10-19-2009, 03:50 AM
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#1
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Scooby Guru
Member#: 73805
Join Date: Nov 2004
Vehicle:24 TypeS ZO6 White
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Seat Leon Cupra R
Quote:
What is it?
This is Seat’s entry into what is quite frankly a hot hatch market bursting at the seams. Earlier this year Ford’s Focus RS raised the bar, and since then its rivals have been scrambling to reply. Next week we drive the new Renaultsport Megane 250. Later comes the new VW Golf R, and later still an all-new Vauxhall Astra VXR.
And Seat’s not about to be left behind. Welcome to the fastest model in its history: the new Leon Cupra R. And if you think it’s just a Cupra with an extra team of horses, think again. The Cupra’s engine, transmission, chassis, steering and brakes have all been upgraded for the Cupra R.
This car runs the same basic engine as the Leon Cupra, as well as the last Golf GTI, but fitted with a new ECU, intercooler, exhaust system, fuel pump, catalyst and a turbo blowing at 2.2bar, it produces 261bhp at 6000rpm and a healthy 258lb ft.
What’s it like?
The Cupra R feels properly rapid – not quite as hard-revving above 5000rpm as the Ford, but genuinely fast while the engine is operating across the top of its fat plateau of torque. It sounds fantastic, too; the turbos whistle and whine over a multi-layered combustion growl.
The rest of the Cupra R’s performance is a bit of a mixed bag. It steers well enough, with weight when you need it, but lightly when manoeuvring. Seat has succeeded in removing a lot of the harshness that blighted previous Leon Cupras, and has also engineered a little playfulness into the car’s handling in a rear end that’s alive to slip angles.
But – and you may have seen this coming – the car is tragically oversprung, at least for British roads. We drove it on marble-smooth Spanish surfaces and even there its chassis was bucking and fidgeting. The trade-off is excellent body control; the Cupra R certainly has that. But it also has an ESP system that you can never fully disengage, so the amount of fun you can have on a circuit is electronically limited.
Should I buy one?
The problem is it is difficult to work out who this car is for. Seat says its number one market will be the UK; we’re not so sure.
Matt Saunders
First drive data
How much?
- Price as tested £19,990
- Price as tested TBA
How fast?
- 0-62 mph 6.1 sec
- Max speed 155 mph
How big?
How thirsty?
- Combined 34.9 mpg
- CO2 emissions 190 g/km
Engine
- Layout 4 , 1984 cc
- Max power 261 bhp at 6000 rpm
- Max torque 258 lb ft
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http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/...upra-R/244162/
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