - was made 90% better by changing gear oil and tinkering with the shifter linkage. (also clutch is absolutely fine on mine).

I also went for the Sport TSI - so best not to ask me about mpg, but the seats (though cloth) are great with loads of support (they were better than the Sport Tech ones I tried).

Agree with the folding mirror, don't know why they couldn't get that right.

Also lots of easy mods to use from the A4 community!

Really not a bad car although older tech. For the money a pretty good bet, but if you have more to spend then you can get newer tech/comforts etc.
 

spj81

Active Member
Feb 13, 2016
11
0
I agree with much of the points made. I've had my Exeo for 18 months and about 19k miles. Compared to my 2007 2.0dci megane she's far more economical and better on tyres. Haven't had to put a new set of boots on her yet! I get approximately 550 miles per tank and that is a mix of town, A and B roads, and motorways each week. I don't make a habit of driving economically and never change up when the dash tells me. Last September I drove from Inverness to west wales in one day and she's such a nice car cruising. It was a journey of 550 miles and she only used 3/4 of a tank and I wasn't suffering at all from the seating position etc.

You get a lot for your cash with these cars. They're solid and well built as there's loads of b7 Audis still on the road so these Exeos will last.

Buy buy buy!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

smokeydominic

Active Member
Jul 28, 2011
107
1
i went for the automatic, a rare beast in its own right, the car is good, most gripes have been covered here, the cvt gearbox is good for cruising but a but not sporty really even with flappy paddles
 
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