RE: Driven: SEAT Ibiza Cupra
Discussion
I'm Sorry but what happened to SEAT.
back in 2000 ish things were looking good on the sporting front. The mk3 ibiza cupra was doing well, so well that it was able to sell a rare cupra R versiona t a high premium. the Mk1 leon cupr and subsequent Cupra R were a common site on the roads. Looked great and got a lot of interest from mags and performance car buyers. Even when the mk4 Ibiza came out they continued with the first sporty diesel ( the 130 sport TDi) and then the sub brand FR came out with the astounding 160bhp cupra tdi ibiza following soon after. The car was very popular due to it being a genuinely fast and capable diesel hot hatch which even came with 4 pot brakes.
Then it all went pear shaped, the Leon mk2 Cupra lost its identity and lacked any distinguishing features over the 1.4. Hell they got all desperate and launched the K1's with lairy bumpers just so people noticed them, but sales have been poor and it rarely gets a mention in motoring press. When was the last time you saw one on the road too? Same happened with the mk5 Ibiza.
Why do we think this has happened? simple, SEAT pulled all its motorsport links in this country which included Rallying and Touring cars. They lost the halo effect and now you can't help but think VW tell SEAT exactly how their cars should come out so it does not have any impact on VW branded cars. Depreciation is high on SEATs as nobody knows what they are. In the UK at least you just get the impression that they can;t be asked anymore and its only a matter of time until they leave completly from the UK market.
Skoda has done well to build its brand and keeps gaining pace, but SEAT looks like a lead weight. How can a company that was on the up in the early part of the noughties lose it so badly mid way. Its nothing to do with the recesiion in this case and plenty to do with the car design and company ethos. Dare i mention the mk2 Toledo.......
VW will sell SEAT on or scrap it full outside of spain and this will leave space for them to take Alfa which is going to be huge back in the US and chineese markets due to that heritage.
Shame as i had 3 Ibizas and loved them, especially that cupra tdi
back in 2000 ish things were looking good on the sporting front. The mk3 ibiza cupra was doing well, so well that it was able to sell a rare cupra R versiona t a high premium. the Mk1 leon cupr and subsequent Cupra R were a common site on the roads. Looked great and got a lot of interest from mags and performance car buyers. Even when the mk4 Ibiza came out they continued with the first sporty diesel ( the 130 sport TDi) and then the sub brand FR came out with the astounding 160bhp cupra tdi ibiza following soon after. The car was very popular due to it being a genuinely fast and capable diesel hot hatch which even came with 4 pot brakes.
Then it all went pear shaped, the Leon mk2 Cupra lost its identity and lacked any distinguishing features over the 1.4. Hell they got all desperate and launched the K1's with lairy bumpers just so people noticed them, but sales have been poor and it rarely gets a mention in motoring press. When was the last time you saw one on the road too? Same happened with the mk5 Ibiza.
Why do we think this has happened? simple, SEAT pulled all its motorsport links in this country which included Rallying and Touring cars. They lost the halo effect and now you can't help but think VW tell SEAT exactly how their cars should come out so it does not have any impact on VW branded cars. Depreciation is high on SEATs as nobody knows what they are. In the UK at least you just get the impression that they can;t be asked anymore and its only a matter of time until they leave completly from the UK market.
Skoda has done well to build its brand and keeps gaining pace, but SEAT looks like a lead weight. How can a company that was on the up in the early part of the noughties lose it so badly mid way. Its nothing to do with the recesiion in this case and plenty to do with the car design and company ethos. Dare i mention the mk2 Toledo.......
VW will sell SEAT on or scrap it full outside of spain and this will leave space for them to take Alfa which is going to be huge back in the US and chineese markets due to that heritage.
Shame as i had 3 Ibizas and loved them, especially that cupra tdi
Well, I currently own a 1.2 TSi FR Ibiza, got it new in October I think. I think it's a great little car, considering how cheap it was. It's got a great little 105bhp engine, the handling is adequate, but not a patch on the handling of my previous car (Alfa 147). I can get about 47mpg on a run out of it, 37mpg around town which is okay. But, free tax is nice, it feels nice and sporty inside with the leather flat bottomed wheel and comfy sporty seats. It has a CD player with an AUX, air con and cruise as standard and a computer.
What's not to like for under £120 a month lease? I love the way it looks too, with the chunky alloys and bodykit. It's a nippy and cute car, but NOT a sports car by any stretch of the imagination. I don't know about the Mito, I would have loved one but they are a lot more on a business lease.
