FR TDI or Cupra R Petrol

[Colonelk]

Decisions Decisions,

I have a Seat garage about 500 yards from my house in Coventry. I'm going to have to see if they can arrange a test drive for me in both.

At the mo, my sensible side is winning and the FR+ TDI is my favourite. At some stage I may remap, but heck, anything is fast compared to a 1.2 Punto, so I won't be in any hurry to mod, I don't think.

Frankly I want to smile again when I drive......been a long time since I've done that! And Skullmunki, I wholeheartedly sympathise, we moved house 2 years ago, and only now have gotten our finances in some semblance of order !!!

House prices:

thanks for all the replies

CK

 

[Cupraboy4]

TDi

id go for a cupra/fr TDi, u get the economy and performance, it may not be a quick as a LCR but there pletty quick enough to beat most things off the traffic lights.



the only thing that has beat me big time was a maserati 3000 gt thingy, it p**sed all over my little yellow CUPRA TDi

 

[Snoopcousins]

Just before the MK2 Leon arrived, SEAT shipped out a limited number of FR's with the Cupra-R bodykit and 17" Cupra-R replica wheels and called them FR+ although on the log-book etc it is still FR not FR+.

On the note about the clutches...My clutch is fine with the remap and hopefully it will last ok driving it properly..though others have had problems.

 

[daveyonthemove]

I own a FR+ TDI, and it may be less powerfull than a Cupra R, but when you look at themoney saved on every tankfull, the lower insurance and tax is also a sweetener.
The best thing though, is tunability! Stick a remap on (i've got custom code, but they all have excellent reputations) and you can see power rise from 150bhp and 236lb/ft torque, to 190+bhp and over 300lb/ft of torque.
To get an increase like that (percentage wise) from a petrol you'd have to spend alot more money, and the fuel economy stays in the high 40's or mid 50's depending on driving style. I think that if you were to run the 2 side by side and plant your foot in top gear at 60mph, the TDI would pull away faster due to the torque.
I can't make any comments FOR the Cupra R as i haven't driven one, but as you can see from everyone elses posts, they are highly regarded.

 

[daveyonthemove]

Just before the MK2 Leon arrived, SEAT shipped out a limited number of FR's with the Cupra-R bodykit and 17" Cupra-R replica wheels and called them FR+ although on the log-book etc it is still FR not FR+.

On the note about the clutches...My clutch is fine with the remap and hopefully it will last ok driving it properly..though others have had problems.

I agree with the above.
The FR+ had the LCR body kit (front and rear bumper, and side skirts) plus 17" LCR imitation wheels.
Tell tale signs are:
Normal brake calipers (not Brembo's)
Titanium wing mirrors (not body coloured)
FR badge (obviously)
Twin pipe exhaust (not oval)
As for the clutch, mine has never slipped or given any hint that it might, and its running aprox 300lb/ft of pull

 

[Sisson]

To get an increase like that (percentage wise) from a petrol you'd have to spend alot more money.

A remap on a LCR will get 45bhp extra...

 

[daveyonthemove]

I stand corrected

 

[Nathanio]

Hmmm interesting dilemma personally I think for everyday driving on regular roads the FR TDi would be a better car due to the low down torque and makes overtaking a little easier.

If it was my money it would go on the FR purely becuase in the real world (40-70) the FR will be the quicker car but the traffice light derby the LCR will win! However get the TDI rolling and then floor it, it doesn't half shift

I'm 22 and have a Tolly TDi 110BHP (still at uni boo, do around 20k a year and cheap insurance!) and even that is frigging quick once rolling. Surprises a few more powerful cars and have outdone a Civic Type R between roundabouts due to the higher torque and way the power is delivered (he was a little surprised ).

On a side note some peoples '150BHP TDI's' have come out at over 160BHP standard from factory on the later models!

Another thing to consider is save some cash for a HID upgrade

 

[daveyonthemove]

Another thing to consider is save some cash for a HID upgrade

Definatley!
My G/F whinged when i spent money on one of these kits, but when she drove it the other night, she came home asking me to get one for her Pug 206!

They are VERY good and worth looking at

 

[Nathanio]

Totally agree my missus was impressed when she saw them as was her dad!

See here for some piccies of peoples cars with them on-->http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=103534

 

[RobM]

If you have to seriously consider fuel economy, then the only choice is the FR.

I do 15k a year and went for the LCR and I've not regretted it once! The performance is superb and if you drive sensibly some of the time you can return 30MPG or thereabouts. I'm getting around 300 miles per tank if I don't drive like a loon all the time.

But it's nice to know that when the desire is there, you have a full on racer at your control! I know the FR may be a quick car, but it will never beat the enjoyment of revving and racing a petrol car to extract every last ounce of performance. It's a totally different way of driving when you have a diesel, and that doesn't suit everybody.

I like to drive, I like to know I'm in control of what the car is doing. I want more than 'give it a poke in any gear', I want to drive!

 

[UncleFester]

Hehe Rob you can drive a diesel like that you know, mine always gets taken through every gear up to 4.5k - it's very rare i use the elastic band torque. I have forgotten many times that i'm driving a 'sooty' and that's coming from someone who has had a vtec honda for the last 2 years

Not knocking the LCR in any way at all because i'd love one, but the Leon Cupra Tdi/FR is definitely not to be seen as a paupers LCR It can provide just as much fun and return double the economy whilst doing it.

