Isn't the Golf a teeny bit wider than the Leon? I've never had mine side by side with one because I always park well away from everyone else in car parks, but there's a thread going with the 2 side by side and the Leon looks a fair bit smaller
Bye bye Leon, Hello Golf
- Thread starter Big Col
- Start date
Yes. Diesels have their uses, but I've found that fun isn't one of them. I like engines that wind out.Should of gone Cupra and stay away from diesal,your be forced to stop driving them soon lol
It's the first front-wheel drive car I've driven that will oversteer on the limit. That came as a surprize.
Our Leon has the beam rear end and the Golf the independent suspension on the back. That is also interesting. While the Golf feels more 'alive' at the back I actually don't think it has any more grip. It's the solid axle which feels more stable.
I've encountered this before. Years ago I had two Nissan Primeras, a P10 and P11. The P10 had fully independent rear suspension. It was a lovely car to drive, very playful but the later P11 with its beam axle had much more grip and stability in the back end. The front suspension of both cars was identical.
Independent does handle better on roads that have uneven paving and angles, just a fact of physics. But for 90% of drivers a solid rear will do just fine. It could feel more planted for sure, but when you get the exact same car with exact same weight, tires, etc but with independent, that’s when you’ll truly see the difference. Going over a hard right or left turn that is an over crest and angled horizontally... one will make you **** your pants more than the other
but we aren’t all Collin McRae Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My 64 plate 184 Leon’s lease expired in January this year and I moved to a 68 plate Golf GTI Performance.
I have to say build quality seems better but it’s the little touches such as lining in the door pockets that I noticed more.
As my leon was a pre-facelift model and the Golf is a facelift model I noticed a lot of differences such as the infotainment system is a lot better and faster and the Digital Cockpit Display
I honestly feel if you move from a pre-facelift leon to a facelift golf GTD/GTI you will notice a massive difference in quality and standard spec
Where as if you have a facelift leon I don’t think there’s much in it.
The reason I went for the GTI was due to how good the standard spec was (Connivence Pack/Winter Pack/Keyless/Reversing Camera/Lane Assist/Traffic Sign Recognition all as standard)
Only thing I optioned up myself was Dynaudio
Hopefully be back to the leon when the gold lease finishes
I have to say build quality seems better but it’s the little touches such as lining in the door pockets that I noticed more.
As my leon was a pre-facelift model and the Golf is a facelift model I noticed a lot of differences such as the infotainment system is a lot better and faster and the Digital Cockpit Display
I honestly feel if you move from a pre-facelift leon to a facelift golf GTD/GTI you will notice a massive difference in quality and standard spec
Where as if you have a facelift leon I don’t think there’s much in it.
The reason I went for the GTI was due to how good the standard spec was (Connivence Pack/Winter Pack/Keyless/Reversing Camera/Lane Assist/Traffic Sign Recognition all as standard)
Only thing I optioned up myself was Dynaudio
Hopefully be back to the leon when the gold lease finishes
On the Mk3 Leon, everything above 150bhp got independent rear suspension.
That would be just about every bit of tarmac in Scotland! ;0)
I understand the principal, and it must be right I guess, but in the real world it doesn't always feel that way, or even work that way. I remember years ago talking to a guy I know who's a Nissan/Datsun nut. He rebuilds them, imports them and does all of his own work. He was explaining how clever the suspension on the P11 Primera GT is. Irrespective of the angle of the body, all four wheels stay perpendicular to the ground. The car certainly felt super-planted. Despite its size, that car handled better than any other car I've had. I prefered the way the P10 felt but the P11 had more grip.
I also remember talking to a friend who was a sales rep. He was keen driver and gravitated towards back roads. He told me about two Peugeot cars he'd had, I think they might have been 505s but I can't remember. One was an estate, the other a saloon and he said that to his surprize the estate handled better. When I looked them up, the estate had a bean axle on the back and the saloon was independent.