-- Robsa
What's not to like for under £120 a month lease? I love the way it looks too, with the chunky alloys and bodykit. It's a nippy and cute car, but NOT a sports car by any stretch of the imagination. I don't know about the Mito, I would have loved one but they are a lot more on a business lease.
-- Robsa
robsa said:
Well, I currently own a 1.2 TSi FR Ibiza, got it new in October I think. I think it's a great little car, considering how cheap it was. It's got a great little 105bhp engine, the handling is adequate, but not a patch on the handling of my previous car (Alfa 147). I can get about 47mpg on a run out of it, 37mpg around town which is okay. But, free tax is nice, it feels nice and sporty inside with the leather flat bottomed wheel and comfy sporty seats. It has a CD player with an AUX, air con and cruise as standard and a computer.
What's not to like for under £120 a month lease? I love the way it looks too, with the chunky alloys and bodykit. It's a nippy and cute car, but NOT a sports car by any stretch of the imagination. I don't know about the Mito, I would have loved one but they are a lot more on a business lease.
-- Robsa
Lease car sure, and yes those deals circa £100 per month were amazing, but seat don;t actually sell a car that anybody wants to buy with their own money.What's not to like for under £120 a month lease? I love the way it looks too, with the chunky alloys and bodykit. It's a nippy and cute car, but NOT a sports car by any stretch of the imagination. I don't know about the Mito, I would have loved one but they are a lot more on a business lease.
-- Robsa
Much as I like SEAT, I can't quite see where it fits in to the VAG stable.
Low price is covered by Skoda; good build at mainstream prices is VW; hot stuff is the VRS, GTi.
Spanish/Latin flair is a pretty weak selling point; even then, they're not particularly characterful like an Alfa or Fiat.
Low price is covered by Skoda; good build at mainstream prices is VW; hot stuff is the VRS, GTi.
Spanish/Latin flair is a pretty weak selling point; even then, they're not particularly characterful like an Alfa or Fiat.
C.A.R. said:
It looks hideous, compared to it's predecessor anyway. The swage lines up the sides don't look good - from some angles it looks like the car has already been in an accident.
If it wasn't ugly enough you see some of them on the roads with a bit of their front bumper painted black.
Why? It now looks like a really sh*t badger.
I really like the Bocanegras- think they look awesome, and they are pretty nippy too.If it wasn't ugly enough you see some of them on the roads with a bit of their front bumper painted black.
Why? It now looks like a really sh*t badger.
They were definitely better-off a decade ago- sort of like the British market version of muscle cars, plenty of power and loud colours with cheap prices & interiors. As I recall, the Ibiza Cupra was the fastest out of the Fabia/Polo/Ibiza family (160bhp diesel) and the Leon Cupra R was, R32/TT V6/TT Special Edition aside, the quickest MkIV platform car alongside the Audi S3 and TT 225.
There's only so many variations of the same car you can churn out before one or more become null and void... although it seems to be working for VAG.
Antj said:
I'm Sorry but what happened to SEAT.
back in 2000 ish things were looking good on the sporting front. The mk3 ibiza cupra was doing well, so well that it was able to sell a rare cupra R versiona t a high premium. the Mk1 leon cupr and subsequent Cupra R were a common site on the roads. Looked great and got a lot of interest from mags and performance car buyers. Even when the mk4 Ibiza came out they continued with the first sporty diesel ( the 130 sport TDi) and then the sub brand FR came out with the astounding 160bhp cupra tdi ibiza following soon after. The car was very popular due to it being a genuinely fast and capable diesel hot hatch which even came with 4 pot brakes.
Then it all went pear shaped, the Leon mk2 Cupra lost its identity and lacked any distinguishing features over the 1.4. Hell they got all desperate and launched the K1's with lairy bumpers just so people noticed them, but sales have been poor and it rarely gets a mention in motoring press. When was the last time you saw one on the road too? Same happened with the mk5 Ibiza.
Why do we think this has happened? simple, SEAT pulled all its motorsport links in this country which included Rallying and Touring cars. They lost the halo effect and now you can't help but think VW tell SEAT exactly how their cars should come out so it does not have any impact on VW branded cars. Depreciation is high on SEATs as nobody knows what they are. In the UK at least you just get the impression that they can;t be asked anymore and its only a matter of time until they leave completly from the UK market.
Skoda has done well to build its brand and keeps gaining pace, but SEAT looks like a lead weight. How can a company that was on the up in the early part of the noughties lose it so badly mid way. Its nothing to do with the recesiion in this case and plenty to do with the car design and company ethos. Dare i mention the mk2 Toledo.......
