Cupra Performance

[Andy305]

Good evening everyone.

I wanted to put up a post this evening as I enjoy the last few days of motoring with my current vehicle (A200) Mercedes. One question I don't think I have even bothered to ask myself or anyone is what will the performance of the new car be like. Previously I have owned a couple of vxrs and these are the quickest cars I have personally owned! They were both corsas by the way for my sins and it was many moons ago.

Can I ask in regards to my cupra impending arrival this week how do these cars compare to others in the market performance wise. I was curious as I couldn't help but think on my commute home a young man in a mini Cooper S old shape version! Aggressively tailing me up the motorway sliproad waiting for the gap to open up before taking off like a lunatic! I couldn't help but think what if I was a couple of days ahead in my cupra how would that situation have fared

Anybodys experiences in regards to other quick cars as I have never so much as driven a cupra would be appreciated.

Regards

 

[RCampbell1]

I had a 69 plate Mini Cooper S on hire in January (booked a Focus got given that) and it would have had no chance against a Cupra

 

[R45HU]

Put it this way if you had your cupra he wouldn’t have been tailgating you because you would have left him for dust! You are going to love it as it will take your driving experience to a whole new level. They are on par with a Golf R and S3 so you will know it is a genuine beast. I have had the cupra 300 for 4 months previously had a Leon FR 1.8 TSI 180bhp and that was fast but honestly cannot fault the cupras you can have a nice relaxing drive with the family and then when you are own your own unleash the thing and floor the death out of it to reasonable extent lol

 

[Mikertroid]

It's a seriously quick car. Bags of torque so when I get into my 3.0 n/a BMW (which is a quick car by anyone's standards) I realise just how quick it is.
Mines 4drive so has stacks of grip and its pace through corners is impressive.

 

[fluffy01016]

I’ve got a ST300 4Drive and it’s quick by any car standard. If you look at Parkers for 0-60 times the it’ll beat most things out there (4.7secs for the 6speed dsg apparently)

If you wanted something quicker then you’d need to be spending £50k

 

[Tivver500]

I’ve got a ST300 4Drive and it’s quick by any car standard. If you look at Parkers for 0-60 times the it’ll beat most things out there (4.7secs for the 6speed dsg apparently)

If you wanted something quicker then you’d need to be spending £50k

Not quite!
My TVR is on par.... but is still accelerating at 150 (tops out around 170)
Current value about £25k......

 

[ChrisM75]

A VXR Corsa has no chance (and handles like a supermarket trolley) and neither does any Mini apart from the latest 300+hp one. The thing is though the Corsa is so bad it feels way faster than it is. The Cupra is very smooth so doesnt always feel that fast.

Normal Comfort mode is quite docile though, you can be caught out sometimes until you get used to it. In sport or cupra mode though its a different story.

In my experience so far Minis are easy prey. Older Type Rs, easy, Astra VXRs are quick but heavy and handle poorly. BMW 330i is prey, 335i is on par maybe, 340 is a bit quicker.

In terms of other MQB cars, Golf GTIs are easy prey unless its a new TCR or Clubsport, but they are rare. vRS models are no problem. It gets tricky with Golf Rs and S3s. Off the line they are faster due to 4WD, but once moving they are a little slower. If you arent grip limited you will pull away from them slowly.

 

[Madmick]

I got pretty embarrassed by a fiesta st at the weekend i was truly truly devastated. Albeit it was far from standard sounded like ken blocks hoonigan.

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[AndrewJB]

They are damn quick in standard form but will get beaten by cars lighter than them, modified they are even quicker but there is always something out there quicker...

 

[NotSoSimple]

If you have bought the 4drive Cupra, you will win at the traffic light drag race 8/10 unless the competitor has spent £50k plus.

You can reliably get 4.7secs 0-60 with just the driver in the car.

Go Stage 1 and you will beat most cars on the road.

3.71secs 0-60 with Revo Stage 1 (and DSG Stage 1 tune...)

