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TDi150 vs 225R Buying advice

Andrewcupra TDI

Resident Desk Jockey
Apr 30, 2008
3,282
2
in the mountains ( Wales )
doesnt really smoke like the dervs in the old days , std ones dont really smoke its when tuned they tend to a bit becasue higher boost and fueling

went down the same road , R was my first choice , then realised it done roughly 200miles to a tank im no light footer , tax is about double the tdi £125 year for the tdi this year R was £210+ and my insurance wanted about £3-400 more than the tdi

so as funds need to look positve most the time house and baby (mrs can fend for herself lol) i chose the cupra tdi

i would have looked at the FR+'s same body kit as R but was going for silly money at time ,

so got me a 50k 53plate cupra

and suits me i do really love it its no formula 1 car but its pretty quick shocked some petrol cars out there( old civic vtec has his smerk wiped !) and doesnt cost the earth to runn

i drove to aswome Gti manchester from southwales gauge barely moved off full up there and thats was 80 -90 all the way motorways (5am onwads) used the rest on the way home with decat and twisty north wales back roads)

i do see alot of the cupra /fr tdis out and about now so dont know wether theyve dropeed in value or because mines off the road !!

ive never driven the petrol ones to compare

but ultimatley its your choice go with what you want

or test drive a few
 

rallynut

Active Member
Dec 25, 2008
280
0
EGR is exhaust gas recurculation by bunging this pipe it stops the recurculation valve from opening and means the car doesnt breath on its own dirty unused air,making it burn cleaner meaning more mpg,responsivness,and drivablility.
Only thing to watch for with a remap on the tdi is the torque increase is sooo much that it may cause the clutch to slip so your options are to upgrade clutch to a better spec or get the mappper to peg the torque to a safe level.
 

SHADY-NINJA

Full Member
Feb 14, 2005
993
0
London
www.airconmedic.co.uk
having recently departed fron the 1.8 20vt petrol, i now own an FR+ TDI.
i really miss the 1.8 20vt petrol but i get alot of consolation on the diesel economy.
on a recent trip from London to Rotterdam in Holland near the Hague, Brussels, Alst
and back to London i was able to do that on a full tank of diesel.
my speeds were around 80mph and i managed 585 miles.
in the pertrol turbo i would have had to fill up twice.
i stiil miss the petrol turbo though.
 
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jcborden

Guest
Should get about 280-320miles in general...

I'm getting 350-380 on a tank in my LCR (210) with quite a lot of short journeys. Have to admit that I'm probably not very heavy with the right foot. No trouble getting 36MPG on a run (although that was very light footed).
 

chris285

leon mk1 fr tdi
Nov 26, 2004
1,849
0
lincoln, uk
well i have a fr tdi and i get about 600 miles out of a tank, and have to push to get less than 50mpg and its standard

i find the ride comfort is good, soaks up the bumps on the road but still firm enough to be able to have some fun although arb's would help improve the body roll in corners

for 120quid a year road tax, and the fact its cheaper on insurance i don't think you will find a better diesel for the price. however as i am moving to walking distance of work tomorrow, the diesel aspect is now kind of pointless. but on the plus side what i save will either go towards a new motor in a few years or modding the current car
 

mr_merc

Active Member
Oct 22, 2008
86
0
If you don't get the LCR you'll always wish you had

Fact

What a nonsense comment. Sorry, but cobblers.

I have never driven a 225 but I have been out in one. I currently own a remapped 150 FR and my other car is a 1.8 is mx5 (partner's car). Previous cars have been a track clio, a couple of turbo'd cars and a Saab 900. I regularly drive a variety of other cars, for one reason or another.

Yes, the mx5 drives differently, is lighter, more spritely but is it more fun? Well, yes and no. It's not as quick, to be honest, obviously handles better but it's just a different type of driving. The FR is a high revving (for a diesel) diesel engine and doesn't just rely on torque, although that is a very big factor. The diesel is fun, even around the back roads, especially since the remap as it just swallows straights with ease, you rarely come out of 4th and 5th - just comfortable, quiet and quick.

As for the 'left behind' comments, what, by half a second to 60 perhaps (assuming both of you are racing drivers, etc... etc...)? I've had drag races to 100 with LCR's and never felt like I've been embarassed. Quite the contrary as when they drive off, having 'just' beaten me, or not in some cases, they still have 20 mpg. I might have dropped to 35 perhaps.

Yes, it's not all about fuel consumption, but for what it does and what is on the market, I genuinely see no better alternative in this price range and yes, that even includes the LCR!

James.
 
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NotApplicable

Guest
As the owner (from new) of a 55 plate FR+, I would have to agree with Mr Merc. I've driven all sorts of cars, diesels, petrol, turbo, expensive, cheap and I have been surprised by how much of an all-rounder the TDI150 is. I had it remapped and it does a sub 7sec 0-60 and that's with two gears changes. Just get sticky tyres.... I just put two new Michelins on the front and they do very well indeed.

Pottering about gets me 45mpg+. Motorways see over 50. Going for a prolonged thrash - which is so rare these days to to the amount of traffic, speed cameras and police that pop out from behind hedges with a gun in their hand - I can get it down to 35mpg. A BMW 330i can't get away from me on the country lanes, so who needs an LCR.

It all depends on your driving style.

Mines still for sale. Make me an offer!
 

cordoba lad

Back in the Midlands
May 24, 2005
180
0
Warwick
I went for the FR+ looks like the LCR give 40mpg with a lead right foot 60 mpg if you want to drive like your grandma. Couple of Mods and you have a good car granted not as quick as an LCR but its not that much slower really and you have all that torque when you can't be bothered to change gear.
 

Dyscontinued

Active Member
Apr 15, 2007
1,142
4
Leeds
Going on looks.

