JR

I'd value any opinions on this car.

Is it worth considering?

JR

polarbearit

Compared to a scooby no,

Slow and poor handling.

Crap dealer also put me off!

Jon

DJB

I disagree.

My brother has one - bought it as import for aroung £12000. Very good value for money.

I tried it out. Not as fast as a scoob by a good margin. Steering probably slightly sharper than my MY98 and handling generally sound. I thought the interior was excellent (VW/Audi quality).

Not really a scoob rival but it is much cheaper (even a UK sourced model).

D.

mik

I concur with DJB!

It's definately worth a look. It isn't a Scooby rival, but it isn't intended to be.

Far from slow, but not Scooby-fast and only FWD. Significantly cheaper however.

Yeah - nice interior and quality.

Bargain compared to Golf GTI & A3 1.8T which share drivetrain.

You pays yer money......

TaviaRS

I had an 01 on order but subsequently cancelled when I worked out the real cost of running it for 35k+ miles per year. So I was looking for an alternative.

I looked at the Leon Cupra - not a bad car, fairly brisk and well screwed together. There were 3 things wrong with it (for me). It comes with a 6 cd changer which in their infinite wisdom they put in the glove compartment - the only other thing you would get in it is a small bottle of Pepsi max. I couldn't fold the back seat down with the drivers seat where I have it and the real crunch for me, the Octavia has a 3 year unlimited mileage warranty, hence thats what I got. The Skoda dealers are more helpful, the price for the RS is £100 more, insurance is cheaper (who is going to nick a Skoda??), it has better economy, depreciates less, rarity (I've only seen 3 others) and if you have it as a co car the tax is less on the emissions.

Both the SEAT and the Skoda have several benefits, in that people don't expect them to be as quick as they are, they are tuneable and you get a real feeling of superiority/smugness when you see a Golf/Passat/A3/TT at having essentially the same car but for at least 4k less.

BUT - it ain't a Scooby!

Orville

The Seat has very similar performance to the new Impreza. I test drove both a few months ago at my local dealer (Wilson's) who sell both Seat and Subaru. The Subaru has better handling (much) and is better sounding + has more character, but the Seat has better fuel economy (by far), cheeper insurance and is less ugly. In the end I ordered a new Impreza from Europe for ~£17k but it was close.

whip

I looked into one of these before I bought the scoob. Nice car, good build quality and very capable in the right hands. On a value for money basis they make a lot of sense. It's the same lump that's used in the 225bhp TT and is very understressed in the Leon, so tuning it should be straightforward and cheap I'd imagine.

Having said that I'd only buy one as an import circa 12k, as the 16k rrp would get you very much into scoob territory.

TaviaRS

The tr price is now down from 16 to 14995 - with haggling you can get them for 13k - so good vfm. Well worth a look, to be different if nothing else

IanF

After 3 months of waiting our lease company have finally managed to get a demo from Seat, which arrived on Tuesday and I have it for a week.

Initial impressions were not good as I felt the car was a bit wayward handling wise when really pushed. Suffers from very dramatic (and disconcerting) weight transfer when braking hard round slight bends, most noticeably when approaching roundabouts.

Performance is very impressive for what it is and whilst it is slower than a Scooby, in terms of feet and inches on the road I doubt there would be too much in it. The car I have is 9 months old and has done 16k miles. I suspect it has been hammered as a demo from day 1 so the engine is very loose.

Interior wise I hate the red lighting on the dials. I find the seats a tad uncomfortable, but that is probably a personal thing, although a passenger commented about them as well.

I drove the car enthusiatically tonight in damp conditions and it is getting better. Handling is still a bit iffy, but in the wet the traction control is very effective, especially on roundabouts. Performance continues to impress me and whilst I normally run my cars in (even company cars) I might be tempted to go for it from day 1, so I get a nice loose engine.

I am still not sure whether I will take one as a company car, but having checked what is on the market and is tax efficient, there doesn't seem to be be anything else that provides good performance and equipment and is tax efficient.

Our lease company price the Skoda at a higher lease rate than the Leon, so I suspect the running costs of the Skoda over three years (Inc. financing charges) is in fact a bit more than the Leon.

I'll see how it goes and maybe post an update next week after the car has gone back to Seat.

Regards
IanF

john banks

I thought the 225 had a different bottom end?

A friend has one, and we went for a run in it on Monday, and then in my Scooby. The difference in performance was unbelievable, and the Scooby puts down the power and goes round corners/roundabout with much more vigour. However, I do have a few mods to the Scooby meaning I have about 50% more power than the Leon, but only in the last month or two and the standard MY00 at least is WAY quicker. The MY01 may be a different story as the 1.8T is quite a flexible engine with a very flat torque curve and very early spool up.

However, I would seriously consider the implications of putting down 180bhp through the front wheels in the wet. We also have a Pug 406 3.0 V6 194bhp 200lbft front w drive and in the dry it is quite respectable, with an excellent chassis. But compared to the AWD Scooby setup, there is just so little traction - and in the wet it can struggle if you drive enthusiastically - result - you just back off and drive sedately - perhaps a good thing? - but it doesn't make you respect the car very much. Anything above 150bhp which has been FWD feels dodgy in the wet that I have ever tried - Passat V6, Mondeo V6, Peugeot V6, Pug 306GTI-6 - they make the Scooby seem immune to understeer in comparison - and that is saying a lot.

Chins

Ive got a Leon Cupra at home to keep my PPP'd Scooby company.

Its not got the outright performance of a Scooby, but has a lot less lag, so in day to day driving is a lot more relaxed.

It does struggle a bit in the wet, but all FWD cars do. It is also very easy to reliably tune to 210bhp. Its got a much better stereo than the Scooby as well. I also like the 6 speed box.

Its not really a comparision to a Scooby for the price. You should get one with Leather etc for £15k - £14k without. Its only real competition size wise is the Octavia RS, and now Civic Type R. It does do quite well residual wise. The cars are in short supply at present.

Jonathan