Oh and if anyone sees a 56 plate Silver Leon FR TFSI with about 45,000 miles on the clock in an auction sold by GE Capita, AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE..... I may have driven it and the engine makes funny hissing sounds when cold and has a exhast rattle that the dealers cannot find when the engine revs down.

Your new Octy won't do that...

Just sold my 2YO LEON FR TD 60 k miles. 18" Wheels

loved it and never had any troubles with it. The ride was very hard but the excellent handling made up for it.

Looked at another Leon but felt there wasnt enough different with the new '59 models.

On balance the Skoda feels better indside and the ride more comforting with still decent handling and setup.

Found the audio system on the Leon to be weak in comparison to the MK1 Leon Cupra my wife owns. The Bolero in the VRS is miles better.

Just sold my 2YO LEON FR TD 60 k miles. 18" Wheels

loved it and never had any troubles with it. The ride was very hard but the excellent handling made up for it.

Looked at another Leon but felt there wasnt enough different with the new '59 models.

On balance the Skoda feels better indside and the ride more comforting with still decent handling and setup.

Found the audio system on the Leon to be weak in comparison to the MK1 Leon Cupra my wife owns. The Bolero in the VRS is miles better.

Ahh but you did the sensible thing and went for a diesel. I'm sure SEAT get the last pick on the petrol engines as I know a few people who have issues with them. But we all did get them about the same time so it could be just a bad batch as there was also a major issue with the central locking and alarm on the early 56 plates (or cars that were build in July/August 2006) which required a replacement and a long wait to get the replacement.