MEGA RARE 2018 SEAT LEON CUPRA *R* TESTED
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- čas přidán 18. 04. 2019
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In this video which sees me return to my VW Group hot hatch roots, I perform a thorough test drive of the hyper rare Seat Leon Cupra R of which only 24 were imported to the UK in 2018.
With 310 PS, six speed manual box, front wheel drive with clever VAQ front differential and extreme suspension geometry, there is only one car worth comparing it with and that's the 2016 Golf GTI Clubsport S, a which I owned for nearly 2 years and 5000 miles. The Golf R is good car but it's far to remote and aloof to be compared to two of the most exciting hot hatches ever to be made by the VW Group.
Can the Cupra R offer the magic of the spartan Clubsport S but in more habitable package? You know what to do .. :)
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I have a SC 280, bought it new in 15. It feels light and is great fun, and that's what hot hatches should be.
Beautiful car which, sadly, I can't afford. Oh well, my good old 2008 ibiza will have to do. Nice and on point presentation of the car. Props for the camera work also. All in all, a "smooth ride". Keep it up.
The Leon was always the bad boy family member of the A4/A5/MQB platform, and I love that Seat are still making hot hatches. I had a MK1 FR and I loved it, so much so I want another. Very rare a car makes me instantly regret getting rid of it.
Mk1 Leon was so much nicer to drive than Golf 4 but these new ones are in a different league!
For me..the next best beast after Golfs are SEAT Leon FRs..both petrol & diesel..especially the early-face models from 06/09....They were so good....I'm really glad to see this particular car you reviewed has a "Manual Box"..I really can't get used to DSG..Its weird enough when hand brakes started to disappear in favour of a hand brake-button....
I know the ones you mean, the interior was improved a fair on Mk2 facelift but I always found the shape a bit of an acquired taste and much prefer these Mk3s but each to their own. Unfortunately the Leon Cupra range now is all DSG :(
Had my 2019 Cupra for almost 3 months and getting used to the Electronic brake, took all of a week after not having one after 30 years of driving. The DSG is a bit weird as apart from a few hire cars I've never had any type of auto either in 30 years. Love the Cupra and yes I think it looks better than the golf, but prob not as nice as a Scirocco in my opinion. The interior does feel a bit cheaper than both the Audi A3/S3 and the Golf. But you certainly cannot knock the kit you get as standard in the Leon Cupra compared to both the others.
@@davidsomething4867 True..it really is an overall impressive piece of kit....
An undoubtedly rare find with ownership entitling you to membership of a very special club with limited numbers. A car that any VAG enthusiast must appreciate, even those with preferences toward the sibling family members in VW and Audi. As always, a pleasure to watch your reviews, vlogs and informative content. Now to find a way to drum up sub-£30k... ;)
Hi Darren, it's a pleasure to share special cars like this one with an audience and we should glad VW Group still go to the trouble of making them every so often. I'm saving too!
Great review,really enjoyed it. I've got a 2019 cupra and it's great fun, great value for money and not a million miles away from the this cupra R you've tested.
Hi Ross, I have a lot of time for the standard Cupra although slightly sad to see they are now all 5 door and DSG, not because I have an issue with this but because it marks the demise of the manual 'box which suits the Cupra well.
@@volkswizard yes I do love the dsg but on a sunny weekend blast I do miss a manual box but as a daily the dsg is so comfortable
Hi Andrew, I drove this car in Barcelona on beautiful smooth roads and would agree “one of the best cars I have ever driven” cheers Simon
Loving the intro music and great video. The new owner must be happy with this. A really special car. Makes me want to go for a drive!!
Well you can even drive the road in the video (past Kings Norton Golf Club)! Did you get that the music was Spanish because the car was? New owner is chuffed, right man for the car as he had a Mk1 Leon Cupra R for 12 years before his Golf R Estate and missed a manual.
Should have been more clear on the spanish music bet you’ve been waiting for this car for ages to go with the tunes!!
Another great review Andrew, thanks. Got the Up GTI on your recommendation now got to say I fancy this......might have to get rid of the 997 ......
Hi Justin, pleased you enjoyed this review. I've owned a 997 and it's the appeal is strong but for pure driving pleasure on typical UK roads a good hot hatch is hard to beat and the Leon Cupra R is one of the best !
Tried a Cupra 300 a while back, lovely response from the engine, very quick, but too much fight from the front wheels, even when only very mildly provoked in a corner. Is the R any better?? Is it worth the extra spend? Thx
I think the suspension geometry helps a little but the managing the 'fight' it what makes it so engaging. Sure a Golf R (or Leon with AWD) will be quicker in many situations but it's just too easy on the road unless you are driving in a highly irresponsible manner (not recommended!)
