Cupra 300 or Facelift 290

[townsend94]

Hi all, I am new to this forum and the cupra cars so please bear with me.

I've got an itch to get back into a fwd hot hatch once more and after narrowing down the selection I've decided to go ahead with a Mk3 Leon Cupra. The car is going to be my daily driver as well as a week blaster.

Currently I am looking at buying either a Cupra 300 or the facelift 290, both cars must be 2018 onwards.

Currently optional extra for me that are a must:

Heated Front Seats (Half Leather)
Virtual Cockpit
Keyless Start
DSG
5 Door

However, I do have a few questions:

Are there any further optional extra's I should include?

Do both cars come with the a 7 speed gearbox? If not, is the 7 speed a must from your own experience

What are the main differences between the cars? & would I really notice anything with the performance / handling / build quality?

I'm planning on doing some light mods anyway such as, stage 1, springs etc

Cheers in advance!

 

[Mr Mustard]

Regarding the gearbox, I've owned an Audi S3 which had the 6 speed auto, and now have a 2.0tsi which has the 7 speed.

When it comes to motorway driving etc., the 7 speed is much better in terms of a more relaxed drive and gives better fuel economy. Around town and on slower B roads I doubt you'd notice any difference.

 

[Maypack]

If you get the chance SEAT SOUND. Is a definite. If you can’t find a car with it installed from factory it can be retrofitted.


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[Tara]

I went for a 2017 300 as I had no interest in a virtual dash but fancied buckets which I had on my previous Sub 8 along with Pan roof and Seat seat and got all 3 so was happy in the end but I'd say you'd be happy with whatever one you go for as long as it's got the spec you want.

 

[black_sheep]

There will be very few 2018 300s available. They stopped production due to WLTP introduction from Sep 2018.

For example, ordered my Cupra ST in Mar 18 for delivery in Jul 18, but didn’t arrive until Nov 18 (and with the MY2019 options comparable to the 290).

A lot of cars from this era were leased (due to the very good deals) and probably didn’t come with many options - you may be able to get these retrofitted if important.

Also, the EZ (WLTP) cars had limited options, but a few of the very first WLTP cars had the options honoured (have a fairly high spec Copper badged car and there were a few non-copper badged hatches with the 7 Sp DSG - Sep/Oct 18 build).

In response to must have options, things to consider:

Seats - standard or bucket? If standard, heated seats come with the winter pack.

Virtual Cockpit - standard on both, but new revision on 290 cars with addition ‘central tacho’ view.

Keyless start - was a standard fit on some EZ models, but was removed during this period due to parts availability/security issues

DSG - most will have this. 7 speed on cars from Sep 18 onwards, less some pre-built Carbon edition ST models.

5Dr hatch and ST were the only body styles available in 2018. 3Dr SC was removed from line up.

A big consideration is if you intend to modify. Pre-WLTP cars had multi-port injection and no GPF.