rclarke
Guest
Just thought I would introduce myself to these forums:
I had been driving a Fiat Punto HGT for 5 years but at nearly 70,000 miles I thought it time for a change, especially as I had to replace the variator during the 60,000 service at the grand cost of £666 … could this be a sign of things to come and more big bills? As most of our family drive Fiats (due to their employee purchase scheme), I had no intention of changing, however there isn’t currently a “sporty” offering in the Grande Punto line so that forced me to look elsewhere.
One copy of Top Gear magazine and lots of Googling later ended up with me standing in Humphris of Oxford looking at a Leon 2.0 T FSI FR. After considering all the optional extras I decided to go for just the Zenith grey metallic paint and Bluetooth kit, especially as I spend 2 hours a day in my car mostly talking on the phone. So a good deal was struck and approx 2 weeks later we went to pick up the new car. The excitement was somewhat dampened by the fact that the dealer had forgotten to install the Bluetooth kit. The Sales guy was very apologetic and offered me a free first service as compensation. Unfortunately they only have one mechanic that can fit these kits and he was on holiday so I have had to book it in at a later date. Another disappointment was the special “discourtesy” light which was fitted to my Leon. The centre position on the switch does not work so the courtesy light is either always on or always off. Hopefully this will get fixed at the same time the Bluetooth is fitted. One very nice touch by the dealer was that they put original Seat mats in the car for free and gave my partner a bouquet of flowers.
So I must admit that first impressions (I have only done 300 miles) of the Leon FR are a little mixed. I love the looks of the car and all the gadgets, however I am not convinced with the layout of the dials and general visibility. With all these damn speed cameras around I like to know that I am doing 30mph in a 30 zone, however the lower speeds on the speedo are somewhat tucked out of sight so I find myself spending more time straining to see the speedo rather than looking at the road ahead. Maybe I just need to adjust my driving position to suit, but I have tried that already.
Also having to drive around like an old age pensioner on strong sedatives while running in the engine doesn’t help with the whole experience. I’m sure that once the first 1000km are out the way I will start to enjoy the car a whole lot more when I can roam over the self imposed 3000rpm limit. By the way, is it normal for a petrol FR to make a very distinctive “brrrrmmm” noise when slowing down in a high gear? It’s not a particularly worrying noise, it just sounds like the car is growling.
My partner loves the new Leon and is now seriously considering trading in her Punto Sporting for an Ibiza. Lets see how many others in the family we can convert.
Rod.
I had been driving a Fiat Punto HGT for 5 years but at nearly 70,000 miles I thought it time for a change, especially as I had to replace the variator during the 60,000 service at the grand cost of £666 … could this be a sign of things to come and more big bills? As most of our family drive Fiats (due to their employee purchase scheme), I had no intention of changing, however there isn’t currently a “sporty” offering in the Grande Punto line so that forced me to look elsewhere.
One copy of Top Gear magazine and lots of Googling later ended up with me standing in Humphris of Oxford looking at a Leon 2.0 T FSI FR. After considering all the optional extras I decided to go for just the Zenith grey metallic paint and Bluetooth kit, especially as I spend 2 hours a day in my car mostly talking on the phone. So a good deal was struck and approx 2 weeks later we went to pick up the new car. The excitement was somewhat dampened by the fact that the dealer had forgotten to install the Bluetooth kit. The Sales guy was very apologetic and offered me a free first service as compensation. Unfortunately they only have one mechanic that can fit these kits and he was on holiday so I have had to book it in at a later date. Another disappointment was the special “discourtesy” light which was fitted to my Leon. The centre position on the switch does not work so the courtesy light is either always on or always off. Hopefully this will get fixed at the same time the Bluetooth is fitted. One very nice touch by the dealer was that they put original Seat mats in the car for free and gave my partner a bouquet of flowers.
So I must admit that first impressions (I have only done 300 miles) of the Leon FR are a little mixed. I love the looks of the car and all the gadgets, however I am not convinced with the layout of the dials and general visibility. With all these damn speed cameras around I like to know that I am doing 30mph in a 30 zone, however the lower speeds on the speedo are somewhat tucked out of sight so I find myself spending more time straining to see the speedo rather than looking at the road ahead. Maybe I just need to adjust my driving position to suit, but I have tried that already.
Also having to drive around like an old age pensioner on strong sedatives while running in the engine doesn’t help with the whole experience. I’m sure that once the first 1000km are out the way I will start to enjoy the car a whole lot more when I can roam over the self imposed 3000rpm limit. By the way, is it normal for a petrol FR to make a very distinctive “brrrrmmm” noise when slowing down in a high gear? It’s not a particularly worrying noise, it just sounds like the car is growling.
My partner loves the new Leon and is now seriously considering trading in her Punto Sporting for an Ibiza. Lets see how many others in the family we can convert.
Rod.
