Leon FR 1.8 TSI - Tech pack, Convenience pack, Titanium pack
New Toy
Previous Toy
Mk2 Leon FR 2.0 170CR – Loved it. Didn’t have the star appeal or an attractive badge but that’s what I liked about it. The build/refinement wasn’t brilliant (solenoid ticking in the high pressure fuel pump with the window down/passenger seatbelt hitting the B-post inner card/water ingress in engine bay) but it was better than a lot of others that seem to get too much credit for their work. It never missed a beat and although I ended up doing very short journeys I never had any signs of DPF issues. Economy was about 40mpg though!
Decision
Basically mileage was the issue. The mk2 was never getting warm during my 2.7 mile commute to work which is not good for the engine, my pocket or the DPF so it was simple – go for the 1.4 or 1.8 petrol. I test drove the 1.4 in basic FR trim, it was okay, didn’t set the world alight though so took a punt on the 1.8TSI being a bit more fun to drive.
Ordering
Ordered 29th May (week 22) I went through Drive the Deal - No problems with this element what so ever. Gave my details to drive the deal (incl. deposit) dealer phoned two days later to confirm all of my details and advised that they would email me an update in 4 weeks. The variant was not yet in production (beginning week 26 for the manual). This obviously changed as I read on here people were getting build weeks of 23/24.
4 weeks later dealer emailed. Build week was week 27 (w/c July 1st) with delivery to dealer scheduled for week 31 (w/c 29th July). I opted to wait until Sept 1st as I was keeping my mk2 until the middle of August anyway. So around 9/10 weeks in total if I was to pick it up when it arrived at the dealership.
Initial thoughts Quality/Design/Ride
No real competition here with the mk2 - Its streets ahead in terms of materials/layout etc. all of which are well documented. Controls are good quality and the technology brings the car right up to date. The tech pack is clearly needed for those who love a bit more (can see this going standard on FR trim after all the offers end - if they ever do).
LED headlights are excellent; they look the part and offer very good light – I think this might actually be my favourite thing about it. Oddly enough my ‘cornering lights’ (fog on when turning left/right or indication) have come disabled which is good as I did this on my mk2 with VCDS pretty soon after I got it).
Really like the colour MFD – good resolution and lots of options that can be added or removed and it improves the overall look of the dash.
Door cards are much better and the lighting in them is a nice touch. The red is easier to see than the white though.
I also didn’t get the headlight washers that were removed from the tech pack earlier this year which I’m okay with as I’m not a fan of these.
I went for the titanium alloys as personally I didn’t like the other 18” available from launch. My mk2 had 17” on so I can’t really compare like for like between mk2 and mk3. The 18’s on the mk3 don’t feel any firmer than the 17’s on my 2 anyway. Road noise seems less but I suspect this is down to improved sound deadening in the cabin.
DAB is good with a good quality signal and the sound is improved even without the sound pack added. Good options with adding the radio station logos etc. - nice touch.
There are a couple of areas they have penny pinched but I don’t feel this is a game changer when deciding to order - hood/bonnet pop is still on left hand side. Also, as I don’t have the winter pack - if you look close enough at the centre console where the on/off controls would be you can see the button is in place with no light installed behind it but a blackout style card instead. These are none issues to me but I thought I’d point it out for balance.
Engine
I was nervous about the 1.8 simply because I was used to the 2.0 having the torque readily available. My nerves were allayed after about 5 minutes. You do need to work the engine more which is understandable but it never feels gutless at any stage. It’s quick enough for most people off the line and gets up to speed without feeling like you have to rev the tits off it. Even if you are caught out badly and need to drop a cog the box is so smooth it feels effortless anyway.
The sound actuator does its job. I see this as more of a tech toy than anything but it’s good for the psyche in sport mode. I’m not really bothered about engine note as long as it preforms as it should but the passengers love to hear it so why not indulge them.
The engine heats up very fast as promised by VW/Audi engine press packs and start stop is what it is. It doesn't really bother me like others and I tend to keep my clutch dipped at lights anyway so it’s a conscious decision if I want to turn to engine off in traffic.
Mods
Think the back end needs that rear spoiler if am honest – so I’ll be looking at that if it’s ever released. Rear mud flaps will be added when they finally arrive on these shores and I’m considering that key mod. Aside from that it’ll not be much. If I get bored quickly I could look at the stage 1 map that’s in development but we’ll see. I tend to change my cars every 3-4 years so I don’t intend to put much put cash into it that I won’t get back.
Do I recommend one?
Absolutely.
It needs a hell of a clean/seal/wax so if I can get that done this week I’ll add some more pictures.
