I need you help guys/gals... the wife wants a Leon FR!!! (It has to be a GTI!!)

[valleyboy]

I havent posted much, i've been a lurker sorry.....

As you can guess from the title were still in the 'looking/test driving' stage 

I thought I had the wife sussed and the plan was to get a GTI.... I made the big mistake of getting a test drive in a Leon FR just for a laugh.... mistake!!  she reckons she prefers the FR!!!

I need you lot to give me some more ammo to fire at her...

the only pros i can see the Leon has is more BHP buts its heavier and it has slightly more kit as standard! oh and its cheaper....

i don't like it as when your inside it's like driving an armoured personnel carrier, you can't see anything!! the Pillars are 50 foot wide!! it just feels bigger and more sluggish!

I'm not being a badge snob, well i guess i am but i just prefer the golf. only problem is the wife will be paying the bigger chunk of the cash as a deposit, then the rest will be on finance but i'll be making a contribution... i have to tread with care 

I need your help!!!

[synnea]

If it has more BHP (than the GTI - 200BHP) are you not talking about the Leon Cupra?

[symonkey1]

If you are talking about the 2.0t fsi fr then it is 200bhp! the diesel is different - unsure but believe it is 170. Soo not dif from golf really.

Are they releasing a new shape cupra? thought it was just fr series....?

[BodyThief]

I like the look of the Cupra with a big chunky front end. I've been in one of the standard leons and I know what you mean about the huge "A" pillars. It feels like an MPV inside. One thing I didn't like was the spray painted plastic on the central console. Nice exterior styling though and better value than Golf.

[Phil mcavity]

ok some amunition for you,
 i was also looking ages ago to size up my GTi to a Seat Altea FR,
The boot in the FR (leon) is tiny in comparrison, so if you have a small family or have plans for kids, the boot in the Leon is pathetic!! WILL NOT FIT A PUSHCHAIR!!,The ride is harder then the golf, the interia is so plain and smooth looking, (ie no definition) if would make ann robinson's face look wrinkly!.
Its performance isnt as good as the golf, it does have 170bhp but runs outa puff at 4000 rpm.its also quite noisey, and is quite thirsty on diesel .If your buying on part finance, remind her that the seat will loose a large percentage of value, so you will always be in negative equity come part ex.If you do have a small family ,the altea is really only slightly bigger then the golf and is more appealing for the family man, given performance is similar between models,the leon, is claustrophobic and way smaller inside, but that idea of buying a Seat was dumped after driving off the forecourt on our booked testdrive,we were aloud it for 2 hrs and i was back to the dealer in 6 minutes!!! (only that long because i couldnt turn around any sooner).

Honestly stick to your guns, ok the golf costs more, but please do not make a big mistake i nearly did.  YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.

[valleyboy]

thanks all.....

sorry i got confused its the FR and it does have the same BHP 200, i got consfused with the cupra.

we havent got kids yet, another year i guess. neither of us have had a decent 'sporty' car, the wife has started a new job and she gets good bonus each month and i'm doing ok so it's time to have a laugh.

[k4ith]

ok some amunition for you,
 i was also looking ages ago to size up my GTi to a Seat Altea FR,
The boot in the FR (leon) is tiny in comparrison, so if you have a small family or have plans for kids, the boot in the Leon is pathetic!! WILL NOT FIT A PUSHCHAIR!!,The ride is harder then the golf, the interia is so plain and smooth looking, (ie no definition) if would make ann robinson's face look wrinkly!.
Its performance isnt as good as the golf, it does have 170bhp but runs outa puff at 4000 rpm.its also quite noisey, and is quite thirsty on diesel .If your buying on part finance, remind her that the seat will loose a large percentage of value, so you will always be in negative equity come part ex.If you do have a small family ,the altea is really only slightly bigger then the golf and is more appealing for the family man, given performance is similar between models,the leon, is claustrophobic and way smaller inside, but that idea of buying a Seat was dumped after driving off the forecourt on our booked testdrive,we were aloud it for 2 hrs and i was back to the dealer in 6 minutes!!! (only that long because i couldnt turn around any sooner).

Honestly stick to your guns, ok the golf costs more, but please do not make a big mistake i nearly did.  YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.

Phil, no offense where did you get this from??
are you comparing the golf to the Altea or the Leon? I currently own a Leon FR TDi and i can fit a pushchair, booster seat, full weeks shopping plus more in the boot of my car.its doesnt run out of grunt @ 4000rpm either 3-4.5k is its best get up and go, for a performance diesel it gets 450miles out of a tank sometimes more, the suspension on the gti & the leons are the same, the new leon doesn't look to be dep that bad espec the diesels, look at the mk1 leon cupra's petrol and diesel still above the 10k mark no worse than a golf, after a year of ownership of mine i could still sell for just under 15k.the car looks bloody good too.
the one thing i will agree on is the pillars, they do hamper your field of vision sometimes.
but you cant compare buying a diesel to a gti no way, the gti to a tfsi ok they are practicaly the same car except the badge. 
If your a badge snob then buy a Audi.

[TheReflex]

Have a test drive in the GTI and I guarantee you will choose it ove the Leon.  The Interior of the FR is awful compared to the GTI, it has a real cheap and low market look and feel about it.  The GTI looks far better than the mini MPV Leon look and in my book is by far the classiest hot hatch around ( Audi S3 aside that is ) .

[Cass]

Better built, better looking, better badge, better feel-good factor, better residuals.

Better car all round really

Cass

[Phil mcavity]

Keith, im sorry you dont agree, the altea was the one i tested, the cupra is the same class (size) as the golf but is nowhere near as big as the golf.the Altea i drove had 5000miles on the clock was the 170 td, rattled like a pig, stereo wouldnt work on the motorway picking up interference from the engine. i tried a cd, and that wouldnt play very well, cd kept jumping badly over bumpy lane leaving dealership. Interia is shocking but you get what you pay for, cheap spanish plastic's. its a petty cus i agree the leon especially looks the bizz from the outside but should have done as good a job on the inside to then be able to say "yes its the same as the golf in terms of build". average mpg in the altea was logged in the trip computer at 36.7mpg, which is slightly better but it was a diesel and not the petrol version.

The cupra i never had drove, sat in it in the showroom, felt claustrophobic inside, headroom in the rear wasnt great,especially for me cus im a 6ft+and dont have no such bother in the golf,visability was very poor around the windscreen pillar's  .Boot is not as deep in cubic capicity.ok you have got a pram then yes it will carry the weekly shop no worries.

what you must remember is Seat is way cheaper then the golf, but begs the question why is it so much cheaper???, . The dont get something for nothing these days. i would look at the octavia vrs for simularity to the golf, and thats priced closer to the golf then the Seat.