Shall I buy: Leon Cupra or Civic Type R

[Ben CTR]

Had old CTR for 3 years and 100,000 miles then had LCR now Ed30 (posh version of Cupra lol) and would suggest you go with the Cupra..
The new CTR IMO just doesn't do it for me in looks or performance. I loved my old EP3 CTR to bits and couldn't believe it when Honda went completely against there Type R heritage with the new FN2. They have basically loaded it with toys to please the house wife driver and not given anymore power to be able to compete with it's competition.
Bring back the Type R's of old I say...

 

[flashp]

Leon is much better looking car (not that I'm biased!) but the Type R looks like a stealth bomber...lots of flat surfaces joined together to reflect radar! Striking, but not attractive...if you know what I mean.

 

[silverfox]

Leon is much better looking car (not that I'm biased!) but the Type R looks like a stealth bomber...lots of flat surfaces joined together to reflect radar! Striking, but not attractive...if you know what I mean.

I know exactly what you mean. It looks 'modern' and 'high-tech' but not 'attractive' From the rear, they look terrible. Especially that stupid rear spoiler thingy! I have no doubts that it will be an excellent car with a great engine but to me, these are the questions I'd ask before buying a car.

1- Does it look good?
2- Is it enjoyable to drive?
3- What does it cost to buy and run?
4- Will it be reliable?

Perhaps, I'm just being vain, but numer one priority for me is appearance. I would never buy a car on account of a great interior, or great engines or low running costs if, externally, it looked Hence, I didn't even test drive a CTR before buying my FR. No matter how good it was to drive, I was never going to buy one so why bother!?

 

[Jedimaster65]

I drove both back-to-back before going for the Cupra.
The Type R drove me nuts after 5 mins because you have to rev it so hard, so for overtaking it's poor compared to the Cupra, and way too loud.

It was like comparing a Bentley Continental with a boy-racer car.

The Type R has good grip but was just too chavy for my liking, too common, and the back end is just plain ugly !

The Cupra wins with a knockout (turbocharged) blow !

 

[Poverty]

Guys,

I am getting pulled in both directions in regards to what to upgrade my car to.

Plus points for the Seat:

More Power
5 Doors
Better MPG
Seats

Plus points for the Civic:

VTEC Rev Band
Looks inside and out
Engine noise whilst VTEC'ing
Gearbox

Also i have found a company that will lease the Civic Type R GT to me for 3 years for around the £300 a month mark thats with 18,000 miles a year. Not sure whether you can get a Cupra on lease for that sort of money.

I would prefer the Seat as i love the look in them candy white. What do you guys think? obviously you will be biased towards the Seat but lets hear your views.

Thanks,

Tom

one remap later and the type r cant hold a candle to the cupra.

 

[Jedimaster65]

I agree with the above.

Why is the Vtec power band a good thing ?

It seemed to take ages to get the thing really moving, all the revs but no torque !

Great on a racetrack, but useless on the road.

I faced one across the A69 to Newcastle on Tuesday, and despite his rather reckless overtaking, (into blind bends ! - Yikes ) I took it a bit smoother (nothing silly) overtaking everything with a little more sanity, and after 40 miles, I ended up having him for breakfast once we came face to face up the steep climbs on the dual carriageway.

Unless you are doing trackdays every week, get the Cupra and Stage 1 remap= Victory!

 

[honeyman]

Here is my view;

I love Hondas and have owned 2 Civic VTi 1.6's in previous years and know what all the fuss is about with the whole VTEC thing - its awesome. If you don't know what the fuss is about go take a test drive. The interior of the new Civic is very cool, probably modelled on a Japanese high speed train, and the dash is light years ahead of the Cupra. Awesome cars

However.....

The Cupra would absolutely kill the new Civic Type R in any performance test and thats the whole point of owning a hot hatch. It has 45 bhp more, bigger brakes, a lot more torque and importantly, £500 would give the same power as a supercharger conversion on the Type R.

I have had a few encounters with Type R's on the road and strip, and they just don't cut the mustard.

The current jap version on the other hand......

......is a whole different kettle of fish. Mucho respect for this variant of the CTR, but my money still went on the Cupra

There not that fast.

 

[Al]

There not that fast.

I know this

However they go round corners well.....

 

[mikey-typer]

I had the old ctr standard and had it modded to 265bhp lsd and coilovers it was seriously quick! I then got the new type r uk! I also test drove the fd2 jdm ctr at lichfieds. I went for the uk spec as couldnt justify an extra 6k for the car! It was a good car handled well and had more power than the uk 1! However the ride was shite really bumppy on normal roads. Imagine it would have been good on the track! Ive now got a fr550 remapped to 213bhp with h&r springs! The main reason for the change was the increase in tax on the ctr £550 in 2010 as opposed to £145 on the leon. Insurance is loads cheapr as well from £700 to £300 plus fuel savings! Got to be hohest not missing the ctr much the ep3 handled better than the fn2 even with lsd and coilovers! It just gives more confidence in corners! A better driver would be able to push the ep3 harder but for average joe the fn2 is better. Dont listen to clarkson. Anybody who suggests that the fn2 is slow is not driving it correctly. Its a fast car for a hot hatch it has less bhp than the cupra but still is as fast around the track.

Just my humble opinion as ive owned all three think I am well qualified to give it!