Test drove the...

[cobraman2007]

...Leon Cupra R today and

What an absolutely superb car. I test drove the 225ps in red with 20,000 miles ('03 plate) and it goes link stink. I had no intention of buying it as at £12,477 it is out of my price range but what a car.

I incidentally asked what they would offer as part-ex for my MX5 (I had previously received an offer of £2,300 from a Honda garage when testing the CTR and the SEAT person said, "I don't know - you tell me". So I said I would like £2,500 for it to which he said he wouldn't be able to go above £800

The SEAT dealership staff are also crap. The test driver took me out and we went to fill it up with petrol and as we drove off I began asking basic questions such as...

Me: Is it the 210 or 225?
Dealer: I don't know to be truthful, but I'll let you know when we get back.

Me: Does it come with a CD player?
Dealer: I don't know. Pushes a few buttons, sticks his fingers in where the cassette nomally goes and then pulls the glovebox open and says, "Oh yes, it has a discchanger so it does have a CD player"

Me: When does the turbo kick in?
Dealer: Try revving it hard after these traffic lights and we should feel a kick in the back when the turbo is on - I think it begins at around 4000revs.

WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH. I don't think he had sat in the Leon let alone took anyone out in one.

I soon took it out on a nice clear road (which I knew about and the dealer didn't) and I gave it some welly and boy, does it go. The dealer, to be fair, seemed quite happy for me to power it and encouraged me to do so again. Fair play to him for that.

I also managed to bring a flashing orange light onto the dash (which I presumed was the traction control) as the wheels span when I floored it at a set of traffic lights. The correction was quick and this was very good. The Brembo brakes are an absolute dream. They work from start off and I had a lot of confidence in them. The drive is amazingly smooth. I was worried as many said it can be a little harsh - but compared to the MX5 it was like driving on glass. Smooth as anything I had driven. The engine note was extremely quiet (even when flooring it) which disappointed. There is no growl whatsoever. Is this right or am I expecting too much coming out of the MX5 in which you can hear everything?

Overall, a fantastic car and the inside was really really nice and the seats comfy. Compared to my tan interior in the MX5 though it does seem a little dark. The white dials are very nice and the gear change is just like my MX5's which was a huge surprise.

I WANT ONE NOW - FOR THE LOVE OF GOD THIS CAR IS AWESOME.

Cheers - Cobraman2007

 

[Al_G]

It's a stunning car mate...

I sold my old Fiesta Zetec-S to buy mine and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made!

Honestly love mine to bits and it's a very quick car once you learn how to drive it properly!

What I love most about the car is the fact that it's so underestimated! Only people who are into cars really know what it is! Makes me feel a little bit better when I park it up in Manchester (where I live).

 

[Snoopie]

In my opinion, that is a disgusting price. I picked up my Leon Cupra R with 17,000 miles for £11,000 from a Dealer.
Also you test drove the 210 rather than the 225. As 210's were on the 03 plate. If not, it must have been one of the last one's to have changed over. But it does sound like the 210.

 

[Mitchy]

If it was a 03 plate, it was a 210bhp car.

A lot of sneaky salesmen try and pass 210 cars off as 225 cars as 99% of the public wouldn't notice the difference. (There is very little difference)

For £12500 you'd probably get a 54 plated LCR which is a 225 version

 

[Ben CTR]

£12,500 for a 03 plate 210 LCR ..
LMFAO at that... You could get a 55 plate last of the line low milage one for about £1,500-2,000 more.. Or, as has been said, a 54 plate for similar money as that one you drove.. Ridiculous!!!!

 

[RobM]

I paid £10'200 for my 03 210 back in October, and that was from a dealer with a years tax and warranty, so that price is stupidly high!

Anyway, glad you enjoyed the car, has that finalised things in your mind now?

 

[cobraman2007]

So are all SEAT salesmen as dumbwitted as the one I encountered or are there some good ones around? It kind of made me not want to buy a car of someone I had no faith in and I couldn't imagine buying a car of them or letting them service my car either.

And yes. The testdrive confirms my decision that this is the next car for me. I actually was more impressed with the gearing and I would put it on par with my MX5 which is an extremely slick change. The car also looks menacing in the flesh (well, not flesh) than it does in the pictures. It is quite a road presence and the 18'' rims are extremely eye-catching, especially with the bright red Brembo's showing beneath them.

The thing that impressed me most was the way the car could be driven quite swiftly below 3000revs. It goes very fast before the turbo is even activated and I don't think I will be REVO'ing it any time soon as the power is more than enough for me for the time being. Also, the drive was very smooth (much better than my MX5) which was surprising since I was sitting on extremely low profile tyres.

What did baffle me though was the engine note. It is dead silent and I wondered if this was the norm. Even when the turbo kicked in, there was no roar that I could hear from the back. This could be down to good soundproofing as in my MX5 you can hear everything including road noise from the tyres. Is there a way to make the engine note a little more noticeable.

Also can someone confirm whether I did drive the 210 or 225bhp version. All I know was that it was on an 03 plate? The salesmen was adamant that it was a 225ps but he said there was little difference between the two models in terms of driving.

Finally, it had a full size wheel in the boot. The salesmen said this must have been put in by the last owner as you only get a spacesaver. Is this true or is he fobbing me off again?