 

[Tonezz]

They are fast cars but the power comes in a steady surge so it doesn't really feel that fast.. Handles well though.

 

[The Daily Meme]

Little bit of fanboying on here I imagine.

The cars stats put it bang in mid range for allround performance for hot hatches. Focus RS, Audi RS3, Merc A45 are all in a class above.

The cupra sits more in the bracket of Golf R, Audi S3, Skoda VRS, Merc A35, BMW M140i, etc

The Golf R and Audi S3 are 4wd and will be quicker from a standing start. Rolling start, the Cupra does pull away in the mid range speeds. The Cupra will also be quicker round a track as it is lighter, and with the LSD it can corner quite fast for a fwd car.

The BMW M140i is a straight line pocket rocket. It has the highest BHP of the lot but is rear wheel drive. In a straight line it will have an advantage over any of the cars in its class but will be slower round a track that has lots of bends.

Cars on the everyday road, chances are, if its a hatchback and not one of the above mentioend cars, the Cupra will have greater performance. If it is an Audi S3 or a Golf R, it will be down to throttle control, tyre grip, gear changes etc. Theres not a lot in it. BMW m140i and you will likely be in its rear view.

If it is not a hatchback then some BMW and Audi saloons will have more straightline performance, particularly the larger engined diesel models. My dads BMW 430d has 40 less hp but much more torque, it will be able to keep accelerating at higher speeds.

Upshot is, most cars on the road the Cupra will win the contest of whos dad is bigger. But if you look in your rear view mirror and see an audi or BMW badge with either an S or an M on it, and its not a hatchback. They will likely have you. Trouble with BMW though is the only indication is on the rear of the car. Msports and Mlites look very similar from the font. The M240i the M340i will both probably be on par with the Cupra but as mentioned theyw ill be faster in a straight line. The M2 and M3 however will be no contest, same goes for any RS audi.

Edit:
The others to watch our for are the Honda Civic Type R, Hyundai i30N and teh Renault Meganne RS. All hot hatches with comparable performance but they aren't in the mainstream and I don't see many of them on the roads. Maybe 10 Hondas, 1 Hyundai and on renault.

 

[Tivver500]

The main thing about all of this....... it's not always the car that counts.... it's the nut behind the wheel!!
I'd not bet against Ben Collins (the original 'Stig') whatever he was driving!!

 

[Mikertroid]

Be interesting to hear comparisons of 4drive performance..

 

[The Daily Meme]

The main thing about all of this....... it's not always the car that counts.... it's the nut behind the wheel!!
I'd not bet against Ben Collins (the original 'Stig') whatever he was driving!!

Agree with this on a track.
If someone wants to "gap" someone on a motorway however, its a case of who has more under their right foot. Like your TVR, most people won't know about its performance, likewise, most people won't know about a cupra's performance.

Most people don't know what a cupra is, let alone its performance. The only people I find know about the cupra are people who are into their performance hatchbacks, people that drive FR Seats, Golf GTI fanboys and VAG car enthusiasts. Don't want to paint everyone with the same brush but BMW, Audi and Merc stereotypes msot likely don't know what they are making them ideal "sleeper" clars. Perfect example was that bloke that got embarrassed by a modded cupra in his C63 AMG.

I like the Cupra becaause you WILL always get those people that think they drive a fast car becasue they have a merc or a bmw etc. or even the ford ST lot. But pump the throttle and you will start hurting those types of people's pride.

 

[The Daily Meme]

Be interesting to hear comparisons of 4drive performance..

There was a video from Carwow that compared the Cupra 300 ST (might even have been an RST) with an audi S3 and i think they were pretty similar.
The bloke basically said, if you want a performance car that makes you wonder if you need to change your trousers for dirt cheap, get a Cupra RST. But if you want that, and you have an extra 10-15k sitting around and want a nicer interior, get the audi.

 

[ChrisM75]

Little bit of fanboying on here I imagine.

