12th Jan 2003, 09:30
I traded my Leon Cupra for a Honda Type R, saved a lot of money and it is even faster.
I have the 'I'm not screwed by VW' grin on my face from the day I handed over the keys of my old Lemon Cupra.
Now I have a car engineered by F1 specialists and not a pile of b-class VW parts screwed together in Spain.
16th Jan 2003, 04:25
I just got rid of my Leon 1.6, nothing but trouble.
I'm looking for a used Mercedes or BMW, at least something that is cheap, reliable and save, I can't be bothered to buy a new car again after my experience with Seat.
18th Jan 2003, 10:59
I think the Seat Leon Cupra R is great, and the tests in the car mags agree. O.k. the Honda Type R comes out better and the Ford RS has good reports, but the Cupra R is great value for money. I had a Leon 1.6 and didn't have a single problem in 94k miles, then a Cupra which was amazing fun to drive. Now getting a Cupra R in April. Waiting times are 12-14 weeks, but so what, its £16,995 and according to the magazines does 0-60mph in 6.9 seconds. How many people putting it down have actually driven it??? I'd rather have a Cupra R and a Ducati 998 for the price of an Audi TT that you see every day on the roads!!!
19th Jan 2003, 06:59
Even better, a Honda Type R for 15.995 and 1000 Pounds to spare for a week to Barbados.
You can't compare a Leon with a TT and say 'I saved a lot of money' they are two completely different cars, a TT is a two seater and a design icon and the Leon is a 4 door family hatchback.
It is like saying 'I saved 50.000 Pounds by buying my Honda Type R instead of a Porsche 911'.
The truth is you payed 1000 pounds more for your Leon Cupra than I did for my Honda Type R and you are still slower, on the motorway, on country lanes and especially on the track.
I know what I'm talking about, I owned a Golf GTI 16v, a Golf GTI 1.8 Turbo and a Golf V5 before I got a Leon Cupra, I loved it until things started going horribly wrong and I had to deal with Seat 'customer service'.
20th Jan 2003, 06:12
"according to the magazines does 0-60mph in 6.9 seconds"
VW cars handed out to car magazines are specially prepared, a friend of mine who worked at Audi in Inglostad told me that a new car, just build, went into a special workshop at the Audi plant to be taken apart and rebuilt by hand again to make sure everything is perfect, this is also done with the engine and in the process the engine is tuned up a little so it is quicker.
Then this car is handed over to the press who than write an article about how great this car is and how fast it is.
A German car magazine found this practice out as they checked the BHP output on their test vehicle, it was over 15% more than it was on a 'normal' car.
So you can only trust the figures in car magazines (especially about Audi, VW, Skoda and Seat) when they really do there homework and that is more than often not the case.
21st Jan 2003, 09:24
That is probably the reason why Auto Express last week mentioned the leaking doors, but said it was due to too much wax in the doors, while we all know it is the wrong material used for the sills.
You can't trust car magazines, you have to do the research yourself.
21st Mar 2003, 04:22
In the case of Auto Express, Seat is also one of their biggest advertising accounts.
19th Sep 2003, 12:18
Well I'm not about to say that I know everything about the Leon - I don't. I am at the moment considering buying one based on the good performance, excellent standard features and the great looks the Cupra series has with all the side skirts and big alloys.
I thought about the Ford Focus RS, Honda Civic type R, Subaru Imprezza WRX, Golf GTi etc, but compared to the Leon Cupra there are an awful lot of them on the road. I prefer a car that you don't see every other second while driving to work!
I'll be thinking about it for a while anyway, but my main reasons for not liking those other cars are:-
Ford Focus RS - It's a Ford! I hate Fords...
Subaru Imprezza WRX - Too costly, benchmark of fast cars.
VW Golf GTi - Millions of them on the road.
Honda Civic type R - Looks horrible in my opinion.
I don't know what to do - I've got a Citroen Saxo VTR at the moment, just need something beefier...
11th Oct 2003, 07:18
I've just bought a Cupra 20 VT and its certainly fast - great straight line speed, plenty of torque all the way through the rev range, picks up speed like a rocket and is also a pretty comfortable place to be on the motorway. Downsides, well the gear change is a bit slow and notchy, the steering is meaty rather than sensitive, and it eats juice like there's no tomorrow. But it's a fun fast cruise machine which feels pretty solid and well made. Done 1,000 miles since purchase and of course no problems so far. Thinking of buying a Cupra R, but a bit worried in case the suspension is too firm - the Cupra is just right. Lots of bang for your buck, but if you're a badge snob buy an Audi or a Porsche and enjoy the "I was ripped off, but look cool" grin that comes with that (big) price.
10th Dec 2003, 14:06
Have just got a cupra R and have to say its fantastic. Difficult to compare with a lot of the other cars being mentioned due to following facts.
Civic Type R - £1000 smug grin will soon drop off your face when it hits summer and you realise that the air con will cost you £1500. I have driven it on both track and road. Is much faster on track, but stick on a typical english A road and the suspension is way to stiff, and any benefit over the cupra R is lost, however its is still a truly fantasic car and is probably the only really competitive car when it comes to power per pound.
Audi TT - only slightly less common than a ford focus or 3 series BMW now. No performance advantage and 8 grand more to look like a hairdresser!!!
Golf R32 - Excellent, but £8,000 extra (have driven though and the car is fantastic and a whole world better than a focus RS or TT V6 or the old VR6's or S3's.)
Imprezza - Have also driven and it is a fantastic car, however despite size etc. still feels impractical.
But this is obviously just my opinion, however I have driven all the cars in this class at one time or the other and still decided on the Cupra R, although I have yet to sample the seat dealership!!!
25th Nov 2002, 10:29
I ordered one last week. Have a TT at the moment and will be glad to have the "I saved £10K and can still keep up with it's VW/Audi peers" grin.