RE: Shed Of The Week: Seat Leon Cupra 20VT

RE: Shed Of The Week: Seat Leon Cupra 20VT

Friday 14th October 2016

Shed Of The Week: Seat Leon Cupra 20VT

Yep, a Leon this good really is available for Shed money!



Shed ran a first-gen Leon Cupra R in red for a year and absolutely loved both the way it went and the way it looked. Based on the Mk4 Golf chassis, that first Leon came 7th in Autocar's 2010 'best hot hatch of all time' reader poll.

That was a twin-intercooler Cupra R with gorgeous 1-8inch wheels. This week's SOTW isn't. It's, well, a bit mysterious. It's being touted as a 'Leon 20V Turbo Cupra' with 210hp, but the 20VT was never that poky. That had a 180hp motor.

Still a handsome beast after all this time
Still a handsome beast after all this time
The only other thing that may or may not be connected to the odd naming and horsepower issues on this ad is that there's nothing coming up for the car on the MoT history check site. That's odd considering it passed its last one only a couple of months ago, with no advisories. You can't trust the internet of course. If you could, Shed would never have picked Mrs Shed off that dating site. But the absence of info does give you pause. (Following later investigation, Shed has managed to cajole his Amstrad into providing MOT info - apologies for any confusion!).

Still, assuming it is the 180 rather than the 210, that's nevertheless enough to take you well into the 140mph range, with average mpg figures in the mid-30s rising to over 40mpg on a relaxed motorway cruise courtesy of the high-geared six-speed 'box. Boil it right down and you're looking a very practical FWD five-seater that weighed around 1,300kg and handled very neatly. If you're planning on trackdaying it they're a bit marginal on braking, but generally speaking they're fun little cars with a nice sense of solidity about them.

Could have shut the doors
Could have shut the doors
So, a Leon 20VT in a smashing colour and with a long MOT - what's not to like?

Well, Leon rear doors have a nasty habit of not opening. It could be an errant cable behind the door card, but sometimes you can cajole them into action by using the same slapping technique as the Fonz used on the Happy Days jukebox. Or of course you could just go for the traditional PH method of smashing the back doors in.

Under the bonnet, coil packs were the first and most usual suspects for failure. There was a lot of argy-bargy about this between the Volkswagen group and its coil supplier at the time. Reduced turbo boost pressure was the clue. It's a historic problem, obviously, as any Leons from this era that are still successfully producing sparks today will be doing so thanks to coils that aren't made from Bakelite, asbestos or other dodgy retro materials.

Water gets in around the rear lamps and the door bottoms, and anyone who has had the problem of the rear washer pipe coming adrift on their Mk4 Golf will be delighted to hear that the Leon is similarly afflicted.

Tidy if a little dour inside
Tidy if a little dour inside
Some SEAT designer booby pointed the horn forwards with the result that they fill up with water in non-Spanish climes. Air mass sensors are known for going west and are not especially cheap to replace.

The current cambelt on this car is 36,000 miles old. This needs careful watching as a snap will comprehensively trash the motor. It's a four-year/60K replacement cycle and changing it (and the water pump plus associated belt drives) is a bit fiddly on these 1.8 20-valvers. That Extreme Blue paint is lovely but soft, not really an issue at the sub-£1K end of the market but worth mentioning if you're the fastidious sort.

The process of clarifying the MoT and power issues should knock a couple of hundred off the price, at which point you should be able to pull the trigger with a light heart.

Here's the ad.

Lovely car to drive, smooth and powerful with great acceleration.
MOT until August 2017, with the last MOT having no advisory notes
New cam belt fitted at 80503 miles. Excellent condition inside and out, lovely and clean.
Electric windows, mirrors, sunroof and front seats for adjustment, air conditioning, 6 x CD changer, leather trim, heated front seats, folding rear seats, child seat points (Isofix system), sports seats, power steering, steering wheel rake adjustment, steering wheel reach adjustment, traction control, central locking, alarm, drivers and passenger airbags, side airbags


Author
Discussion

alock

Original Poster:

4,224 posts

210 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
First new car I ever bought. £14200 in 2002 and I ran it for 6 years and 75k miles. The MOT history now shows mine was clocked a few months later to <40k miles.


djbobbins

101 posts

175 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
There is MOT history - I've just found it myself on the website, tsk tsk...

MOT expires 3rd August 2017, no advisories on any test since the one in 2012, plus moderate but sensible mileages (about 8k per year) being recorded, which suggests it's in regular use not just parked on someone's drive.

We test drove the shopping trolley version of one of these years ago and owing to price / age difference, opted to buy a Ka instead. A decision I have regularly regretted since.


anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
I don't think I've read the phrase "smash the back doors in" this early before. I spluttered on my Frosties.

I've always had a soft-spot for these yet never owned one.

If I had the space to keep it and the time to drive it I'd take a punt on it.

graham22

3,293 posts

204 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
All the faults listed are common on several VAG cars including an Ibiza Cupra I ran:

Rear door locks - can still be opened from inside but do not put child locks on! Small solenoid that releases the door catch gives up, yes banging it helps initially but it goes, had this on a Audi A3 SE, similar thing failed on my Ibiza and father's A4 tailgate lock/release.

Coil Packs - yep, my A3 TFSI & the Ibiza.

Door Seals - Father A4

Rear washer hose - Father's A4, Girlfriends Ibiza and 2 Fabias, my A3 SE and yes my Ibiza - probably better it pops off in the hatch trim rather than elsewhere in the car. helps by regularly making sure the washer jet aren't blocked by road grime/tree sap - never happened on the A3 TFSI though.