VW will sell SEAT on or scrap it full outside of spain and this will leave space for them to take Alfa which is going to be huge back in the US and chineese markets due to that heritage.
Shame as i had 3 Ibizas and loved them, especially that cupra tdi
I disagree saying you don't see many Mk2 Cupra's about. I see quite a few about and you also see shed loads of FR's kicking about (a lot more than GT spec Golfs). So there's plenty of 'warm' diesels kicking about and Golf GTI rivalling petrols. The Cupra's run circles around the Golf's and the Cupra R matches the Golf R/ Rocco R for power for a lot less pennies. I had a warm MK2 Leon diesel as my last car and apart from the primary ride (and rubbish reliability)I loved it. I do agree though when they started sticking the 'BTCC' kit on everything, they blurred models abit.back in 2000 ish things were looking good on the sporting front. The mk3 ibiza cupra was doing well, so well that it was able to sell a rare cupra R versiona t a high premium. the Mk1 leon cupr and subsequent Cupra R were a common site on the roads. Looked great and got a lot of interest from mags and performance car buyers. Even when the mk4 Ibiza came out they continued with the first sporty diesel ( the 130 sport TDi) and then the sub brand FR came out with the astounding 160bhp cupra tdi ibiza following soon after. The car was very popular due to it being a genuinely fast and capable diesel hot hatch which even came with 4 pot brakes.
Then it all went pear shaped, the Leon mk2 Cupra lost its identity and lacked any distinguishing features over the 1.4. Hell they got all desperate and launched the K1's with lairy bumpers just so people noticed them, but sales have been poor and it rarely gets a mention in motoring press. When was the last time you saw one on the road too? Same happened with the mk5 Ibiza.
Why do we think this has happened? simple, SEAT pulled all its motorsport links in this country which included Rallying and Touring cars. They lost the halo effect and now you can't help but think VW tell SEAT exactly how their cars should come out so it does not have any impact on VW branded cars. Depreciation is high on SEATs as nobody knows what they are. In the UK at least you just get the impression that they can;t be asked anymore and its only a matter of time until they leave completly from the UK market.
Skoda has done well to build its brand and keeps gaining pace, but SEAT looks like a lead weight. How can a company that was on the up in the early part of the noughties lose it so badly mid way. Its nothing to do with the recesiion in this case and plenty to do with the car design and company ethos. Dare i mention the mk2 Toledo.......
VW will sell SEAT on or scrap it full outside of spain and this will leave space for them to take Alfa which is going to be huge back in the US and chineese markets due to that heritage.
Shame as i had 3 Ibizas and loved them, especially that cupra tdi
NelsonR32 said:
SEAT lost about 8 years of growth when they launched the MPV Leon in 2004 and the less said about the Toledo of the same vintage the better...
What are you talking about? The 2005 - 2012 Leon is one of the best looking cars SEAT have produced to date. There is nothing "MPV" about it, that's the role of the Altea (which is unlikely to be replaced).
va1o said:
NelsonR32 said:
SEAT lost about 8 years of growth when they launched the MPV Leon in 2004 and the less said about the Toledo of the same vintage the better...
What are you talking about? The 2005 - 2012 Leon is one of the best looking cars SEAT have produced to date. There is nothing "MPV" about it, that's the role of the Altea (which is unlikely to be replaced).va1o said:
NelsonR32 said:
SEAT lost about 8 years of growth when they launched the MPV Leon in 2004 and the less said about the Toledo of the same vintage the better...
What are you talking about? The 2005 - 2012 Leon is one of the best looking cars SEAT have produced to date. There is nothing "MPV" about it, that's the role of the Altea (which is unlikely to be replaced).
Kawasicki said:
va1o said:
NelsonR32 said:
SEAT lost about 8 years of growth when they launched the MPV Leon in 2004 and the less said about the Toledo of the same vintage the better...
What are you talking about? The 2005 - 2012 Leon is one of the best looking cars SEAT have produced to date. There is nothing "MPV" about it, that's the role of the Altea (which is unlikely to be replaced).NelsonR32 said:
I'm not sure if you are being serious? It looks (and drives) like an Altea with a slightly shallower roof line.
No it doesn't, the handling is much sharper than that of the Altea and the reduction in weight means better performance. Its the same comparing a VW Golf and Golf Plus.
This is a SEAT ibiza FR K1. I have just bought one and its is brilliant. Recommend seat to anyone. Owned by vw assures you its good quality. Pay a bit more and you get a fantastic model. Good value for money. I can't find anyone else with a ibiza k1 though. Always a Leon. Why is that?
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