Had one out for a test drive on Sat. Maybe considering one to replace my MY98 UK Impreza. Just wondering if anyone has any comments (good or bad) or any experience of these cars.

Have to say I was surprised with the handling and the build quality seems to be good too.

Would I be mad to replace my Scoob for one of these?

Cheers

Gavin :)

Lots of info on seatcupra.net here including a few ex-scooby owners, and a few dissatisfied scooby returnees (is that a word?)

Very friendly place :)

Don't go for Cupra, Cupra R is much better.

Astra Coupe is a better car than std Cupra, Cupra R is a real beast and looks the part.

U can get 2nd hand Coupe Turbo with less than 10,000 on clock from Motorpoint. Check out www.motorpoint.co.uk, see what they got!
As for power, Cupra has 180bhp, Cupra R 215bhp, Astra Coupe 200-224 (can be anything in between).

I still like the Coupe as it has big frameless doors.

Cupra is nice car though and has slightly better build quality than the Vx, but dash and controls in Astra are better.

You can't run piston dump valve on Cupra's though, so no whooosh sounds for you!

Regds,

Mantamagic

Try the Skoda.

Handling, by general consensus is better than the Leon, much bigger boot but otherwise a very similar car.

Based on that I'd say they are economical(ish), comfortable, both are very good value for money, cheap to service, cheap to insure and seem well screwed together. My Skoda is 13 months old and has done 62,500 miles (56,000 road, 6,500 track :D ) the only thing which has gone wrong is that I have had to replace 3 of the coils. This is warranty work. I replaced the clutch at 55,000 miles. If its a company car I'd do it, the co car tax is way less than a scoob.

if only you spent more time working and less time driving around the country causing havoc :p

Mornin' diesel boy!

mornin m8e :D

what does stuart think of his 1.8 20VT ?

good value thats for sure with 180bhp and all the toys etc for about 14k ish ?

The Astra coupe turbo has 187bhp, the coupra r has 210bhp, both are heavy and both are slow (the coupra r is only capable of hitting 100 in 20 secs but does have good use of power in gear over other cars).
Basically its a vw, just a cheap version but a good all round purchase.

Tony:D

I have a Cupra R and believe me they aren't slow. Mines been to APR which I suppose is the equivalent of PPP on a Scoob. Output now is 252hp 262lb/ft and I wouldn't describe it as slow....

Max
Leon Cupra R
APR 252hp

how does it cope putting that sort of power down m8 ?

Interesting comments on here. I just sold my MY00 Scooby last Saturday & am due to take delivery of a Black Cupra R in the next 2 weeks. Whilst I am sure intial acceleration won't be quite as good, all the tests I have read indicate 0-60 6.5secs/0-100 17 secs which is more than good enough for me.That is close to a standard UK impreza.
Throw in the excellent standard equipment and you have a great value package.
The other reason I was attracted to this car is that Scoobies are now very common in my neck of the woods; as are Civic types R's (which I test drove & didn't like). The Leon R is a rare sight so far - I have seen only one.......

Steve,

Re putting the power down its fine in the dry but is a little fun in the wet to say the least. The big advantage is the chip is switchable i.e. flip the cruise control switch and it returns to stock mode 210hp which it handles surprisingly well.

Chipped power to weight ratio is about the same as a WRX STi at about 183hp per ton.

stevieg :wot sorta price for a cup r then ? y did u sell the scoob for the cupra?

cupramax : lol not surprised in the wet m8 !

£16,995 for a standard one or £18,195 inc front and rear Recaro's.

C'mon peeps ;)
The Seat Leon Cupra R has 210bhp as standard, this car weighs only around 100kg less than an STi type UK, its one heavy car!
Evo state the 0-100 in 19.2 (the STi type UK with a MUCH bigger turbo is capable of the same in the 13 sec mark) which i would take as pretty accurate considering that its power to weight is only around the 155bhp per tonne, its power in gear though is what makes it a quick car ;) with around 200lbs of torque on tap it will make mincemeat of most other hot hatches but its still not tremendously quick as hot hatches go.
Nice cars though, funny rear end!

Tony:D

You can pick up a Leon Cupra from Motorpoint for £12999.

Spend a bit on a few mods and you have a high specced quick car for not a lot of money.

I have been thinking about going down this route myself.

