Post 335803 by KPB on 2010-10-04 09:40:32
Last Weds I said a sad farewell to the 530d - i'd put 40k on her in just over a year and whilst the engine still felt hugely strong, the suspension, propshaft, bearings and boost levels needed some attention after 11 years. Plus we need a hatch/estate and the missus hated the BMW ("old man's barge" sha said...daily...sometimes hourly).
Plan A was to get a 2.4 T5 estate but they were outside my budget apart from the ex-plod ones, and I couldnt find a decent one of those in my area.
On a quick local scan of the 'Trader I spotted a Leon FR 05-plate with very low miles for £5 grand, plus a full service and 1 year warranty. I tried it out of curiousity and must admit was pleasantly surprised. Its the 1.8T 180bhp petrol, virtually no lag and very peppy, handles ok - still suspension but well damped and well built. Its not overwhelmingly quick but it is faster than I expected, and its got a nice point-and-squirt feel to it.
I expect the interior and ride to deteriorate like the Ibiza TDi Sport I had some years ago, but for the moment it seems pretty solid.
I can't upload pics at the moment but its identical to this one.
A remap will follow in a few months but I'll wait until i'm bored with its current performance.
Post 335807 by Phuturephantasy on 2010-10-04 09:57:11
You had a 530d and managed 40k without the turbo giving up - a feat in itself :O)
Whilst the Leon is a reasonably nice to borrow I really couldn't bring myself to own one - it's just another 'Hot hatch' and as such you will be lumped into the 'Hot Hatch' owning brigade of 'Boyracers' and 'Girlys with Attitude' :O)
Post 335811 by KPB on 2010-10-04 10:27:26
[quote=Phuturephantasy;335807]You had a 530d and managed 40k without the turbo giving up - a feat in itself :O)
Whilst the Leon is a reasonably nice to borrow I really couldn't bring myself to own one - it's just another 'Hot hatch' and as such you will be lumped into the 'Hot Hatch' owning brigade of 'Boyracers' and 'Girlys with Attitude' :O)[/quote]
Ah, but if we weren't mature enough to look past people's prejudices about certain motors, only old men with farting labradors would drive Volvos, wouldn't they?
Post 335815 by cornclose on 2010-10-04 12:02:55
Bye bye BMW
'bout time too. :) I reckon you had a lucky escape there...
Post 335834 by KPB on 2010-10-04 13:19:26
[quote=cornclose;335815]'bout time too. :) I reckon you had a lucky escape there...[/quote]
Ha! Not really - bar one injector failure at £300 it was utterly brilliant. T'was just getting a bit long in the tooth and impractical.
Post 335848 by t5_monkey on 2010-10-04 15:27:22
Hope you'll cope with not being middle class anymore after giving up the Beemer (what will the neighbours say!!)
Post 336100 by KPB on 2010-10-05 14:10:33
[quote=t5_monkey;335848]Hope you'll cope with not being middle class anymore after giving up the Beemer (what will the neighbours say!!)[/quote]
All my neighbours seem to drive much newer 5-series' than I did. They must have thought the Beverley Hillbillies had moved in when we arrived a month ago. I may even have to stop using my front lawn as a toilet.
Post 336149 by 850 2.5 10v on 2010-10-05 17:18:07
You did a good reveiw of that car a while back - very informative.
Though I still have a hankering for Merc E320CDi Estate, must stop it.....