Cheers - Cobraman

 

[RobM]

If it was an 03 plate it was a 210. There is literally sod-all difference between them though in terms of performance, figures produced, drivability... everything. The only differences are cosmetic ones and they are listed in the sticky thread at the top of the forum

All Seat salesmen are equally stupid in my experience. I'm equally as un-impressed with the service staff too. That's why I think the best thing you can do is find a decent VAG specialist independent garage and use them for servicing and any other work. The quality of work is almost always better, they still use Seat / VAG parts where needed but the price is almost always much better. Plus, and this is important, they actually care!

As for the noise... the LCR isn't a loud car at all. Certainly not compared to something as visceral as an MX5. But it should still have a bit of noise about it. If you're used to loud engines and exhausts with little sound deadening and you then drive a car with plenty of sound deadening with a quieter exhaust, it will feel weird.

And finally.. the spare wheel comment proves the salesman doesn't know what he is talking about! The LCR came with a full size spare as space savers don't fit over the Brembos! Even the most incompetent of idiot salesmen should know that!

 

[panholio]

****ing salesmen. He wants shooting for telling you all that.

When I bought mine the salesmen told me to "always press the traction control button to turn it on".

He says "it's lethal in the wet unless you PRESS the button before you set off so the light is on the dash".

Nice bit of advice that!

 

[INSIDER]

All Seat salesmen are equally stupid in my experience. I'm equally as un-impressed with the service staff too. That's why I think the best thing you can do is find a decent VAG specialist independent garage and use them for servicing and any other work. The quality of work is almost always better, they still use Seat / VAG parts where needed but the price is almost always much better. Plus, and this is important, they actually care!

robm this is a little harsh its like saying all lcr drivers are arrogant penny pinching chavs

some of us know what we are talking about and pride ourselves on our knowledge and customer service.

it is possible that whoever did the testdrive could have been new or a trainee???

 

[Eat The Rich]

I know how you feel mate... I only drove a LCR for the first time about 2 weeks ago and since then I've sold my 2004 Civic Type R and picked up a 2005 LCR... such an amazing car!

Most of the stuff you hear from these salesman is rubbish... like RobM said, can you imagine fitting a spacesaver over those massive Brembo's? haha

 

[cobraman2007]

I can confirm that he was no trainee as he said he had come from VW where he had worked for 10+ years and felt that the Leon was much better than any Golf he had testdrove over there.

Also, he said it came with a full size spacesaver (which kind of made no sense as wouldn't an 18" spacesaver defeat the object of a spacesaver ).

I have to say I have no sales experience (and I am not a Leon god) but I could have sounded more lively and been more informative than the salesman I encountered. There must be some good ones about but the garage I visited didn't have one. The £800 he offered me for my MX5 was also a joke. He said that was the going price in the book even though the Honda garage I had visited the day before said they would be able to give me £2,300 as it was a good, well looked after example).

By the way, the Honda staff were also fantastic. The test driver answered all my questions and was extremely enthusiastic without being pushy. He told me to think it over and test the Seat Leon and said to go for the car I was more comfortable with. He also (along with his colleague) praised the Leon and said it was a different kind of car to the CTR and said that the power in the CTR comes at the top end of the revs whereas the power in the Leon comes in all gears but that the CTR will offer a more livelier driving experience. Which was spot on.

Having driven the two back to back, the Leon is by far the better car in my opinion as it makes progress very easily rather than needing to rev it hard to get any good power out of it which you need to do with the CTR. The Leon may be a lot more dreary and dark inside but the equipment it comes with is fantastic.

Cheers - Cobraman

 

[INSIDER]

which dealers did you use

 

[cobraman2007]

Barlow SEAT in Wolverhampton (Newhampton Road East).

I reckon I should apply for the job of salesman to be truthful because at least I know more about the cars than they do.

Cheers - Cobraman

 

[cobraman2007]

Oh, and the new Leon

Okay, it looks more like a people carrier than a sporting hatch but what a nice looking car it is. It is huge compared to the Cupra R but the grill on the front is much nicer and the back seems really nice too.

I was just wondering whether there are two variants though as there was a red and yellow parked back to back and one had little grills on the back whereas the other didn't. Is there a diesel and petrol variant as they looked identical on the outside but for the extra grills on the back.

It was way too big though and I do prefer the look of the Cupra R but I can imagine these selling in the droves. Will offer very good road presence. The cheeky door handles are quite good as well and it does look like a two door until you notice the triangle vents in the rear doors.

The testdriver also said the drive isn't as good as the Cupra R and it is much harsher. Is this true or is this pure drivel as well?

Cheers - Cobraman2007

 

[Colonelk]

I think the difference is the Aero kit on one of the new Leon's.

RE: The drive I've read that the new one offers a better drive than the old one did. In fact the whole experience is supposed to be smoother with better handling and a less brutal delivery of power.

 

[RobM]

robm this is a little harsh its like saying all lcr drivers are arrogant penny pinching chavs

some of us know what we are talking about and pride ourselves on our knowledge and customer service.

it is possible that whoever did the testdrive could have been new or a trainee???

Fair comment.. did say 'in my experience' though as a get out clause Ok, I shall rephrase that and say; all the Seat technical or sales staff I have dealt with have been equally useless.

edit - Not sure about your penny pinching comment though, as anybody who puts up with the fuel costs of an LCR, £110 per corner tyres and £400 front brakes could never be called penny pinching!

 

[rico]

ok i have been reading this post and even though i was assured my 03 LCR was a 225 and it is registered as the same i am not sure now

 

[RobM]

Have a look at your VIN number on the V5 booklet. If the VIN contains AMK it's a 210, it it contains BAM it's a 225.

 

[rico]

sweet i will do that after work and keep u posted. cheers