I’m guessing with the geometry changes the corruption in the steering is likely to be much less in the R. I like the engagement of a powerful slightly unruly front driver but it just felt it was too much on the 300 and came on far too easily.
superb car, this shape Leon is the first seat i have seen that has a nice interior, the previous Leon looked lovely but i hated the look of the dash great video as per usual
Thanks Steve. Yes apart from some iffy plastics, in this spec, with this equipment it looks quite good in there - to coin a phrase "it's a nice place to be" :)
Hi @volkswizard how does the Cupra R compare to your old FL RS3?. Is it worth the cost difference?
The FL RS3 saloon was a real favorite. I don't think it was as good in the corners due to the heavier front end but it made up for it with real character and rock solid build and material quality. List price was around £17k more though so taking that into account, the Leon is either a bargain or not worthy of comparison.
Thanks for the response. Any chance you could review the Mercedes A35 AMG?
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Love the features on this car - best of VAG parts bin and so well configured and surely it will hold its value well. I love the country road drives plus your knowledgeable and articulate content Andrew - just brilliant:)
That's very kind of you Malcolm once again, thank you very much. I kind of hope it holds its value well as it deserves to but if it doesn't I can afford to buy one 👍
😂 seat and hold its value, words never used in the same sentence
Could be a first with this one!
volkswizard possibly? But surely there’s too few in the UK and not interesting enough? I’m not getting the bronze detailing elements? How is this connected to seat? Seat Racing colours?
@@pheasantpluckersson2138 Copper seems to have been adopted as the trademark colour for the Cupra brand. It's funny because 'Copa' meaning 'cup' in Spanish has been used by Seat for a while so I am wondering if it got lost in translation and we ended up with 'Copper'! There is some bronze on the new Cupra TCR Leon but it's not been a Seat racing colour before AFAIK. Some people do like them, maybe they are just ahead of their time in the car/fashion stakes?
I think it's a great car. Love all the bits that make it unique and special. I would be knocking on your door tomorrow to buy it if I still lived in the UK. We don't have Seat in Aus. Another great honest video too 👍👍👍
Hi Cris, it's a shame Seat seem to be limited to Europe. I don't think they sell them in the US either buy maybe that will change with their SUV range ever expaning. Glad you enjoyed the video and chuffed it's finding its way all the way down under 👍
@@volkswizard Apparently it's to stop diluting the other VAG brands in the same segment. Over here, many people don't know about many Euro brands, so ignore them. Ford and Holden are the main stays but German brands are popular too. Beauty of YT is a WW audience 😊👍
You should get the cupra 300 on the channel for comparison 👍
Them Rose Gold (Is that correct?!) accents all over the inside/outside of the car are just gorgeous.
Bronze
@@onehorsepower Nah. Rose Gold.
polopowered You’re both wrong, it’s copper
Sadly, extremely underrated channel. Good job sir!
Thanks Peter, very kind of you - that video should have done better but that's life - thank you for watching and commenting, I'll keep plugging away :)
Looks absolutely cracking!! Thanks for the review 👍👍👍
Thanks Gerry M, mucho appreciato (Spanish innit👍)
volkswizard indeedio!
Thanks for another great review Andrew. I really like this! The only thing I’m not certain on is the copper colour. Is this standard on all Cupra R’s?
Yes Dave, looks better in the metal but it's the Cupra range signature colour for better or worse so it's unlikely to go away anytime soon. Glad you enjoyed the review mate 👍
Huge fan of the Seat Cupra R. Something different to the Golf Gti. Plus don't see many Seat Cupra's on the road. It's all Audi & VW.
It's a shame isn't it Manj? I like the exterior styling a lot, much more so than Golf and the estates are very handsome. The range has broadened recently with estates and all wheel drive variants. Just need some finance deals and they will fly out but it's all about depreciation and I think they probably lose money more quickly than the equivalent VW Audi which means PCPs cost more.
@@volkswizard they will loose there value a lot more than the VW/Audi badge same as the Skoda Vrs unfortunately. But if your in the market for a hot hatch and want to keep it for the long term then definitely worth looking at. I would never buy a car on lease/pcp/finance, but a lot do as want that car even if they can't afford it.
Weird that the rpm counter is white ( R specific) and speedometer is black. I think that was a cost cutting measure. To not make specific speedometers in white for such a short series in mph instead of kmh.