The fun for me is getting 300 miles to a tank whilst driving like i TWOC'd it

 

[Nathanio]

Hehe Rob you can drive a diesel like that you know, mine always gets taken through every gear up to 4.5k - it's very rare i use the elastic band torque.

Amen to that! Mines just as happy at 4k as it is at 2.5k. In fact first gear flashes by quicker than in my Rover 214Si (to same engine speed!) and second gear is just as quick!

You don't need to be kind to a diesel as they take a licking and keep on ticking! Driving back home in essex down some real quiet country roads I can red line it in first, second and partially in third and still come out 12miles later reading 42mpg average! Now that may not be as quick as an LCR (if I had a FR150 that is not my 110!) but I know I wouldn't need to be shifting gear quite as much as can rely on that torque to pull me around from almost any gear Off boost isn't as bad either

Evo commented last month on the 888 Astra SRi TDI that it was stonking quick on the back roads and they never took it out of 4th gear! Torque for the win!

To liken it to petrols, personally i'd rather have a big bore lazy v8 with grunts and grunts of torque than a high revving high HP v6 cos in the real world torque wins! BHP for the track and torque for the road

 

[chris_m]

Yeah, but, i just dont find sticking to one gear over a country road exciting, i found driving the numerous standard and mapped TDI's over the years quite a 'one trick pony' really. But thats just me, they do a good job, but i dont get enjoyment out of driving one. Its just 'lazy'..

I would much rather have a high-revving Honda engine or a purposeful torquey petrol engine or a fizzing v6 than a TDI. Without wanting to sound an arse, people buy TDI's for a reason, and thats the running costs, down to mileage, insurance etc. If like me and lots of others, you do relatively low miles etc, there is absolutely no real advantage in driving a diesel. You can tell me you'd still buy one til your blue in the face, but given the choice, you'd still drive a petrol if it wasnt down to financial reasons.

Its exactly the same reason whey some people prefer to buy say, a Golf R32 over a 2.0T... yes, for a few quid the turbo can ultimately be quicker, but, the noise and racy nature of the 3.2 will always win over the 0.2 seconds you beat someone off the traffic lights.

 

[UncleFester]

Yup you're partially right, but having driven buzzy japanese engines i got bored of the high revving lunatic frenzied thing especially on motorways when 80mph in 5th gear was 4krpm - after a 3 hour drive it becomes tiresome. Agreed on a short run, great fun but stupidly thirsty to say it wasn't much quicker than what i drive now.

I like the way the tdi goes, you can drive it through the gears or just use the torque in one or two gears - nice to have the choice not to need to stir cogs to accelerate

Motorways it's a no brainer, torque + 6th gear = gear change free relaxed cruising with the ability to overtake whilst in armchair mode yet still doing 47mpg.

Agreed each to their own though.

As for the noise from an R32 ... the LCR can only ever dream of sounding as good as one of those .... they really do sound amazing when you hear one fly past.

 

[chris_m]

As for the noise from an R32 ... the LCR can only ever dream of sounding as good as one of those .... they really do sound amazing when you hear one fly past.

Ahhhh, my mate had one of the first UK models in Deep Blue Pearl. I remember we took it to Germany not long after he got it.... the noise from either an agressive 'launch' or a fly-by at 100+ is just stunning.

As thirsty, in yer face, high to insure, and a target as they may be, i definately want to own a used one at some point. Every time i drove it i loved it, you could literally drive look a lunatic and get away with it at times, it had soooo much traction and ability.

 

[BeezerDiesel]

Getting back on topic, how about throwing the plain old FR 1.8T into the pot?
You can now get stunning deals on the 1.8T and for your budget you could get a much younger model for the same cash as a TDI 150 or LCR.
The basic 180bhp model is surprisingly quick, has a nice 6 speed 'box that can hustle the car along very quickly on the wide torque band when you're in the mood for fun, it revs to about 7k and is torquey enough just to cruise along in top gear when you're ferrying Granny about. It's been pushed out of the limelight somewhat in recent years, but is still a cracking value for money package and a great all-rounder.

 

[Nathanio]

In the Leon Cupra review in auto car (which didn't get a good as review as I thought it would) Gabriele Tarquini had a little section about the car and how he actually prefers diesel on the road and not petrol but certainly not turbo'd petrol cars as he prefers the way they drive on the roads not much more of an accolade than that

Chris_m I wouldn't now switch back to a petrol even if I started doing 8k miles a year or less... I prefer not having to visit the petrol station as often, I prefer it drives in real world situations and I prefer not having to wring its neck to get the best from it. Yes a petrol is nice and sounds nicer but for real world hacks diesels win hands down. If I was to have another car for the weekends it would be petrol but it would be a mg midget or lotus 11, something fun and exciting with out huge costs and without the ability to lose my license

Ohhh and I think this years Le Mans demonstrates the mighty power of the diesel engine

 

[SteveD]

Hi

I have just had to make the choice. I have a Vectra GSi V6 which had 200bhp and 200 torque. So it was difficalt to choise between the LCR and the FR. I ended up going for the FR+ 150 would like the brembos and the 18s but hay can live with what the FR has.

I am going to miss the sing of the V6. but the FR + will be fun to

 

[Turbo Tay]

I've had both.
I now have an FR+ TDi. Purchased this purely because I loved the LCR but am now doing 22K miles a year.
Can't beat it. Cheap to run fuel wise, tax is cheap (£110 !!) looks great.

That said, if I was only doing 8 - 10K per year I would probably go for the LCR!