TurboBoost

Just driven one, and in summary its a great car. Good driving position, nice controls. It accelerates strongly, not blisteringly quick but its progressive and strong torque available throughout the rev range. Crying out to be chipped.
Steers well for a VAG, quite heavy at low speed and its a quick ratio and felt better than I'd read in road tests. Brembos pull up well, and it handles superbly with lovely poise and tons of grip. You can really fling it about.
Not a hint of torque steer, it feels like it could handle 250-260bhp without breaking into a sweat. And thats just a chip change away.
Outside it looks pretty mean and inside the interior can't really be faulted, if a bit black. Tremendous VFM in my humble opinion.


[Edited by TurboBoost - 9/24/2002 5:28:36 PM]

Chins

Here's my report on the Seat BBS

Picked up my R today and have had the chance to do a few miles. Car already has 1000 miles on it, so no running in req

Fairly mixed reaction to the car. Its hard not to compare to some of my other cars. With the last one being an RS4 its always going to be tough for the R. Feel I can give a good comparision with my S3's and Cooper S

The cars Red. Still not sure about the colour, I'd of gone for Black given the choice. Interior wise its pretty bland. I'm sure Seat could of done a little better. The white dials are probably the worst Ive ever seen in any modern car. The stereo when compared to the Bose system in the Audi and the Mini with Boost is very average.
My car has the std seats. Not tried the Recaros, but these really lack any support in cornering. My guess is the Recaros could be £1200 well spent. Whilst its seats cant hold a candle to the Audis they are better than the Cooper S. Ive always been amazed at how no roadtester has picked up on the S's seats. The Cupra again does not have as good a wheel as the Audi's, but its a damn sight nicer than the Cooper S's. Other than that it seems well screwed together and it rattles a lot less than the Audi's and Cooper S.

Performance wise it feels very similar funnily enough to a std S3. IMHO it feels quicker than the Cooper S and by some margin. Driving home tonight I had confidence overtaking in the R where I would of thought twice in the Cooper S. The R wins my vote easily over the Audi and Mini in the gearbox stakes. Its one of the nicest gearbox's Ive used. I always thought the same when we had a std Cupra. The brakes havnt been fully tested, but they feel very sharp. I thought the RS4's brakes were sharp . Cornering felt very good in the R. I certainly wouldnt of taken the Cooper S round the same bends much if any quicker. Most people will of read the Cooper S road tests. I found the S a bit twitchy at the back end. A couple of my mates with Cooper S's also felt the same. Autocar at last found that in their last test. Dont believe all the Cooper S hype. Its close on the most disapointing car Ive owned. It remains to see how well it copes in the wet.

In the dry the car really feels like it needs an extra 50bhp to make it fun. But will it cope in the wet ? The Works Cooper S will struggle IMHO.

Is it better than the Cooper S. For me yes. It feels quicker, better built and handles nearly as well.

Better than an S3. Its certainly value for money and it hard to touch when you want performance in a medium sized hatch. I prefer the S3 as a car. The interior and 4wd count for a lot. The Cupra certainly isnt anymore or less fun to drive. If money wasnt an issue I would go for an S3.

Lets see if I feel the same in a month or so

Jonathan

FreeT

" Picked up my R today and have had the chance to do a few miles. Car already has 1000 miles on it, so no running in req "


I hope it wasn't one of the ones that has been getting the clutchless gear change treatment! Tthat can't be good for the syncro in any car.

Apart from that i hope you enjoy it, i had a shot in one and was pleasantly surprised at it's speed, fro ma fwd motor with that much power.

I can only imagine that it will be an absolute stormer if the ecu is remapped to 255+bhp and lb/ft.

Chins

It was a female that owned it before me - would they know how. Have to say it really needs the extra power

Jonathan

FreeT

probably, compared to the power you were used too!