AdrianH

Needing to change my beloved Fabia vRS for something bigger as with a growing family we need a bigger boot and more rear legroom for two teenage lads!

Been doing the rounds for the last couple of weeks by checking out everything in my budget and have narrowed it down to the Leon FR PD and the Octavia vRS PD. The Leon scores highly in my view on the amount of standard kit that comes on the car but as I've never owned a Seat before I'm uncertain of the build quality and also the back up from the dealers.

The Octavia I've specced (Race Blue, Rear Parking Sensors, MaxiDOT and the free 'upgrade' of 18"s, Jumbo and Dual Climate) comes in at £19300 with a Leon with similar kit at £18200. Obviously the Octy is a bigger car and I have every confidence in build quality which will be on par with my 3 year old Fabia but as mentioned above I'm not certain of the Seat.

Has anyone had experiences of the two cars and what are your opinions?

Also, I drove my Colleagues Audi A6 Estate today (v. large!!) and it suffers with dreadful Turbo lag when pulling away in 1st, I never noticed this on my test drive of the Octy and was wondering if it was due to the weight of the Audi?

mattbeef

my mum has the FR and its really nice.
people moan about the interior and tbh ive not seen anything of what people moan about and the only real issue is that on some cars they suffer from wet windows on the inside but again my mum's car doesnt suffer from it

Failing that pop onto seatcupra.net and have a good nosy

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Makefish

For space the Octy is streets ahead and with two teenagers that may well be a deciding factor. For the record I had a look at the new Leon Cupra R a couple of weeks ago and immediately ruled it out as a possible replacement for this very reason.

PM SuperTed, he's the lucky owner of both the Leon FR & OctyII vRS albeit petrol versions so he should have a pretty good idea as to what they are both like.

As for the price of the Octy, I'm sure there is room for negotiation if you push a little harder

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Harry_vRS

Octavia any day.

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cheezemonkhai

Leon FR for equipment and price.

Octy VRS for space in terms of the boot and also the dash/centre console not being made out of cheap sh*te looking (IMHO) plastics.

If they put the leons price up by £300 and used a decent dash then i would say that one every time unless you need the space or can't live with the red illumination.

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VRStu

Depends what you pay for your Octy

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Stu

Stu's Websites - http://www.fabia-vrs.com & http://www.octavia-vrs.com

Stu's Car - 2008 Audi S3 - Ibis White, Black Optics Pack, Privacy Glass, Auto Bi Xenon Headlights, Rain Sensing Wipers, Bose Sound System, Ipod Prep, GSM Phone Prep, Flat Bottom Multi Function Steering Wheel, Electric Folding Mirrors, Acoustic Parking, Cruise Control, Interior Light Pack, Non Smokers Pack.

SWMBO's Car - 2008 Seat LEON TDi Stylance, Black Magic, Sports Pack, Rear Parking Sensors.

Something for Weekend - A Patio

AdrianH

I've got a test drive booked for Thursday in the Leon so I'll let you know how I get on, as regards price I'm reckoning on about a grand more for the Octy over the Leon (if Skoda are offering similar discounts to Seat...).

Will I see much of a consumption difference between the Fabia and the Octy/Leon?

cheezemonkhai

When I was looking the TDl leon was a clear 3k cheaper with a better spec than the TDI VRS. If you can beat that then

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Aspman

My mate's brother has an FR (his second fast Leon). My mate reckoned it was a really good car, well put together and very fast. He definitely rates them for build quality.
Said the interior was a bit black but nice enough. Thought the interior space was good but that the boot was on the small side.

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mattbeef

go to the Skoda dealers again and tell that you are going to have to get the Leon as its offers all the stuff you need and you just cant quite stretch to the Octavia

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cheezemonkhai

I played that game and didn't get anywhere when i was looking at a VRS or Leon. I had my hand forced by a pressing need for a car so ended up with a non VRS/FR due to insurance.

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phlashbios

I would suggest pricing both of them through Drive The Deal.

I bought mine through them and saved myself a small fortune.

(I have absolutely no connection with DTD, other than as a very satisfied customer)

lfc4me

The What Car depreciation indicator shows that at new the Octy is about £1000 dearer to buy and at the end of year 4 the Leon is worth more. Scales definitely seem to be tipped in favour of the Leon and a much better looking car to boot.

phlashbios

The FR was on my list when I went shopping too, but having experienced both cars before I bought, I thought the extra space and fit and finish on the Octy was far better and that's what I ended up buying.

It's not just a straight money choice at the end of the day, and whether you think the Leon is a better looking car is entirely a subjective view. The two cars are quite different to look at, but each one has its own attractions as far as looks are concerned.

Snoopie

Seat's are generally known to rattle like mad. My sister's car, my Cousin's, my Brother in Law's.. and my Leon.

Stick to the Skoda. It's a better built car.

Azzouz

Skoda Octavia vRS for me !


Look / interior very nice / exclusive


Léon FR... it's a Séat !!!


Interior very bad, cheap, Look = Altea small, [...]

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Nomag

We have an Octy II TDi estate and leon FR TDi.
I had a similar dilemma to you when purchasing. What swung it for me was the much better standard spec and hence price for the Leon (16k for the Leon with bluetooth kit thrown in), but then my wife could get an Octy on lease so I wasn't worried about the space. As a family car with teenagers in the back, a Leon has the same legroom as the Octy, but feels more claustrophobic for passengers due to high rear window line, and heavily tinted glass. Also the boot space simply doesn't compare, and the Leon also has quite a small hatch opening which would restrict what you could get in. The plastics are not in the same league as the Octavia.
However, the Leon has the looks, great standard spec, and mine most certainly does not ratlle AT ALL after 10k miles. The ride is firm, and you may not be able to live with that as a family car. I've never driven an Octy VRs, only our L+K, so can't make a direct comparison ride wise.
If it was me, for a family car, I'd be after an Octy VRs estate, but for me on my own, the Leon every time.

Bagpuss

If you are a family man, then it would have to be the Octy vRS Estate.

If not, then I reckon the Leon is a good choice.

Personally, I think I would still take the Octy, assuming I could get the prices to within about £500 of each other.

Bagpuss.

Max Damage

Test drove the Leon and really liked it but not enough space so the vRS for me it was