New Car

[Drunken Master]

Hi, I currently have a focus 1.8 zetec. I've always wanted something faster but being quite young insurance has always been a problem. But i've just turn't 21 and am looking at getting a hot hatch. Options i've been considering are as follows:

Honda Civic Type R

Seat Leon Cupra R

Ford Focus ST170

Renault Clio 182

Vauxhall Astra Gsi Turbo

Toyota Celica T sport

Audi S3

I'm sure many of you on this site had to pick from a selection of cars. I just really wanted some honest opinions on what you think is the best car and why. Recently I did a ferrari experiance package and the teacher there was driving a seat leon cupra R round the track, and he was overtaking people driving ferraris (obviously not experianced racing drivers) but none the less i had a few passenger rides in it and was really impressed.

So i guess what i'm saying is the way the car handles is an issue. I've looked up the performance figures and read reviews on these cars and people have said the clio is rather cramped (i'm 6ft2) so thats an issue. The focus is probably the slowest but i like the handling of the current car i own. The astra isn't supossed to handle brilliantly and looks a bit dated. And apparently the type r's power delivery isn't suppost to be natural.

Anyway thanks for reading through all this all i really want to know is what you think if you have owned any of the above cars etc..

Thanks Drunken Master

 

[Mitchy]

As your on a seat site it will probably be biased towards the LCR.

Seat Leon Cupra R and Audi S3 are the best tunable cars in the list as they both share the same 1.8T vag engine. A £500 remap will turn the cars into 270bhp/290lbft!

It also looks the best IMO. 18'' wheels with big 323mm discs and brembo calipers!

Quite well equipped too, climate control and esp traction control as standard along with tracker, 6cd and a good sound system! Some cars also come with recaros aswell

The CTR doesn't have fog lights as standard, it has no form of traction control and air con is an expensive extra! You also need to rev the nuts off it to get it to go anywhere quick! It does go well though and is well on par with an LCR for straight line speed. The LCR is more suited for twisty b roads and the CTR's steering takes some getting used to.

Clio 182 is probably the best handler out of the bunch and isn't too bad in a straight line either but they've done that shape to death and it has the usual french build quality!

Focus ST170...Stay away from, its not that quick at all and you'll only be wanting the RS version!

Not sure about the toyota/vauxhall but if it was me and i had to narrow the list down to 3. It would be the LCR, S3 and CTR, in that order too!

 

[SmiffyLCR]

Think I would be also checking the insurance quotes on those cars also.

That's a good thing about being in my mid thirties, insurance will be @ £350-£400 on my next renewal.

 

[Drunken Master]

Insurance is going to be about £1500 or so. But i've had enough of my car and i'm definately not getting the new shape focus!

 

[LCR mat]

The CTR doesn't have fog lights as standard, it has no form of traction control QUOTE]

Surely these are pluses?

 

[NumberoftheBeast]

I'm 22 and I've had the 225 Audi S3 and I am now driving a 225 LCR. In brief, I love both cars but it depends what you want in a car.

The S3 was nice but quite exec and for a young lad like myself, a little bit boring. It was a car to take the girlfriend out for a meal in and pose! When forced, it was very quick and the Quattro grip is great.

The LCR is as quick, if not quicker (proven when I beat my friend screwing the nuts off his S3) and it handles very well. It's obviously a bit dodgy getting grip in the wet but even the Audi would slip and slide at times, as AWD gives you a false sense of security.

With the LCR, you are paying a lot less for the same car, same engine etc. which, if anything, has a better kit (cd as standard, amazing Brembos and so on). That aside, the Corsa, Saxo boy-racers tend to wank over them and so for a young lad like yourself, the LCR is an exclusive option.

The amount of members here in Seatcupra.net testifies that the Seats have a good following. Around here in Manchester, I hardly ever see LCRs, but I have been spotting a few S3s of late. I hate CTRs - too popular!