On the road the Cupra feels faster than the figures suggest as maximum torque is available between 1900 and 5500rpm (Or something close). Your never caught in the wrong gear or off boost.

Lee

[Edited by logiclee - 11/25/2002 6:46:53 PM]

I have figures from Quarter Mile Rivals site, see following url :-

www.syclone.freeserve.co.uk/rivals_cars.htm

Seat Leon Cupra R 210 Bhp 0-60 6.5 0-100 18 1/4 Mile 15.2
Seat Leon GT (Cupra ?) 180 Bhp 0-60 8.0 0-100 20.9 1/4 Mile 16.2

My mate has a normal Cupra pre facelift. The new car is better looking with cool bodykit and nice alloys.

Regds,

Mantamagic

Tony why are you comparing a standard Leon Cupra R with the vastly more expensive STi. I think the point they are making is with a 250bhp-ish chip the Leon R will have rolling acceleration roughly on a par with the STi despite costing a packet less. And the power comes in lower down.
Quite an achievement even if its cross country/wet weather handling isn't anywhere near an Impreza, although its probably good enough for most people.

Driven a standard Leon R and I thought it was great but could easily cope with more power (in the dry at least). The chassis and brakes are well up to the task, its limits seemed very high for a front driver.
Even the salesman agreed and was "pro-chipping". Which was nice.

Turbo,
i was pointing at this little quote ;)

"Chipped power to weight ratio is about the same as a WRX STi at about 183hp per ton"

Tony:D

I think TaviaRS said the 180bhp engine is safe to chip to around 215bhp and only cost around £600.

Thats a brand new 215bhp car with loads of Toys for around £13600.

Think I'll have a closer look myself. :)

Lee

Ive also got a Cupra R for the moment. Car earlier this year was a Prodrive UK STI. The Cupra R is tighter than a scotsmans wallet when new, and even makes the STI feel lose :). It does get a lot better with time.

Performance wise, there is a wide differential. The chasis is good, far better than the std Cupra (wife used to have one). It does cope pretty well with the std 210 bhp and could do with more, but as Cupramax says the wet will be fun. The car is damn good value for money. Even though it doesnt have 4wd its got a lot of better features than a Scooby. Mine feels as std pretty close to my old std UK300.

Also remember when comparing bhp/ton the Leon has less transmission loss.

What do I prefer. Thats pretty easy, the UK STI, but its £10k more. Never had a drive in the Leon which has left me with a smile on my face unlike the STI.

In the 15-18k bracket its the best out there. As Clarkson says the Civic is uncool and looks crap, the Cooper S is way overrated (yes Ive had one :) ) and the Focus is another £2k and it will still be a Ford. I have to admit the Skoda might be good, but the badge stops me even going into a showroom -sorry TaviaRS (maybe one day)

Jonathan

Tony,

Evo mag quotes the UK WRX Sti power to weight ratio as 180bhp per ton...??? Where do you get 155 from? Thats more like a standard WRX.

Hello Mik, Max and Jonathan. I shall say nothing... ;-)

rofl :D :D

dobnt believe anything jon says, its a skoda :o :p ;)

wot about the 172 ?

Perriam, you are a peasant! :p

I have had plenty of grins put on my face when driving my car, unlike others are reporting. Chipping wise, 220 is an easy £500 spend, next level up is £1700-2000 which gives approx 280-300. Yes it is front wheel drive, but in the dry you'd never know. Sounds a bold statement, but everyone who's been on track with me thinks its awd due to its adjustability (not tried the Leon on track so comment only applies to the Skoda).

Anyone going to bedford this Saturday is more than welcome to come out with me for a few of my normal "gentle" laps. Always good to compare these things off the road where speed limits don't apply and there is nowt coming the other way. Oh, and I hope its a wet weekend :D

..and for those that have forgotten, there *is* a 4wd Octavia.

ahhha nice of u to wake up jon :p ;) wfh 2day ?

tried to get my other half to look at the seat, cos 180bhp and a good standard set of toys seemed :D but she wasnt interested cos it dont look nice !

Oooops, wrong ID! :D

[Edited by T Gardemeister - 11/26/2002 10:25:19 AM]

Steve, that's women for you! :D Was it the pink flashing light that sold the pair of you on the Clio? :D

Ian, we are talking "performance" cars here! :p