I was originally interested in the A3 Sportback, having owned the previous model (and an A4 before that) but the local dealer showed very little interest in selling me one so I looked at the Golf and Leon.

I am not a fan of the electric handbrake on the Golf (and Audi) and was further swayed towards the Leon by the fact that it came as standard with everything I want and little I don't.

I have driven diesels for most of the last 25 years but annual mileage is now fairly low and I have concerns about dpf problems. I managed to test drive both the TDI 184 and TFSI 180 and found the petrol more flexible, smoother and generally nicer to drive.

Initially I was very impressed with the comfort, ride, and handling and was averaging just under 40mpg. As the car has loosened mpg has improved slightly to just over 40. Outright performance is not quite as good as hoped, the car needs to be revved over 4,000rpm to show much advantage over the (very good) 1.4 ACT 150ps which produces the same 250Nm of torque and I have heard suggestions that the 1.8 torque is deliberately limited to suit the 7 speed dsg box, where fitted (if so, why not use the 6 speed dsg on the 1.8?). The 1.8 still has the advantage over the 1.4 of multi link rear suspension and bigger brakes, which are worth having in my opinion.

Build seems solid, though the material quality in places (eg lower dash) is not up to VW/Audi standard (but then, neither is the price!) Unfortunately the first problem arose after only 300 miles and is an issue reported elsewhere on this site.

At initial start a message came up saying "Error - start stop system" and the EPC (engine management) symbol lit up and stayed lit.If I switched off and restarted the error message came up but not the EPC light. If I switched off/restarted a second time no message came up and the stop start system operated. The car was booked in for a full diagnostic session and the outcome was that the starter motor was found to have an internal fault and was replaced under warranty during the same visit. So far (5 months) this seems to have cured the problem and the stop/start operates reliably.

Another minor issue was the media system not recognising a usb drive connected via the adaptor cables. On SEAT specific forums this is a VERY common issue and one suggested way round it when it occurs is to "reboot" the system by holding the "on" button for say 30 secs. The other (which I have adopted) is to load music on an SD card and use that instead which has given no further problem.

Further update after 10 months/5,500 miles:

I have seen widespread reports of tail lights cracking of their own accord and sure enough my offside unit developed 2 large cracks and was replaced under warranty. Cracks can already be seen developing in the replacement unit and now the n/s unit so there is clearly an issue with material quality on these components.

The start/stop fault has not returned but since the starter motor was replaced the performance has never seemed as good and an intermittent hesitation has developed though I cannot see why this should be and diagnostic checks record no fault.