SEAT Leon ST (2014 - 2020) 2.0 TDI FR 5d Owner Review

I brought my 2017 66 plate Seat Leon ST after an awful experience with a Volvo and have not been disappointed. I wanted to go back to a VAG car after owning a Golf and a Polo in the past which were bomb proof cars and the Leon has not disappointed me at all and has been totally trouble free in the 8 months and 10000 miles we've been together. Firstly, the seat is very well built indeed, everything feels very high quality and I genuinely see little difference between the layout of the cabin and dash in this and a friend's Audi A4. Plus I think the Seat is a better looking car. The FR technology model has a great spec too, with a blue tooth full link system which is very easy to synch with your phone, sat Nov and different driver profiles (sport mode is quite fun)! My only gripe is there are no heated seats like in the Volvo and the stop start system is a bit irritating and doesn't always work. The 2.0TDI is a great engine. Like most diesels I've driven, it is a little noisy when cold and when worked hard, but the power delivery is phenomenal and if anything, more like a petrol than a diesel with very little turbo lag in any gears. My parents own a gold 1.6 diesel which I assume is the same unit fitted in the Leon and I find that very sluggish in comparison to the 2.0 engine. 3rd is particularly rapid. Also economy is excellent. During a recent road trip to France, fully laden with camping gear and a bootfull of beer and wine it still averaged 55mpg and the highest I've seen is 66mpg on the M1 with cruise control on at 50 during a lengthy stretch of road works. Also the annual road tax is only £30 and it is ULEZ compliant which ultimately influenced my decision to get another diesel car. I have driven the 1.4tsi as well which is also a very nice engine but found the 2.0 TDI had a lot more torque and didn't need to be worked as hard. So to conclude, I am very happy indeed with my Leon. I keep my car's for as long as possible so hoping to have many years together yet. For anyone deliberating over whether to buy one, just do it. Its a great car and you won't regret it.