Impreza to leon cupra r = disappointment?

[typer0612]

i think you will be sorely disapointed if you go for ''vtec''

take my word for it!

[paulmoonraker]

bazza1000 said:

Man up and get an STI!

Imagine you would be very disappointed with a Leon, Impreza's have alot of charm and are great cars so unless you get one of the equiliant motors to it you won't be happy imo.

An STi is in a different league handling wise compared to the WRX (noticeable on the road, massively noticeable on the track)... Get it mapped to 350bhp and then its quite something

However, my point still stands - on the road they get you to licence loosing speeds just too quickly... Your forever mashing the brakes and trying to keep a lid on the boost out of corners...

-P

[RB Will]

paulmoonraker said:

An STi is in a different league handling wise compared to the WRX (noticeable on the road, massively noticeable on the track)... Get it mapped to 350bhp and then its quite something

However, my point still stands - on the road they get you to licence loosing speeds just too quickly... Your forever mashing the brakes and trying to keep a lid on the boost out of corners...

-P

That is the fun of it though. As a road car you need something that makes you smile when you put your foot down as just relying on fun handling is no good as it is harder and a lot more dangerous to exploit the cornering potential of a car on the road. If he was after a track car I would say go for something as light as possible as on a track it is more about getting the corners right than the straights for most people.

[paulmoonraker]

RB Will said:

paulmoonraker said:

An STi is in a different league handling wise compared to the WRX (noticeable on the road, massively noticeable on the track)... Get it mapped to 350bhp and then its quite something

However, my point still stands - on the road they get you to licence loosing speeds just too quickly... Your forever mashing the brakes and trying to keep a lid on the boost out of corners...

-P

That is the fun of it though

... only after a crate of Red Bull...

[SBN]

What about a Audi S3, lighter than a Cupra R, therfore faster and has 4 wheel drive.

I owned a Cupra R and loved it to bits.

[busta]

RB Will said:

Don't listen to people saying get an Elise/ VX220 something else lightish as it will be so much better in the corners. Unless you are the Stig you will not be on the limit in these like you can in the Scoob and even if you can there is naff all difference its just a bit more scary in the smaller cars.

Nobody has said anything about Elise/VX220s being quicker in corners. What has been said is that they are likely to be more fun than the Impreza without having to get ever higher up the HP ladder, which is a point you reinforce by saying they are a bit more scary to push hard. Is it not that 'on the limit' sensation that us petrol heads are ultimately seeking?

[Traveller]

SBN said:

What about a Audi S3, lighter than a Cupra R, therfore faster and has 4 wheel drive.

I owned a Cupra R and loved it to bits.

S3 is heavier than the R, much like the Subaru, great traction on pull away but penalty on weight.

[*Al*]

After owning many many sporty cars i now have a Monaro, great alrounder and even high 20s maybe 30 when cruising in the tall 6th gear.Highly recommended.

[Mastodon2]

Traveller said:

S3 is heavier than the R, much like the Subaru, great traction on pull away but penalty on weight.

The S3 is a bit of a tank really. A friend of mine has one as a daily driver, remapped in the same fashion as a Cupra R. I have not driven it but even with the additional power over standard, it feels heavy even as a passenger! The interior is fairly nice but it's a bit plain and imo not that sporty inside or out, so it doesn't feel like that much of an experience. Adding insult to injury, apparently it's not even that good in the snow! It's undeniably well built, but it commands a price premium for it.

[RobCrezz]

SBN said:

What about a Audi S3, lighter than a Cupra R, therfore faster and has 4 wheel drive.

I owned a Cupra R and loved it to bits.

Horrible awd system imo. You would have more fun in fwd compared to that!

[rb5er]

I think if you are bored of an impreza you would find nothing new in a leon apart from wheelspin and some understeer if thats your thing.

As people have previously said I think you either need something very lightweight and rwd, something with rwd and a v8, an sti with dccd or an evo.

[Dalto123]

I think im right in thinking that the Supra Twin Turbo has over 300bhp, so that will be a nice upgrade.

My cousin's boyfriend had one and loved it! He had the automatic car, and was advised not to go for the manual as 'apparently' the gearbox in them were 'crap and couldnt handle the power'.

He had the car for a while and he loved it, sold it to get a merc.

[RB Will]

busta said:

RB Will said:

Don't listen to people saying get an Elise/ VX220 something else lightish as it will be so much better in the corners. Unless you are the Stig you will not be on the limit in these like you can in the Scoob and even if you can there is naff all difference its just a bit more scary in the smaller cars.

Nobody has said anything about Elise/VX220s being quicker in corners.

ikarl said:

have you considerd an Elise or a VX220....not that far off the pace of the Subaru (if at all!!) but with the ability to outperform due to the speed you can carry through the twisty stuff.
Karl

What has been said is that they are likely to be more fun than the Impreza without having to get ever higher up the HP ladder, which is a point you reinforce by saying they are a bit more scary to push hard. Is it not that 'on the limit' sensation that us petrol heads are ultimately seeking?

