Whoops - Test drive goes wrong

[bigtommy]

Very successful test drive of a new leon fr 170 tdi the other day. Got all of 500 yards from dealer and the car died. wouldn't restart, must have been electrical.

Took out another one. Have to say it is quick (diesel quick) but feels old fashioned to drive in so much as it sounds too much like a diesel compared to the new civic and doesn't really handle the bumps too well. It reminded me a bit of the old type r that I use to have which was quick but didn't ever feel quite right on the road.

Can't say I would buy one after driving it, and the interior is horrible. I'm dissapointed really because I think the car has gone backwards from the old one in some respects. Anyone else agree?

Going to put my money either into a new civic diesel (although £18k for a civic seems steep) or a second hand 320d sport.

 

[BanziBarn]

It is very noisy you're right. Not really good enough if you ask me. But, I do wonder if it's deliberate as the same engine in other VAG cars is not as noisy.

Skodas have a better interior - which does seem odd. I can only think that they do this to compensate for the brand name/image.

For me, the performance and the look of the car was enough to clinch the deal, but can see your points exactly.

 

[bigtommy]

yes I agree the performance and looks are great. I spend too much time sitting in traffic in London unfortunately to enjoy them!!!!

 

[ghosty]

fair enough, you tried it out and it sounds like its not for you. there are always compromises to be made but if its too many then its too many.

im not overly keen on the interior either but the rest of the package compensates heaps for it so its become less of a problem since

 

[mklock]

I totally agree, if i could swap my car for something else i probably would. Too crashy and not great in traffic.

That said i also felt the civic to be awful. I was given one for the day and took it back after an hour. The diesel engine is smooth but there was not enough torque for me. The road handling was far superior to the Leon, but i felt that the suspension was even harder, not so crashy just very bumpy. I also didn't like where the speedo was, its easy to read but i found it difficult to check other instruments whilst driving, i.e fuel gauge.

The interior takes some time getting used to, but what i have found is that everything is in the right place. You may find this a weird statement, but some cars dials etc are not positioned for the use of the driver. I found the VW golf radio to be angled more towards the passenger etc. Perhaps im weird and notice these things

 

[k4ith]

a suspension package cures the crashy ride, i bought the Koni fsd kit and i am impressed with it.
Interior plastics are bad across the vag range bar audi, I have just bought an Edition 30 and the plastics there are pretty bad, but when i am driving i am not looking at them so i got over it, same with the new Leon.

 

[longman]

The new civic 2.2 diesel is apparently REALLY quick. They are a bit noisey though too

The company i work for build the dash board for it and it does look good when its lit up. Very futuristic!

 

[mode]

I came very close to buying a new civic but found the cars i test drove beset with problems, the new type r i drove had clunk noises from the rear and the other two 5 door civics i drove rattles and squeeks from the dashboards as well as non working electric mirrors on one, and non functioning bluetooth telephone on another, i should point out the cars were new with less then 500 miles on each.

We have some new civics at work as company cars and the diesels use oil they are not up to scratch speaking of which the knight rider style dash scratches easily and always looks dusty, oh and you will hate the rear window from outside the spoiler looks good but it slices youre view in half and with no wiper rear visability is dangerous.

Check out their version of our forum 'civinfo' that will put you off........

 

[Haddock]

I test drove the Civic Sport before I bought the Leon, I quite liked it but hated the looks, particularly the 4 door..

Wouldnt have said it was particularly quick, but not bad either.

320D you mention is nice with all the kit, but a lot of cash for the right spec.

Chris

P.S. its possible you would have DPF issues if you sat in London traffic all day

 

[s3atl3onFR]

I can confirm with Haddock, if you sat in London all day indeed you will have DPF issues. At least I tend to have it quite often due to me driving in London more often thann not.

 

[S8N]

The new civic 2.2 diesel is apparently REALLY quick. They are a bit noisey though too

It's actually the reverse. I test drove one of the new Civic diesels and while the power is smooth, it feels very lacking in torque. I was dissapointed. Noise wise? My god, it's like a petrol.. nothing like a VAG diesel at all!

I got back into my FR and noisy yes.. torque grunty goodness yes... I stuck with my FR

 

[leonfr170]

the Civic is nice but too expensive imo. the toyota auris 180bhp is quick but soooo boring i wanted to die after driving it! tried the golf tdi gt thingy and it was a bit boring as well. the bmw 320d m sprt is a very nice car at the right price. imo, handles way better than any of its rivals and is great value for money 2nd hand - built much better too and rear wheel drive!
can you tell im a bmw fan - owned a 320d sport and a 525d sport in the past few years and due to gettting engaged, saving for a house and working 120 miles from where i live meant thinking a bit more sensibly about what i drive.
saying that, the leon can put a smile on my face and am happy that its better than most of its rivals at the price

 

[Leon]

I've driven the Honda 2.2 diesel but in a CRV, still got plenty of go about it but I'd agree with some of the comments in that it doesn't seem as torquey like diesels usually do.

 

[bigtommy]

its interesting the see different comments on the same cars. Glad no one has suggested by a 1 series!

Now I have been offered an 54 plate 320d sport with 60k on clock for £11.5k though I think I know which one I'm going to go for!! All the money I save on the price will be put into rear tyres

 

[mliley01]

The new civic 2.2 diesel is apparently REALLY quick. They are a bit noisey though too

The company i work for build the dash board for it and it does look good when its lit up. Very futuristic!

Longman, what company do you work for? I work for SAS Automotive, who build the cockpit and console assembly for the majority of VAG group, including the Leon in Martorell in Spain (we also do Porsche, Ford, Range Rover Sport & Discovery, BMW, Volvo). The same plastics supplier does most of the VAG range, so its hardly suprising that the dash's are quite similar in terms of being 'bad'. I think as with most things its personal taste, I actually like the layout of the dash in my FR and find everything to be handy. The Audi I had before had a better build quality feel to it, but it was no better laid out.

 

[longman]

Intier Automotive is who I work for. We do Instrument Panels and door panels mainly.
Lately its been New Vectra, Range Rover (non sport!!), Honda Civic and the S type Jag Replacement..... Interesting work!

I have been to Sollihul a few times to JLR!

SAS sounds interesting too, working on the VAG group. I have noticed that the A3 and Leon dashes are the same apart from the grain.