The cars stats put it bang in mid range for allround performance for hot hatches. Focus RS, Audi RS3, Merc A45 are all in a class above.

The cupra sits more in the bracket of Golf R, Audi S3, Skoda VRS, Merc A35, BMW M140i, etc

The Golf R and Audi S3 are 4wd and will be quicker from a standing start. Rolling start, the Cupra does pull away in the mid range speeds. The Cupra will also be quicker round a track as it is lighter, and with the LSD it can corner quite fast for a fwd car.

The BMW M140i is a straight line pocket rocket. It has the highest BHP of the lot but is rear wheel drive. In a straight line it will have an advantage over any of the cars in its class but will be slower round a track that has lots of bends.

Cars on the everyday road, chances are, if its a hatchback and not one of the above mentioend cars, the Cupra will have greater performance. If it is an Audi S3 or a Golf R, it will be down to throttle control, tyre grip, gear changes etc. Theres not a lot in it. BMW m140i and you will likely be in its rear view.

If it is not a hatchback then some BMW and Audi saloons will have more straightline performance, particularly the larger engined diesel models. My dads BMW 430d has 40 less hp but much more torque, it will be able to keep accelerating at higher speeds.

Upshot is, most cars on the road the Cupra will win the contest of whos dad is bigger. But if you look in your rear view mirror and see an audi or BMW badge with either an S or an M on it, and its not a hatchback. They will likely have you. Trouble with BMW though is the only indication is on the rear of the car. Msports and Mlites look very similar from the font. The M240i the M340i will both probably be on par with the Cupra but as mentioned theyw ill be faster in a straight line. The M2 and M3 however will be no contest, same goes for any RS audi.

Edit:
The others to watch our for are the Honda Civic Type R, Hyundai i30N and teh Renault Meganne RS. All hot hatches with comparable performance but they aren't in the mainstream and I don't see many of them on the roads. Maybe 10 Hondas, 1 Hyundai and on renault.

Dont entirely agree with this. The Focus RS is no faster than a Cupra except off the line, and a Skoda vRS is quite a bit slower, its definitely a class below, along with the Golf GTI and GTI performance.

My experience of the big diesels is that yes they have brutal torque, but they are also a lot heavier. The faster you go the slower they get compared to the Cupra until you get to really silly speeds, and once a corner appears they have no chance.

It should be noted that the Audi RS models are all faster accelerating, but every one tested is slower around the Nurburgring, same for every Audi TT. Weight and transmission losses really add up for the 4WD cars.

The Cupra may be old, but its still in game for hyperhatch laptimes.

 

[JACUPRA280]

I got pretty embarrassed by a fiesta st at the weekend i was truly truly devastated. Albeit it was far from standard sounded like ken blocks hoonigan.

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Must have been running over 300bhp

The Fiesta ST is smaller, lighter and with a remap easily pushes 250bhp. This would give it a power-to-weight ratio of 202bhp per tonne.

A stock Cupra 280 has 208bhp per tonne based on 280bhp and weighing 1,346kg.

Remap the Cupra to 350bhp and you have 260bhp per tonne.

The Cupra should always be faster than a stage 1 Fiesta ST.

The biggest issue racing cars like this is the wheelspin in the Cupra hatch (which is FWD) - at speeds under 30mph in damp conditions a Fiesta ST will pull because the Cupra struggles to put the power down. At higher speeds, it's a different story. The Cupra is always faster.

Also, a cold engine/drivetrain is a big factor. In my experience, the Cupra needs half an hour before it starts giving you full performance.

 

[AndrewJB]

Could of been an engine conversion also? Focus engine in? There's a few Clio's out there running the Megane engines.

 

[JACUPRA280]

Could of been an engine conversion also? Focus engine in? There's a few Clio's out there running the Megane engines.

Absolutely, although less likely.

At the end of the day though, who cares ... really, regarding races like that. As long as you enjoy your car it doesn't matter