Seat Leon 1.8T 20v cupra

[Lukas1992]

Hello,

I'm new to the group. Looking to buy myself a first Seat Leon 1.8 20v cupra. I'm driving a BMW E46 2.5 right now, but repair cost are getting ridiculous and it keeps coming up every month. How reliable cupras are? What to look out for then buying? How good are the engines? Any advice to this matter will help as do not know anything about these cars. They do look very cheap and fast little cars.

 

[Seat_Jamie]

I swapped my E46 318Ci for my Cupra 1.8t 20v and it was same situation, Repair costs were high, These cars are brilliant, Cheap to repair lots of modifications and pretty fast, Fuel consumption is really shitty though lol but worth it for the power.

 

[Sparkie]

Hi
The engines are solid. Had a Cupra for 9 years. Bought it with 64000 on the clockDid 90000
Miles in it. Stepson drives it daily and it’s still strong and frisky.
I drive an R now and this engine is lively too.
Worry more about wet interiors. Front passenger footwell, rears too. Means door seals have gone. DIY fix but lengthy.
Wet boot means blocked or loose connectors to rear wash wiper.
Door locking modules are also prone to fail. As is original water pump. Those are most common faults.


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[Lukas1992]

Thanks for advices. I've heard about interior getting wet. Will look out for that. What's up with exterior some of them have simple se bumpers etc some of them Racing model bumpers was that an extra or someone changed it at some point and will it effect insurance price as modified?

 

[Sparkie]

Thanks for advices. I've heard about interior getting wet. Will look out for that. What's up with exterior some of them have simple se bumpers etc some of them Racing model bumpers was that an extra or someone changed it at some point and will it effect insurance price as modified?

Facelift Cupras from 2002 and Cupra r have funky bumpers.
Sounds like you need to look deeper before you buy.


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[Lukas1992]

That's why I'm here.
My coworker has one cupra, so I asked him how come some of them have chunky bumpers and he told me prob because they changed it from R models and it didn't sound right to me, now I know why.

 

[Connorg115]

I have a 04 cupra R i love it to pieces, best car ive owned, Fast and fun!
They have there niggles, such as dodgy sensors and prone to air leaks but the cars thereselves are solid and pretty easy to work on, and thats coming from a plonker!

 

[Hamzilla]

These cars are the same age as E46 so if your not intending to fix things yourself then you will be looking at least at the same or more amount of repairs for this generation of Cupra. It will feel like a downgrade in terms of interior quality at least.

 

[Connorg115]

Yeah I’m sure it will, but I’ve always had rubbish vag interiors apart from my old skoda fabia special edition, that was lovely to look at but leather seats is a big no no for me!


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[Sparkie]

That's why I'm here.
My coworker has one cupra, so I asked him how come some of them have chunky bumpers and he told me prob because they changed it from R models and it didn't sound right to me, now I know why.

There’s also a diesel that looks like an R.


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[Lukas1992]

These cars are the same age as E46 so if your not intending to fix things yourself then you will be looking at least at the same or more amount of repairs for this generation of Cupra. It will feel like a downgrade in terms of interior quality at least.

You're right about that, E46 looks really nice inside and out, drives very nice too, but repair parts are very expensive I doubt seat part prices are that high. I can change oil or brakes/discs myself or any diy small jobs, but that is as far as I go. As I said don't want spend anymore on BMW and looking for more reliable car and I had a good reviews about cupra.

 

[Andrewwright]

1.8t engine is a solid bit of kit. Problem is fuel consumption. Heavy foot and she will drink the stuff, I can burn £10 of fuel in an hr easy.

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[Lukas1992]

1.8t engine is a solid bit of kit. Problem is fuel consumption. Heavy foot and she will drink the stuff, I can burn £10 of fuel in an hr easy.

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My E46 does 21mpg mixed with normal driving and pushing up to 6k RPM. What are we talking on 1.8t? On paper it says ~23.5mpg.

 

[BadBoy03]

1.8t engine is a solid bit of kit. Problem is fuel consumption. Heavy foot and she will drink the stuff, I can burn £10 of fuel in an hr easy.

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Not just mine then Its not a car for the eco warriors! I have to say that my 1.8T has been the best engine so far. I have had Passat's, one being a 2.3 V5 & I would never have those big ass cars again. This engine is tough but can be used as a daily or for play, both ideally

 

[Cuprar72]

You're right about that, E46 looks really nice inside and out, drives very nice too, but repair parts are very expensive I doubt seat part prices are that high. I can change oil or brakes/discs myself or any diy small jobs, but that is as far as I go. As I said don't want spend anymore on BMW and looking for more reliable car and I had a good reviews about cupra.

Seat parts Are expensive from dealer

 

[Alexis27]

However I drive I always get 30 - 34 mpg. In fact I was surprised how little extra fuel mine drank after upgrading from the 1.6.

 

[Sparkie]

However I drive I always get 30 - 34 mpg. In fact I was surprised how little extra fuel mine drank after upgrading from the 1.6.

My god!
Have you ever hit that red line?


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[Andrewwright]

My E46 does 21mpg mixed with normal driving and pushing up to 6k RPM. What are we talking on 1.8t? On paper it says ~23.5mpg.

My style of driving is...I Cruz this car at 90mph daily but never really go over 5k, at times I go to 120/30 if I see something interesting on the way to or from work, but this comes at a cost. Average fuel bill a week is £30/40 for 75 mile's . if you don't know...mine is stripped out with very little left in it, Front seats/dash/front door panels bout it. I also at cold start, leave to get to temp, never start and drive.
When I first got it...she was running very rich "bad maf/Leak's/filter blocked basically" was near on £10 a day on fuel..so £10 for 19 mile . But I have driven this like gentleman for a week and it will do at a guess 30mpg.

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[Andrewwright]

Not just mine then Its not a car for the eco warriors! I have to say that my 1.8T has been the best engine so far. I have had Passat's, one being a 2.3 V5 & I would never have those big ass cars again. This engine is tough but can be used as a daily or for play, both ideally

No mate she's a drinker alright, but you get good mpg while driving like you just had a stroke? Think of the hybrid/big turbo Guy's and Gal's...but they don't talk about fuel

My god!
Have you ever hit that red line?


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Only time I have hit red line is when I first got the car and missed third. Still remember the feeling I had missing that gear, thinking its going to be hurt somewhere. But she was fine...went home changed boxer's and all was good

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[BadBoy03]

Lol...we do fret over these beasts