As I said I would love a car that I can play with on the limit on a racetrack. On the road I would rather have something I know I can trust. How often do you drive your car on the limit around bends? I have been on plenty of drive outs often with PHers and never have I seen anyone even close to balancing their car on the limit. They just barrel down the straights and slow for the corners like most people with fast cars.
In the real world the Impreza will make you happier as you just won't be worried about the short wheelbase or twitchyness of a little sports car. That is the thing with Imprezas they are idiot proof cars that anyone can get satisfaction from driving. If you want one to be able to point its nose into a corner and have the back end wriggle around a bit spend £200 on a rear anti roll bar and bump steer bits.
Don't get me wrong I think the VX220 and Elise are great cars, my brother has owned one of each and I spent a year working for a Lotus dealer so have plenty of experience with them. All I am saying is do not rush out and buy one on the idea that you will be driving around appreciating the finer points of MR handling as it just won't happen.

[RobCrezz]

Dalto123 said:

I think im right in thinking that the Supra Twin Turbo has over 300bhp, so that will be a nice upgrade.

My cousin's boyfriend had one and loved it! He had the automatic car, and was advised not to go for the manual as 'apparently' the gearbox in them were 'crap and couldnt handle the power'.

He had the car for a while and he loved it, sold it to get a merc.

Thats bullst regarding the manual gearbox in the supra TT. Its a fantastic box and can handle way way more than the standard 300ish bhp.

edit: just saying, not a dig.

[otolith]

RB Will said:

In the real world the Impreza will make you happier as you just won't be worried about the short wheelbase or twitchyness of a little sports car. That is the thing with Imprezas they are idiot proof cars that anyone can get satisfaction from driving.

Just a matter of taste, IMO. Different people are fussy about different things. If you want a sports car to enjoy driving at and over the limit, you would be better off with a F/R car like an MX-5, much more forgiving of playing silly buggers than M/R cars. M/R is better if you want something that rewards being neat, precise and mechanically sympathetic and a car light enough not to need power steering adds to that experience. If you are the kind of driver who enjoys the way something like an Elise drives, you aren't going to replicate that in a heavy four wheel drive family saloon, while if you are the kind of driver who likes idiot proof cars you won't like an Elise and might hurt yourself.

As always, the answer is to try them and see what you like, there's no wrong answer.

[Grovsie26]

paulmoonraker said:

AWD to FWD? Torque steer, some of the power spent wheel spinning, understeer... Not sure about that

Make sure you check the specialist insurers (Keith Michaels etc) for STi insurance before writing the idea off. However, be mindful that an STi does not make a great daily if your doing a fair amount of miles...

I don't get any of those 3 in my FWD car, well maybe a touch of wheelspin if it's really wet.

I think you'd be bored. An LCR isn't what id call near the top of the list for fun factor.

[Grovsie26]

Dalto123 said:

I think im right in thinking that the Supra Twin Turbo has over 300bhp, so that will be a nice upgrade.

My cousin's boyfriend had one and loved it! He had the automatic car, and was advised not to go for the manual as 'apparently' the gearbox in them were 'crap and couldnt handle the power'.

He had the car for a while and he loved it, sold it to get a merc.

You're cousins boyfreind is a fool.

[T16OLE]

Here is a few of my suggestions, in no particular order

330ci M Sport

130i M Sport

Z4 3.0i

VX220

Focus RS

Focus ST

R32

Mazda 3 MPS

[chuggabugga70]

sorry for the late reply, been a bit busy with work this week! first of all cheers for everyone's input, it's great to have a resource like PH! I had a test drive of a friend of a friend's cupra r today, and actually found it a lot quicker than I expected. Rather like the look of the interior, feels more solid than the impreza and for how I drive it seems just as quick down a backroad. Mid-range performance it genuinely feels quicker than my scoob, maybe not off of the line but i've never been a fan of the traffic light GP anyhow! I'm told that this car was running 280hp, so i'm not really surprised to be honest. The only downside is the sound, which is a bit boring compared to the flat 4 rumble, but still pops and burbles on the overrun and it's nice to be able to be quiet when you want to be. Handling was very good and the ride quality was surprisingly comfy considering the car had Koni STRT suspension, comfy enough when cruising along but when chucked into a corner it appeared nice and firm, my impreza has standard suspension and is rather rattly, grip levels were astonishing really for a FWD car with R888's. On board computer showed 30+ mpg when cruising at 70 on the motorway, which is a massive bonus over the impreza where i'm currently getting about 250 miles to a tank of V-power!

All in all, i'm going to be on the lookout for a red cupra r in 2/3 weeks. Hopefully with the obliglatory remap, TIP, forge 007p etc etc done already. Very impressed I must say!

Once again, cheers for everyone's input, I feel a bit guilty now being so impressed with the cupra r after everyone else has put in other suggestions, but I now really want one! Thanks PH!

[Mastodon2]

Good choice. Make sure you get one with a boost gauge, or you will be installing one yourself, it's the best diagnostic tool you can have short of VAGCOM running on a laptop in the car with you every day. Even with an uprated TIP, some of the smaller breather pipes can come off which will make you lose boost. The car will then go flat as a fart and will be horrendous to drive. Having a boost gauge will show you immediately what is going wrong. Plus they look cool, and everyone who gets in your car will ask you about it