I prefer the Cupra to the Cupra R. But only if the Cupra is in a bright colour (yellow/red) as I love the duplication and contrast of the two rows of grills/lights.

If I see an FR+ it makes me think, and no disrespect, that it's trying to be and fool people to think it's a Cupra R. Especially if it's debadged.

I'd say ARBs are an essential upgrade, only thing I've ever done to mod any car a massive improvement, but that applies to both or so I've read.

I would suggest taking a look on Parkers performance section of random cars you think you might see around and want to 'show off' to.

To be honest I think you know what to go for already, you've said you want good performance and good economy, that's the Cupra150. If you'd said you want very good performance and not very good economy you'd have already bought an LCR.

At the end of the day, you're not going to see anything in this thread that will convince you either way, only people who own one of whatever and are happy with their choice. I'd advise going for a test drive in both, then think to yourself if you want that extra performance at the cost it comes at.

I think that's a good summary. woo.
 

Green Mamba

Active Member
Feb 22, 2008
65
2
Warwickshire
I've owned a 150 for over a year 1/2 now. I am still happy every day driving it.

On my 12 mile trip to work I'll do only get up to 40-45mpg for time to warm up rather than pushing it. On longer journeys say down to London I can be sat at 70 with the air con and it will happily rack up to 55-60mpg.

Yes the power bands are slightly limited being a diesel inherently but that doesnt stop me from getting up to 60/70 in 3 gears ending in 6th without much hassle.

I'm sure the R is utterly epic, but I have no regrets. The TDI is just a jack of all trades, For a car 5 years old the engine is just so impressive.

I've only driven in Europe once, that was a 3 day trip down into Charlevilles Meziere and a bit of Belgium I think I had done just over 500 miles at that point and was just over 1/2 tank. I have no idea how it managed that but all I know is the more miles it does the better it gets at dealing with them.

The TDI was an absolute dream to drive miles upon miles, I got from Coventry to Dover in 4 hours in the early hours of the morning averaging 60mpg.
 

paul m

Guest
cheers all some good info in here - nice forum!


i fully expected the diesel drivers to back diesel & petrol owners to back their cars!!! I'll have to get some test drives organised asap. I'm pretty sure I will prefer the sound & characteristics of the petrol engine (I'm a petrolhead at heart!), but as i said before, i spend enough cash on my other car so should try & stay 'reasonably' sensible for this one....hopefully the diesel will offer enough entertainment to stop me getting bored! It should hopefully offer better performance than the puma as well - certainly on overtaking!

I was hoping to find out if there were any major flaws in the tdi150 (it doesn't sound like it so thats good), and also whether there were any hidden costs in the servicing of the diesel that were'nt there for the petrol - it appears not?

In terms of running costs, What can i expect to pay for servicing / tyres?

Also - who are best to talk to about remaps? (I can't help myself!)
 

ChrisUK

Eat My Smoke
Oct 20, 2004
2,258
0
Liverpool, UK
I bought my FR TDI from new in 2005 & it's still as stong as ever.

Done a few mods on it & it pulls like a train !!

I do a mixture of motorway/town driving & normally average well above 50mpg.

I do 1000 miles a month & it costs me exactly £100 (I put £50 in every fortnight).

I dont drive like a granny either..............
 

mr_merc

Active Member
Oct 22, 2008
86
0
cheers all some good info in here - nice forum!


i fully expected the diesel drivers to back diesel & petrol owners to back their cars!!! I'll have to get some test drives organised asap. I'm pretty sure I will prefer the sound & characteristics of the petrol engine (I'm a petrolhead at heart!), but as i said before, i spend enough cash on my other car so should try & stay 'reasonably' sensible for this one....hopefully the diesel will offer enough entertainment to stop me getting bored! It should hopefully offer better performance than the puma as well - certainly on overtaking!

I was hoping to find out if there were any major flaws in the tdi150 (it doesn't sound like it so thats good), and also whether there were any hidden costs in the servicing of the diesel that were'nt there for the petrol - it appears not?

In terms of running costs, What can i expect to pay for servicing / tyres?

Also - who are best to talk to about remaps? (I can't help myself!)

No real flaws.

I bought my fr tdi in November and love it to bits, it just does everything very well (arguably nothing perfectly though!) and is good fun for the commute, long and short distances too with the excellent fuel consumption.

Tyres? £70 ish a tyre. Servicing? £150 a service, circa. It's a relatively inexpensive car to run in this class.

As for remaps, everyone will say that their's is the best, but I cannot recommend AmD enough. My remap is both linear and strong and their customer service is probably the best I've received by any company, at all (perhaps save for cleanyourcar.co.uk).
 

paul m

Guest
What's your other car out of interest Paul?

its a lightly mod'd elise 135R i guess with ~160bhp so around 220hp/ton. Running on Nitron adjustable shocks & sticky R888 tyres. Probably slower in a straight line than some of the heavily mod'd LCR's on here but it keeps me amused. It also sticks to the road like sh*t to a bed blanket...:)

I used to use it as a commuter, but it isn't much fun in the winter months & you can't really use the performance so its a waste of a good car. Hence the requirement for a comfortable, quickish car for cold, wet days (90% of the time at the moment!) & longer runs.

How much are the AMD re-maps & what sort of power / torque do they give?
 

mr_merc

Active Member
Oct 22, 2008
86
0
AmD remap was £400 and that is their own remap, with their own rolling road and software (i.e. not a generic Revo chip). Takes about 2.5 hours and on mine, gave 311 lb/ft and 210 bhp circa. Even allowing for an overreading rolling road, they are decent figures.

You can see my figures in this thread:

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=208826&highlight=remap

The car's mid-range performance is transformed. The 150 does sound like the car for you.
 
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