Always liked the Leon Cupra despite not owning one, really feel the wheels add to the discreteness of it.



Edited by graham22 on Friday 14th October 09:52

chow pan toon

12,356 posts

236 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
I ran one for a while and had the coil pack issues. Apart from that nothing major to report. Went well, comfy and good looking in my opinion. For shed money it's an absolute steal

BFleming

3,589 posts

142 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
djbobbins said:
There is MOT history - I've just found it myself on the website, tsk tsk...
Indeed. Maybe it had a recent plate change, that can cause temporary glitches in the system.

giveablondeabone

5,475 posts

154 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
Owned a 2004 cupra never had any issues.

Owned a 2004 Furby and rear washer was an issue. Just use a small cable tie and it'll never come off again.

Owned a 2004 Octy vRS and in 90K never had to replace a coil pack. Rear washer stopped working at some point.

All of the above could get wet at the bottom of the rear door seals.

Limpet

6,293 posts

160 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
giveablondeabone said:
All of the above could get wet at the bottom of the rear door seals.
That is actually all that puts me off it. A lot of VAG products of this era had a real issue keeping rainwater on the outside.

The mess below was what I found after trying to track down an intermittent musty smell in our 2003 mk4 Golf that had been irritating me for months. Finally, during the repeated downpours in the run up to Christmas 2014, I noticed the rear footwell carpets were wet. The strip down revealed the extent of the issue. From the intermittent musty smell, and the rate of the leak when hosed from outside (a tiny drip), I reckon this had been leaking for months if not years before it revealed itself, and the water was being absorbed by the sound insulation. Only when that finally soaked through did it bubble up through the carpets.







After fixing the leak, drying the sodden carpets and insulation out over 2 weeks, and thorough cleaning, it did all recover (and stay dry). But a disgusting, smelly, mucky job that I never want to have to repeat.

funkyrobot

18,789 posts

227 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
Limpet said:
That is actually all that puts me off it. A lot of VAG products of this era had a real issue keeping rainwater on the outside.

The mess below was what I found after trying to track down an intermittent musty smell in our 2003 mk4 Golf that had been irritating me for months. Finally, during the repeated downpours in the run up to Christmas 2014, I noticed the rear footwell carpets were wet. The strip down revealed the extent of the issue. From the intermittent musty smell, and the rate of the leak when hosed from outside (a tiny drip), I reckon this had been leaking for months if not years before it revealed itself, and the water was being absorbed by the sound insulation. Only when that finally soaked through did it bubble up through the carpets.







After fixing the leak, drying the sodden carpets and insulation out over 2 weeks, and thorough cleaning, it did all recover (and stay dry). But a disgusting, smelly, mucky job that I never want to have to repeat.
eek

rmcoboy

35 posts

153 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
Ooh, had one of these years ago. Lovely car. Very swift, well made and looked lovely. A cross between a Saab 9-3 and an Alfasud.

Sensibly test drove it in the fog in Hull with a raging hangover. Funny the things you remember.

mrtwisty

3,057 posts

164 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
German quality wink

PistonBroker

2,406 posts

225 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
djbobbins said:
There is MOT history - I've just found it myself on the website, tsk tsk...
+1

I perhaps should've come into the forum first rather than waste time going to the MOT check!

kellyt

158 posts

118 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
Very, very likeable and engaging cars.

Good shout.

Sharps

8 posts

136 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
Golf looks better to the Leon in standard Cupra spec, Cupra R is another matter but then they don't come up for a grand.

Driving wise the Mk4 golf GTI got a slating the time, don't remember these being much better. Good daily driver but for a proper hot hatch better off looking for a Suzuki Ignis Sport similar to the one featured a few weeks past.

Mr OCD

6,388 posts

210 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
Owned one for circa 8 years until last year... did over 60,000 miles in that time. It was ultra reliable and never let me down... only needed servicing and wear and tear items over the years.

Check coilpacks for outstanding recall with SEAT. I got all mine replaced free of charge by SEAT despite never having been near a dealer since 2007.

mikeyr

3,118 posts

192 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
Looks like this one is in my neck of the woods which makes it tempting...

s m

23,164 posts

202 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
".....well into the 140mph range"?

Even allowing for tyre scrub this test one was a way off


FN2TypeR

7,091 posts

92 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
Limpet said:
Pictures deleted so save folk scrolling.


After fixing the leak, drying the sodden carpets and insulation out over 2 weeks, and thorough cleaning, it did all recover (and stay dry). But a disgusting, smelly, mucky job that I never want to have to repeat.
eek wowza, I have never seen a car in a state like that before!

Matt Bird

1,450 posts

204 months

PH Reportery Lad

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
Apologies for the MOT confusion all, it would appear info is available and it was a mistake in Shed's, er, research. Thanks for pointing it out!


Matt

Limpet

6,293 posts

160 months

Friday 14th October 2016
quotequote all
FN2TypeR said:
eek wowza, I have never seen a car in a state like that before!
Draining the footwells was the work of minutes after knocking the plastic bungs out of the floor, and then drying off with a towel.

Drying the carpets took a couple of days. They actually came up like new after a shampoo and vac, believe it or not.

Drying the insulation (a giant sponge) took 2 weeks in a heated garage.

And it didn't smell very nice. frown

All down to a tiny (really!) weep on the offside rear door bottom seal.




Edited by Limpet on Friday 14th October 11:12