At the end of the day, this is a seat forum so most people might sway you to our side, but Audi drivers, Civic drivers and the like will all say that theirs are the best. All these cars are much of a muchness... Go for which one you like!

If you need anything give me a shout and also, I posted a big message comparing my LCR with my S3 a while back, so try a search on here.

David.

 

[rst_cupra_r]

182's handle awesome and the trophys are nice and very quick n/a car much better then the

cicic type r in my opinion (but i hate ctr's horrible placed gearstick, aweful look and sooooo rare whoops mean common)

st170 boring looks very slow always in the rs focus shadows slowest car on the list by far

astri gsi nice car but wi no intercooler(i/c) not an ideal turbo car need intercooler before tunning which is more costly, the 888 edition looks lovely but still no i/c and yes looks are dated and the new astra vxr is much better ie has i/c and looks smooth

toyota is ok bit old man midlife crisis car in my opinion an the vti (fake vtech) makes it in the shadows of the civic type r and the integra type r dc2 and dc5

audi s3 awesome car so nice lovely spec and 4wd revo remap and ull see 270bhp nice set of coilovers and 19's look awesome lovely leather electric recaros but it does look very more up market so not man races for u (mate has one and never gets raced in it)

lcr has everything u need ie brembos big lush wheels, climate control low for standard mean lookin and very much loved by younger and older "boy races"
if i was u id look at s3, lcr or the integra type r dc2
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...&hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2005-13,GGLD:en&sa=N
or dc5
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...&hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2005-13,GGLD:en&sa=N

 

[Pabs]

cant be bothered to write loads on this so i will keep it simple:

Honda Civic Type R - too common nowadays and personally not to my taste

Seat Leon Cupra R - very nice cars (obvious on a seat forum) but getting more and more common now they are becoming available secondhand and cheaper. But cheaper is in some ways good - doesnt cost you as much for such a good car

Ford Focus ST170 - pffttt. ford. need i say more.

Renault Clio 182 - french? Ha.

Vauxhall Astra Gsi Turbo - may as well put a touring car strip on and write ch*v down the side of the car

Toyota Celica T sport - expensive on the parts and a bit of a hairdressers car

Audi S3 - very nice cars. decently built (probably more so that the above) Perhaps a bit expensive.

Now i know i am going to get flamed for my comments, so i shall be saying no more on the subject - i will also unsubscribe from this thread so i dont read all the abuse i'll be getting
its late ok? haha - thats my excuse.

 

[Vicky M]

my mate had a CTR, drove absolutely crap under 5500 revs, then it came alive. ok if you want an average fuel return of <20mpg!

have you considered late Leon FR TDi 150?? add a touch of revo and you're looking at 190bhp, sh1t loads of torque, and 50+mpg if you drive sensibly (difficult to do in this kind of car)
also, TDi's are a lot less to insure, if that's a factor in car replacement.

happy shopping, and welcome
keep us informed as to what you by, specially if it's a SEAT............

 

[Drunken Master]

Thanks for all your replies i've been thinking non stop now about what car to get as i've posted on various other forums. And after reading what people have said i think it's going to be a toss up between the Type R and Leon Cupra R.

On the one hand i prefer the way the civic looks and it's suppost to be reliable. But on the other hand i've always wanted a turbocharged car...and there's huge tunning scope and good build quality. I've been taken out for a few trips around a track in a cupra R by a proffesional racing driver and i was very impressed. Think i might have to test drive these cars in the new year...

+ Pabs no offence but the chav comment on the astra Gsi isn't apprieciated i know someone who owns one and isn't a chav. And your selling subs no one with subs in their car doesn't play chavish music...

How does that joke go.

Q. Two chavs in car no music blaring whos driving?

A. The Police

 

[rst_cupra_r]

tht is ur best bet to drive them both but the integra type r is a much better ar thn the civic type r ie faster more reliable, better lookin, limited amounts to the uk and the hard more wearing vtech engine