Of course perception and the actual amount of grip may be two different things. However, the fact that the Golf wants to oversteer when pushed does suggest there is less grip at the back end. Leon never feels like that, and it's an estate!
It's an interesting and complicated subject. I can't pretend to understand it, I'm just relating my personal experience.
Lift off oversteer on a front drive car is a result of weight transfer unloading the rear tyres. It is often engineered into the car to make it feel sporty. To make cars feel "safe" to the plebs, makers often increase understeer at the limit. It's easier for less skilled drivers to control understeer than oversteer.
The problem with non independent systems is that body roll tends to take the beam with it. This increases positive camber on the outside wheel and reduces the contact patch. A properly designed independent system increases negative camber as it is loaded and keeps the tyre perpendicular to the road maintaining contact area.
Suspension design and theory is more like witchcraft.
The problem with non independent systems is that body roll tends to take the beam with it. This increases positive camber on the outside wheel and reduces the contact patch. A properly designed independent system increases negative camber as it is loaded and keeps the tyre perpendicular to the road maintaining contact area.
Suspension design and theory is more like witchcraft.
Personally I'd expect that the Golf has slightly better interior quality. My Exeo I had a few months ago had slightly better interior quality than my 17 plate Leon. More soft touch plastics, nicer material around the door cards and roof lining and I believe it had less road noise. Well better sound proofing more likely. This is what I would expect of the Golf vs Leon. Saying all that the Leon's interior is still very good and seems well put together. Much much better than the MK2 Leon.
Last edited:
Personally I've always taken the view that SEAT and VW have two different target customers, so that means that the SEAT version will always get aimed at the younger, more stylish customer and provide more in the way of "toys" as you move up the trim range. VW version will always aim to please the more mature and conservative and maybe "motor car disinterested" customer, but having said that spec'ing up a mid trim Golf to add many "toys" will normally cost less than spec'ing up a mid trim Leon to add many "toys" so that both cars are nearly the same. The other issue for all SEAT products, to date, is their residual value which is where the brand snobbery kicks in at low and mid trim levels when a used car customer is really only looking for a means of transport that will last a long time, and it probably still counts in VW's favour - for me, buying a SEAT product new and keeping it for over 8 years seem to be a smart move. This for me is only supposition as I've never bought a SEAT product so far, but have supported a daughter in her car buying and that to date has always been SEAT, although her first one, a very late 6K Ibiza from early 2002 was a proper sh1t of a car - my error!
Deleted member 103408
Guest
I understand your thoughts and probably very true but it also leads me to think that VAG Have not got there head round what these marques are for either.
So I agree the VW Range in general would be for the more mature and conservative and maybe "motor car disinterested" customer and then they go and build the GOLF R which is for a very different target customer. And lets face it there are lots of very young stylish customers driving around in those. And look at me old bloke driving around in a cupra (mid life crisis I hear you say).
But we don't have to agree what is best just enjoy the car you have and do your research before buying, unlike the frequent request we see on this and other forums - WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS COLOR and is this a good car to drive type question.
So I agree the VW Range in general would be for the more mature and conservative and maybe "motor car disinterested" customer and then they go and build the GOLF R which is for a very different target customer. And lets face it there are lots of very young stylish customers driving around in those. And look at me old bloke driving around in a cupra (mid life crisis I hear you say).
But we don't have to agree what is best just enjoy the car you have and do your research before buying, unlike the frequent request we see on this and other forums - WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS COLOR and is this a good car to drive type question.
i know this is specific to cupra vs golf r/gti is seat give us dcc included as opposed to a £875 extra, which on a sporty car dcc is a great thing to have
My complaint is that the Golf and the Leon simply aren't different enough. Ok, so if you're sharing parts and the chassis there are bound to be similarities but really, is that the best you can do? They are so similar that it doesn't matter all that much which you buy.
Spec up a Golf R to the same level (for the same power) plus leather, DCC etc you are pretty much on 10k more. Justifiable for 4motion? And a second or so?
But then, if one popped up on lease like the last few years I’d jump on it.
Similar threads
