Faults:

The drivers seat loosened, this caused an annoying cracking sound. The dealer changed the seat base under the warranty, and commented this has happened with a few others.

The flash red colour is a little prone to stone chips. But the speed these cars entice you to travel at proberbly brings this problem about.

General Comments:

The multi spoke wheels look the business, but they are a real bind to keep clean. The car is not suited to the boy racer type driver. But people who need to drive long distances very quickly and effortlessly it would be difficult to beat at it's price.

As this is my first ever car from new and makes me think more critically about it. I can say I don't think I could have made a better choice.

Faults:

My Leon was very damp on the inside; 3 of the doors leaked.

It took the dealer 3 attempts to fix it, but first they tried to deny that there was a problem, and then they told me I was the first one with this problem.

I had to show them a copy of the official internal Seat repair procedure I got from the Internet, to convince them that this was a common problem.

The door sills are made of the wrong material, and they let water through after a certain period.

I found out that Seat didn't change anything in the door's construction until early 2002, so all Leon's sold before spring 2002 have the wrong sills fitted.

Seat has no intention to contact the owners, and they will only do something about it if your car is soaked and still under guarantee.

So if are planning to buy a used Leon, check if the sills are replaced, or you can be in for wet feet and an expensive repair.

Faults:

The rear washer hose broke after 5000 miles. This required a replacement tailgate trim panel because the original was "destructively" removed. Seat's advice: "Don't use the rear washer when the weather is cold"

The dashboard rattled badly after 10000 miles. The dealer replaced a self-tapping screw and the rattle ceased.

Both front door "cassette trays" needed re-sealing after 22000 miles. Before this repair water poured into the car from the bottom of both doors.

A plug condenser unit failed after 22000 miles. The vehicle had to be towed in, but the repair took less than 5 minutes.

The windscreen wipers tend to slow down when driving above 130mph (hehehe)

General Comments:

The car accelerates smoooootttthhhhly and quickly. It begs to be driven hard and fast.

The steering is well-weighted and gives excellent feedback when driving on motorways of country lanes.

It sticks to the road. You need to be seriously mental to push it beyond it's limits.

The seats are fantastic. Firm and comfortable.

The CD player and radio sound great even if the controls were designed for people with tiny fingers.

This car is an excellent bargain.