2002 Seat Leon cupra R 1.8 turbo petrol

Summary:

High performance, but appalling reliability

Faults:

EPC fault light on.

Traction control fault light on.

EMU fault light on.

2 new coil packs.

New engine speed detector.

New accelerator potentiometer.

General Comments:

I have no confidence that this car will not break down.

The car has been in the dealers for repairs for 2.5 weeks out of 8.

The car is extremely dangerous when the engine goes into default mode on the motorway 70mph to 50mph in the outside lane.

The car has run correctly for 5 days and is excellent both in terms of handling and performance when running.

The lack of interest from SEAT customer care was astounding-what do they do?

Cupra R - SEAT - never again. Give me Japanese performance, reliability and customer service anytime

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 6th March, 2003

29th May 2003, 14:44

I went out and brought the all new SEAT LEON I have had no problems with it so I went and brought another!!!

20th Jun 2003, 09:11

Hi guys!

Sold my leaking, low quality Le (m) on 1.9 TDI more than 14 months ago and I'm still pissed off about the bad service I got.

I will never ever buy a VW product again.

13th Nov 2003, 05:43

Never had any problems with my Cupra, what is an EMU some sort of Bird???

Not heard of any coil pack faliure's on LCR, on bad part was the dealers attitude.

13th Nov 2003, 16:11

In 2 months & 4500 miles, the only problem I've had with my LCR is a faulty brake light switch, which is common to VAG cars.

No leaks, no rattles, no squeaks... and the coil pack failures were common to the whole of the VAG group because of a faulty batch from the manufacturer.

The only argument I have with the car is that the paint is too soft. Apart from that, no complaints.

10th May 2005, 16:16

The cars are poorly built and dealers worse and customer services beyond belief.

5th May 2006, 00:42

EMU - Engine Management Unit.

19th May 2006, 05:41

Had my LCR for over a year, 35000 miles and totally trouble free.

No squeeks, rattles etc so very happy - only bad thing is MPG, but saying that you don't buy an LCR cos of it's frugal running costs.

22nd May 2006, 07:23

I have had my Cupra FR for 5 months, faults I found:

1) It can't possibly use all that fuel it takes from the tank??

2) My dash under the steering wheel squeaks, it's been in to get fixed... but it's back again.

3) The turbo kicks in at 2000 rpm!!

4) Brake distribution is front end grabby.....Not fun when your stoking into a corner.

Any advice on the above is appreciated.

29th May 2006, 04:56

Had an ibiza cupra, never had a problem with it.

2002 Seat Leon SE 1.9 turbo diesel

Summary:

There Is Nothing A Golf Can Do That A Leon Can't Do Better.

Faults:

Absolutely Nothing.

General Comments:

The insurance cost me a bomb! (not a surprise seeing as I'm only 21).

This car is a dream to drive, it is so quiet in inside the cabin (even for a diesel)! So many great extras come with the SE, it really is great value for money!

This is so much better than a Golf! Who needs one of them when everything you need is in a Leon (and at a lot cheaper price)!

I don't know why there are so many Leon haters. What's a Lemon anyway?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 23rd February, 2003

24th Feb 2003, 09:53

Let's see, I owned 6 golf's and one Leon and to make things easy I will compare my Golf V5 with my Leon TDI SE.

Breakedowns Golf 0 - Leon 1

Leaks Golf 0 - Leon 3

Returned to the dealer Golf 1 - Seat 9.

So you are right in many ways the Leon is doing better than the Golf, but it nothing to be proud of.

It has nothing to do with hating the Leon, it has everything to do with being disapointed after buying one.

25th Feb 2003, 14:36

Yeah I guess as a Golf's more expensive you would expect it to be more reliable, but I am surprised at the number of people who are having problems with Leon's. But I suppose a Golf TDi is 4 grand more than a Leon TDi, do I would expect that anyway. I would much rather have had a Golf Td GTI, but the insurance for me was £1800 (only 21 with 3 nearly 4 years no claims), so that's what stopped me.

4th Mar 2003, 16:26

I have owned a Seat Toledo for just over three years. It has now done well over 75,000 miles and has always been totally reliable. It is an outstanding car and I have always had excellent service from my local main dealer.

9th Mar 2003, 15:21

Lost your way?

24th Jan 2004, 15:03

I've owned a Leon for over three years and 100.000 miles and I've never had bigger problem than changing a light.

I'll definitely buy another SEAT.