In the European market with lhd both counters are white, but again the speedometer is in kmh and not in mph.
Beautiful car. Those wheels 😍. The Seat designer who came up with that car seriously needs keeping on the payroll.
The designer of the Mk3 Leon worked for Lamborghini, now he works for the Koreans :(
Thx for the great video👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾😀
Where you been Quickdraw 121? 😀Welcome back and thanks👍
Finally cupra on your channel 👍
Yeehaa! First of many I hope 👍
SEAT should of made it AWD like they did with the estate version, strange that they made the estate quicker than the hatch. Also a shame just 24 were released, was impossible to get one
I think the Estate will only be quicker 0-60, in gear all the extra weight will hold it back much like a Golf R Estate. A Clubsport S is the same 0-60 time as this which is 5.8 seconds, over a second slower than a Golf R DSG but this really is missing the point, if you don't drag race, these are far exhilarating and engaging cars to drive :)
That's going to sell quickly rare car nice colour and strong spec. Good video 👍👍
Thanks Stephen - hope you didn't take the "thrash the crap out of" reference to your new car the wrong way :)
@@volkswizard Ha no you put alot and work and effort into the car Im really pleased with it👍
I looked it up and that colour code is ‘boffinsbridge’ 👍😆
Will you be making a video of the yellow Cupra K1 that says coming soon on your website? :D
Hi Jordan, yes that's the plan. It's off for some paintwork this week but when it's back in June I will, if it doesn't sell first, make a video as the interest has been strong 👍
Andrew that is a very nice car, quite a surprise really, those brakes are amazing :-)
Hi Alistair, yes those brakes mean business! People did comment as to how it was weird that the Clubsport S didn't get them and VW said it didn't need them which was weird because Seat needed them for the 'ring record. Can't believe Clubsport discs are just 340mm and Cupra R is 370mm!
The seats are really nice but why can't they make a decent dashboard?
Hi Joe, the dash does take some getting used to and the quality is a little borderline. We have to remember when this Leon was conceived, Seat were losing money. It's only recently they have turned a profit and this car is a almost a celebration of that. Hopefully the next Leon which can't be too far away will see better quality plastics but if you want that, get an Audi is what they might be thinking at VW Group HQ 👍
Great review. Great looking car but I can’t see past the bronze / copper. I know it’s subjective to taste but black would of been better imo! Great hot hatch otherwise.
Fair point Lewis, I hate it when manufacturers style a great car in a way which puts buyers off (Civic Type R is an extreme example!). I am trying to imagine all the copper bits in more of that carbonfibre and it's looking pretty good :)
volkswizard Agree! I definitely think it’s a car I would of considered but being 39 years young I couldn’t rock up with those coloured mirrors! I think Seat always aims for a younger market as I couldn’t see VW putting bronze on their cars . It’s odd that small touches can just put people off. Black with the grey would of been perfect.
Nice car, nice review.
Thank FrankHoney1 :)
Do you prefer the looks of the cupra to the golf ? Looks more special to me
Which ever model it is, I prefer the Leon Mk3 to Golf 7/7.5 for sure. As you say it looks more special with some Spanish flair, Golf is..well..standard German!
The brakes are from gen1 RS3. A nightmare when replaced. Our RS3 had 6 sets in one year (under warranty) as they kept warping under normal everyday driving. Had to get rid of RS in the end, sick of it being in Audi!!!! They didn't have a clue why was doing it. Pity the person who bought it!!!
How does it compare to a Golf R
Hi Tim. In short there is no comparison! The Golf R is a decent drive but 310 PS through just the front wheels forces you to engage with the car in a way which the Golf R doesn't need as it almost drives itself. Feeling the chassis squirm a bit as it tries to distribute the power, tiny bits of wheelspin that occur before the VAQ diff does its thing makes for a highly addictive experience over which you have a lot of influence. A GTI Performance knocks spots off a Golf R for fun and the Leon Cupra R (and GTI Clubsport S) are next level and with the LCR there is no downside as it's well equipped and hushed when you aren't in the mood👍
Imagine this being remapped at stage 2+ it would hit nearly 400 BHP 😁😁😁😁
Thrashing the crap out of it you know 😂🤣 you legend
Amazing car, amazing video, and amazing channel
Hey J W! Well it's very kind of you to go to the trouble of commenting and especially being so positive so thanks, keeps me making videos👍
Pirineos grey
Perineum
I can’t believe u sold your clubsport 🤦🏻♂️
pirineos
That's the Spanish for Pyrenees for sure but what's the part of the body that sounds similar ?