SideShowBob

Ive gone as far as putting down a small deposit on a brand new Ibiza Cupra in black.
Really liked the look of it, and its got the 180BHP 20V turbo engine thats used in VW/Audi, so quite powerful for a car of this size.
Thing is, I havent had a full test drive yet, nor have I picked the brains of scoobynetters to find out what the general concesus is on them.

Interior is very cool, and in Cupra guise, the exterior looks pretty good too.
Only 5 gears, which may hurt economy, but as most of my driving is using the gears as opposed to cruising along a motorway, hopefully it wouldnt be too bad.

Basically, im going from an S2000 to one of these, and want to either get reassurance ive done the right thing (from a money saving, costs perspective, just after a good fun car thats solid ie, not a Clio) or whether id better cancel the order quickly before completing the deal!!

Ive pained about this all weekend, going to miss the S, but perhaps the time is right for it to go.

I was going to go down the Leon route, found an excellent one, but thinking about it, its the outgoing shape/model, with 30k miles on already, so after two years of 14k miles per year, it wouldnt have much of a resale value, whereas the Ibiza should fare better.

God, am I just nuts to even sell the S? Ill get the Ibiza Revo'd to 205BHP, 220 odd lb/ft, which would soften the blow I guess, just very undecided with what to do.

A'K

I had the new Ibiza cupra TDI for a day when my Leon was in for its service... for a diesel its dam quick, I know your getting the petrol version but my only bad point I had with the Ibiza was its poor handling, it was quite shocking had loads of body roll felt like it was going to tip over on hard bends and when on the motorway if you wiggled the steering you got an aftershock of wobbles ... best take that test drive and see for your self...

SideShowBob

I was hoping the handling would be a strong point, bit worrying that, althou the Cupra does have revised suspension, so may be a tad better.

MBK

We have an Ibiza Cupra TDi as our other car so I would recommend the whole Ibiza thing - we have also had various Leons and an Sport TDi Ibiza before the cupra. Never driven the petrol cupra but I did have a Leon 180bhp Cupra and that was a much better car than it had any right to be. As you say get Revo for even more fun. Have a look on Seatcupra.net for more in depth info.

So a few things to consider:

Handling - as said above not the best in the world though the Cupra's are light years ahead of the rest. From an S2000 you are going to be disappointed....the ride is also, lets say stiff, my STi feels like it drifts on air by comparison.

Servicing - reliability is good but dealer service is poor to worse, again from Honda to Seat is not a jump I would want to make.

Build quality - its middle of the road, its no Audi or even VAG and you do get the odd bit of loose trim and occasional rattle.

Resale value - not bad on some models like the FR TDis and Sport TDis but I think the Cupras and petrols in general suffer a bit more.

Insurance - they are group 16 so can cost quite a bit to insure.

Must have accessories - not a lot really but the Momo strut brace looks good and helps a bit with the handling, brushed alu air vents brighten the interior. Paint must be metallic the non metallics are really soft.

MPG - I reckon you should expect between 25 - 34 depending on the weight in your right foot...

Other than that for the price they are cracking little cars, way cheaper and better all round package than the equavlent VWs etc

I am surprised a Civic Type R isn't on your list??

SideShowBob

Ive sort of done the whole Honda high revving thing to death at the moment, no dount ill go back to it at some stage, but didnt want anything too similar, want something thats different to what im used too.

ukdave

register on here mate and ask a few peeps about em got a mate with a cupra he loves it to bits think its running 220bhp now though http://www.seatenthusiasts.co.uk/for...php?page=abouta few pics of his car(tho his is the older one)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ra/cuprat1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...a/ebbetter.jpg

Beefy

I definately wouldnt buy a Cupra without driving the Cupra R, cant help but think performance wise youre taking a bit of a hit. Personally i would want to have driven both so I could make an informed decision.

LG John

Er, if you are making this change as a money saving exercise then alarm bells are ringing!! The S2000 is probably as good as the 20vt for fuel economy and if you moderate your driving more (i.e. don't vtec it all the time) then it'll run pretty efficiently on the weenie lobes! With a turbo car you'll most certainly become addicted to the mid-range grunt and thus boost up in every gear. I'd expect your fuel economy not to be noticeably better. Insurance will be better but then I'd expect the 20vt to depreciate harder than the Honda and servicing will probably be about the same. I don't see where you are going to make the savings that you seem to crave.

IMHO, I'd go for a 2nd hand clio cup which can give 40mpg, is way cheaper to insure and run, etc.

jon77

There is no Cupra R in the MK4 Ibiza range, the Cupra badge is now top of the range (old Cupra R), and the warmer version (old Cupra) is now badged FR. This will be the same with the new Leon as SEAT are dropping the 'R' badge from their range.

jon77

This is the car sideshowbob is talking about.

http://www.km77.com/marcas/seat/ibiz...tdi/med/31.jpg


I own the TDI version and all in all it is a great little car, Evo mag also seem to think so too as they have rated the TDI version as 4 1/2 stars out of five in the back of their mag, this is more than any other SEAT past or present has got and they complimented the cars on its fine chassis and ride/handling balance.

Beefy

Oops I read Leon, not Ibiza sorry!