Leon FR tdi 170.

[swgti]

I'm having to make the sad but economical and practical decision to get rid of the Gti later on in the year and the Mk2 Leon FR tdi is looking like the preferred option so far, anyone on here own one or had one in the past your comments would be appreciated, also anything to look out for when buying?

We had a Mk1 Cupra tdi and loved it so hoping this will be as good.

[Matto]

The only that springs to mind having not owned one is check that injectors and loom have been replaced under recall. Same engine that's in mine. AndrewJB on here owned one.

[GrayMK5GTI]

If you go for a 2009(ish) onwards you get the Common Rail engine (same as my Scirocco), this doesnt have any injector issues 

I've heard the common rail engines dont tend to get DPF issues either (mine hasnt yet), although the DPF pressure sensor can fail (only £60 luckily).

I love my 170 tdi, its super responsive in any gear and actually sounds smoother than a TFSI at idle 

I get 40mpg around town(ish) and 55mpg on the motorway - 650 miles to a tank. I've activated the XDS through VCDS and now it handles like its on rails.

Diesels have come on loads these days, it feels almost the same as a petrol. The power is there throughout the rev range, very little lag, hardly any diesel "clatter" and the tailpipes NEVER get sooty - mine are still shiny after 30,000 miles thanks to the DPF.

Mine has an auxiliary heater which gives warm air out of the vents in seconds after start up.

[S2 Ant]

Altho a different car, its the same engine... i had a Mk5 GT TDi 170 and loved it. The engine is great, as already said, around town it was good for around 42mpg. On one work trip up to Birmingham I drove a strict 55mph to see how high i could get the MPG to go and averaged 62MPG over the entire trip, there and back, mix of town and motorway driving.

If you were so inclined to remap it, i'll wager it'll embarrass standard GTi's and wouldnt be far behind remapped K03 cars.

I also found with mine that it used to consume a reasonable amount of oil - wasnt leaking anywhere, it just seemed to use it, i think this has been a fairly common thing, so dont be alarmed if you find that to be the case.

[Degudodger]

I have the GT TDi 170 in Mk5 Golf form. This is my second one and love it. As i have only had the car for 7 days i'm unable to comment on Miles to a tank but i am averaging 45MPG and i have covered 350 miles using half a tank of fuel.

The fuel injectors and wiring loom where replaced under recall last week and it feels like a completely different car. Very happy with it.

[swgti]

Thanks for the replies guys, the Golf GT is on the list but it's just a bit understated for me, I wish the Leon had the same quality and style interior of the Golf.
I'm only going to be looking to spend about £6.5 - 7.5k so good equipped Golf's with decent miles <60k are hard to find below £8k at the mo.

Current choices are, in order of preference -

Leon FR
Golf GT TDI170
Renaultsport Megane DCI175

[Raffe]

Currently have a 2011 Leon FR which I have had from new (june '11) and now has 49k miles and it has been absolutely faultless.

But prior to that I had a MK5 Golf GT Sport 170ps and have to say I much preferred that in comparison, covered 80k miles in that in the 2 years I had it.

The Golf had a much punchier engine which was the nature of the old pd engines, where as the new CR engines have a much more linear power curve which makes the performance feel a bit flat sadly. Can't say there is any noticeable difference in mpg between the two.

I also felt my Golf was more fun to hustle through the bends with less body roll, just felt vey connected to the road where as the Leon has more body roll and less initial turn in.

Lastly I have to admit the Leon is already starting to feel a bit loose at only 19months old, just isn't wearing particularly well and the front bumper really needs spraying as its stone chipped to hell.

Not even worth comparing the Leon to our MK6 GTi as the Golf is in a completely different league and its easy to see where the extra money goes, was about £5k more for a Golf GTD of an equivalent spec when I ordered the FR.

If you can get it cheap enough the Leon is a great all rounder but IMO about 70% as god as an equivalent Golf.

 

[GrayMK5GTI]

^^

I know what you mean about the smoother torque curve on the CR. Ive noticed that as a result of it though that there is more power throughout the rev range rather than. . . Lag. . . BOOST for 2k revs. . . Then nothing. . .

The CR drives a lot more like the petrol turbos now. Much more responsive and quieter than the old PD engines though