RE: Shed of the Week: SEAT Leon Cupra

[the_hood]

For under £1500 you can buy a newer face lift model which looks much better.
Before I bought my pre facelift many years ago I saw a Golf GTi 180 bhp for sale. It was a private sale, which put me off. If only I'd taken the chance....
The car drives fine, engine feels strong from low down. The issue is the build quality. I had numerous issues with mine. The EML was constantly on, water leak, rattles, wiper stalk needing replaced, etc...
Oh and replacing the standard head unit improves the sound even with standard speakers.
It's a 'no' from me.

[Jon_S_Rally]

I remember driving one of these when it was quite new, albeit a later FR with the body kit. Quite liked it. Seemed to go ok and felt decent enough to drive for what it was. Much better than a MK4 Golf, that's for sure.

2 GKC said:

Is it possible to "have some tasteful alloys put on?" Not sure I've ever seen an after market set of alloys which didn't make a car look worse

Escort Cosworth on 18" rally style wheels? OZ and the like? In fact, any of the 90s rally reps on the wheels they ran in competition would surely fit the bill...

Given the diamond cut dross that's being fitted to a lot of cars currently, I'm sure there are plenty of cars that could be improved!

[DaveBigHands]

I once owned a Seat Ibiza TDI 130. 6 speed box failed a month after i bought it on 88k (gear selector rod between first and second went) which cost me a grand for a rebuild/new clutch, the boot leaked, interior rattled, engine management lights were a daily occurrence, door mechanism failed. It was an automotive turd, apart from the 1.9 engine. Never again will I buy any Seat.

[Equus]

I had a full fat Leon Cupra (225bhp, do I recall?) as a company car, back in the day.

Very fond memories of it, but at the end, I'd handed my notice in with the company and was a week away from leaving when I blew the engine up on it, thrashiing it from cold. They made me drive a Transit Connect as my company transport for my last few days, as it was all they had spare on the fleet.

[Cupramax]

Equus said:

I had a full fat Leon Cupra (225bhp, do I recall?) as a company car, back in the day.

:

That would have been a Cupra R if 225hp.

Amused to see this thread as I had one identical to this, cant post any pics though due to the tts at photobucket.

[Cupramax]

OK, lets try PH Thumbsnap hosting...

[9k rpm]

I may be wrong but these seem to have an identical dash to the gen 1 Audi A3.
Always recall them being great value for money and handled much better than the Golf GTi T. Incendently I owned the golf which handled like a boat and ate ignition coils like they were sweets! The Audi TT 225 I had was worse for that though and the build quality was terrible; the dash pod went and I didn’t know how much fuel was in the bloody thing!

[Cupramax]

Yes, identical to the A3 dash although it may have been a slightly cheaper material but the moulding was the same.

[Hayek]

alorotom said:

Except seat of this vintage have shockingly bland interiors!

These just scream council to me ... normally seen with tinted lights, dented bodies, crappy ‘zorst

Not a fan I have to admit

Some of the leather efforts on the Toledo are a little better, and the V5 can sound quite good.



https://youtu.be/rH6NwLcbtyQ

[DaveBigHands]

I once owned a Seat Ibiza TDI 130. 6 speed box failed a month after i bought it on 88k (gear selector rod between first and second went) which cost me a grand for a rebuild/new clutch, the boot leaked, interior rattled, engine management lights were a daily occurrence, door mechanism failed. It was an automotive turd, apart from the 1.9 engine. Never again will I buy any Seat.

[Cupramax]

So you said 55 minutes ago

[s m]

Rare Swiss market model - 4wd 280bhp






https://www.mobile.de/es/Veh%C3%ADculo/Seat-Leon-2...

[Cupramax]

I may have to get my beard out here , the Cupra 4 wasn't factory supercharged, that's an ABT kit.

[Leon R]

I have had a 55 plate MK1 Cupra R since 09, bought it with 33,000 on the clock and it now had 95,000.

I have had to replace the coolant temperature sensor twice and the brake light switch once and thats it, all the rest has been regular servicing.

[s m]

Cupramax said:

I may have to get my beard out here , the Cupra 4 wasn't factory supercharged, that's an ABT kit.

Absolutely, you could walk into a Swiss Seat dealer and order one brand new though

Edited by s m on Friday 9th February 21:59

[Valgar]

J4CKO said:

Meh, sort of alright, but for not much more, if you like aged 1.8 T engine VAG things and still for shed money you can have a MK1 TT, the full fat 225 engine, you get a much nicer interior, concept car looks and 4WD, obviously only any good if you dont need rear seats but its a much nicer, better made (well better finished car).

Dont think at TT has ever been SOTW, must be due and quite happy to write the article as well !

Holy crap, I can't believe how cheap those MK1 TTs are! There can't be many better looking sheds, you could get a GTV but it won't have the correct engine.

[Mr Tidy]

Great car IMHO!

In 2003 I got an X-plate Cupra in Black Magic with the leather seat & memory option, and in 2000 it was a Cupra - IIRC it was only after the Cupra R came along that the 180 bhp version became an FR.

[BeirutTaxi]

From personal experience, VW/Seat build quality from this era was not good.

Don't bother with this shed and all the frustration/expense that will go with it. Put the money towards a PCP on a new hatch instead.

[Revjunkie]

I had one 5-6 years ago. Bought for shed money. Looked nice in black, had full history etc. 85K on the clock. Loads of problems with it,

Thrust bearing gearbox issue
Coil pack
Damp carpets
Dodgy central locking
various ball joint/ track rod etc issues
Driver window stopped working
Eventually developed various oil leaks.

Think I bought a bad one but still liked it and never actually left me stranded.

[alock]

First car I bought new. Kept it for 6 years.