New Toy
Previous Toy
Mk2 Leon FR 2.0 170CR – Loved it. Didn’t have the star appeal or an attractive badge but that’s what I liked about it. The build/refinement wasn’t brilliant (solenoid ticking in the high pressure fuel pump with the window down/passenger seatbelt hitting the B-post inner card/water ingress in engine bay) but it was better than a lot of others that seem to get too much credit for their work. It never missed a beat and although I ended up doing very short journeys I never had any signs of DPF issues. Economy was about 40mpg though!
Decision
Basically mileage was the issue. The mk2 was never getting warm during my 2.7 mile commute to work which is not good for the engine, my pocket or the DPF so it was simple – go for the 1.4 or 1.8 petrol. I test drove the 1.4 in basic FR trim, it was okay, didn’t set the world alight though so took a punt on the 1.8TSI being a bit more fun to drive.
Ordering
Ordered 29th May (week 22) I went through Drive the Deal - No problems with this element what so ever. Gave my details to drive the deal (incl. deposit) dealer phoned two days later to confirm all of my details and advised that they would email me an update in 4 weeks. The variant was not yet in production (beginning week 26 for the manual). This obviously changed as I read on here people were getting build weeks of 23/24.
4 weeks later dealer emailed. Build week was week 27 (w/c July 1st) with delivery to dealer scheduled for week 31 (w/c 29th July). I opted to wait until Sept 1st as I was keeping my mk2 until the middle of August anyway. So around 9/10 weeks in total if I was to pick it up when it arrived at the dealership.
Initial thoughts Quality/Design/Ride
No real competition here with the mk2 - Its streets ahead in terms of materials/layout etc. all of which are well documented. Controls are good quality and the technology brings the car right up to date. The tech pack is clearly needed for those who love a bit more (can see this going standard on FR trim after all the offers end - if they ever do).
LED headlights are excellent; they look the part and offer very good light – I think this might actually be my favourite thing about it. Oddly enough my ‘cornering lights’ (fog on when turning left/right or indication) have come disabled which is good as I did this on my mk2 with VCDS pretty soon after I got it).
Really like the colour MFD – good resolution and lots of options that can be added or removed and it improves the overall look of the dash.
Door cards are much better and the lighting in them is a nice touch. The red is easier to see than the white though.
I also didn’t get the headlight washers that were removed from the tech pack earlier this year which I’m okay with as I’m not a fan of these.
I went for the titanium alloys as personally I didn’t like the other 18” available from launch. My mk2 had 17” on so I can’t really compare like for like between mk2 and mk3. The 18’s on the mk3 don’t feel any firmer than the 17’s on my 2 anyway. Road noise seems less but I suspect this is down to improved sound deadening in the cabin.
DAB is good with a good quality signal and the sound is improved even without the sound pack added. Good options with adding the radio station logos etc. - nice touch.
There are a couple of areas they have penny pinched but I don’t feel this is a game changer when deciding to order - hood/bonnet pop is still on left hand side. Also, as I don’t have the winter pack - if you look close enough at the centre console where the on/off controls would be you can see the button is in place with no light installed behind it but a blackout style card instead. These are none issues to me but I thought I’d point it out for balance.
Engine
I was nervous about the 1.8 simply because I was used to the 2.0 having the torque readily available. My nerves were allayed after about 5 minutes.
You do need to work the engine more which is understandable but it never feels gutless at any stage. It’s quick enough for most people off the line and gets up to speed without feeling like you have to rev the tits off it. Even if you are caught out badly and need to drop a cog the box is so smooth it feels effortless anyway.The sound actuator does its job. I see this as more of a tech toy than anything but it’s good for the psyche in sport mode. I’m not really bothered about engine note as long as it preforms as it should but the passengers love to hear it so why not indulge them.
The engine heats up very fast as promised by VW/Audi engine press packs and start stop is what it is. It doesn't really bother me like others and I tend to keep my clutch dipped at lights anyway so it’s a conscious decision if I want to turn to engine off in traffic.
Mods
Think the back end needs that rear spoiler if am honest – so I’ll be looking at that if it’s ever released. Rear mud flaps will be added when they finally arrive on these shores and I’m considering that key mod. Aside from that it’ll not be much. If I get bored quickly I could look at the stage 1 map that’s in development but we’ll see. I tend to change my cars every 3-4 years so I don’t intend to put much put cash into it that I won’t get back.
Do I recommend one?
Absolutely.
It needs a hell of a clean/seal/wax so if I can get that done this week I’ll add some more pictures.
