Deleted member 14928
Guest
It depends if you consider a LC to be fast really? Personally i find it to be quick, but not fast if you know what i mean.
The question was what are the main rivals to Leon so surely they should be of similar performance??
What are the main rivals to a Leon Cupra ?
- Thread starter Hamzilla
- Start date
It depends if you consider a LC to be fast really? Personally i find it to be quick, but not fast if you know what i mean.
The question was what are the main rivals to Leon so surely they should be of similar performance??
I would add as I dont see them mentioned already my previous car a ZS180, Celica 190 and my current car the 2.3 V5 170 
celica 190 is quick,but i drove my mates the other week and it has as much torque as a disabled gerbil!i had no sense of how ridiculously fast i was going in it!sounded nice though,i wouldnt fancy having a prang in one though.honda civic type s is a good match and well spec'd aswell like the leon,160 bhp 5 doors etc,bit lighter aswell i think.
I'm somewhat humbled by some of the honest and intelligent commentary in this thread relating to cars and their pace/acceleration vs. others cars.
31 posts and no-one has yet bang in a post giving it large to the effect of
"my ##### will leave a %%%%% for dead and I no he woz tryin coz I could see his face straining as I hit treble figures before I had to slow down for a zebra crossing....."
it can't last....
We are better than that! I'd like to think...........
p.s.. mine's quicker..
I'm somewhat humbled by some of the honest and intelligent commentary in this thread relating to cars and their pace/acceleration vs. others cars.
31 posts and no-one has yet bang in a post giving it large to the effect of
"my ##### will leave a %%%%% for dead and I no he woz tryin coz I could see his face straining as I hit treble figures before I had to slow down for a zebra crossing....."
it can't last....
And they know I'm watching, Warren!
Yes I know what you mean.
My brother has the 190 Celica and it does lack low down torque @ 132.8 lb. Kind of makes up for it though once you hit about 6.5K+ RPM and all hell breaks loose, like all these V-Tec type engines - not my style though I have to say.
The Leon Cupra makes a healthy 173 lb torque thanks to the turbo although there is a slight lag factor to consider. I have test drove these before and found it pretty similar to the Ibiza 20VT I owned for about 3 years. Great in a straight line, a bit iffy on the bends.
The Toledo v5 has 166 lb of torque and pulls nice and smooth from low down but lacks any real punch up top. More of a motorway cruiser than a hot hatch.
The ZS 180 matches the Leon Cupra nicely for torque @ 177lb and this is also shown in most performance figures being comparable.
If I were a betting man and all these cars were on a race track, bog standard, my money would be on the ZS 180 due to its superior handling capabilities over the others whilst keeping the ability to get the power down quickly.
I am sure some will beg to differ though
Deleted member 14928
Guest
as much as i want to disagree, im with you on that one. ZS's handle really well.
But its still a rover
But its still a rover
I have 205bhp/tonne (with mods) and it doesn't feel fast enough once you've settled to it. Some cars are so over engineered that you lose any essence of speed/power.
The figures stack up (0-100mph < 14s, and 0-60mph in 5.4s), but my Mk1 Golf I owned 15years ago with 112bhp ( 0-60mph in 9s and 0-100 in nearly 30s) felt 'faster'!!!.
I personally felt the Mk1 Leon Cupra was the best car on the Mk4 Golf platform. The A3 was a bit soft edged and nothingy, and the Golf variants (other than the Anniversary 180 and Mk4 R32) were just not quite the all rounder the Leon was. The Leon also had a feel of quality that its rivals didn't live up to. There was a moment where I was tempted to look at an Alfa 147GTA, but I got over it and went with the Leon.
Last edited:
Quite an interesting page here: http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/cardata/?cat=hot_hatches&page=1&sort=bhp_ton&order=desc if you want to compare models...
I find that power-to-weight is by far the best indicator when comparing cars rather than power alone.
The only thing it doesn't take account of is traction (FWD cars are never great at 0-60) but will give you an idea of what compares.
I find that power-to-weight is by far the best indicator when comparing cars rather than power alone.
The only thing it doesn't take account of is traction (FWD cars are never great at 0-60) but will give you an idea of what compares.
Last edited:
This is a great thread, and glad that people are keeping it respectable. Well done gentlemen!
Has anybody see the film Initial D? First car film I saw after getting my first car, 20VT Leon, and was expecting some scenes of savage rivalry but was pleasantly surprised at the level of respect for each other!
I got involved in a race in North West london with 2 oldskool Civic ESI's. Heard of them? Big boar'd and all that. Was my first challenge, felt like a rush! Kept up till about 60, then rapidly started edging closer to his rear. Power at the top end is nice.
Didnt overtake by the way, was running out of track, and would have had to use the inside lane. Was good though, cant wait for another challenge!!
Has anybody see the film Initial D? First car film I saw after getting my first car, 20VT Leon, and was expecting some scenes of savage rivalry but was pleasantly surprised at the level of respect for each other!
I got involved in a race in North West london with 2 oldskool Civic ESI's. Heard of them? Big boar'd and all that. Was my first challenge, felt like a rush! Kept up till about 60, then rapidly started edging closer to his rear. Power at the top end is nice.
Didnt overtake by the way, was running out of track, and would have had to use the inside lane. Was good though, cant wait for another challenge!!
my diesel keeps with my house mates saxo VTS, and on the motorway it's faster through gears.
Also my diesel is faster than an LC through gears but slower off the mark. Also if I drop off the boost I go feel like i'm going backwards.
The new platform gives better traction as standard but you can get great traction from the Mk4 golf platform with right bits.
Focus RS is slower than the S3 (old), due to traction. Hell the Focus RS is slower than an ST and Escort Cossie. They should have built a focus cosworth (shame they sold cosworth to volkswagen, I take that back RS's are better for it)
Also my diesel is faster than an LC through gears but slower off the mark. Also if I drop off the boost I go feel like i'm going backwards.
The new platform gives better traction as standard but you can get great traction from the Mk4 golf platform with right bits.
Focus RS is slower than the S3 (old), due to traction. Hell the Focus RS is slower than an ST and Escort Cossie. They should have built a focus cosworth (shame they sold cosworth to volkswagen, I take that back RS's are better for it)
Was your vrs in silver mate???
I had a play with one a while ago late at nite and its was bloody quick.
Been lookin for it ever since lol.
TBH i've never had any car try it on apart from the skoda which is kinda disappointing
When I had the ibiza and the 106gti every bloody car tried it on
Hey Big Eck, it's probably us mean Scots and the price of petrol to blame for the lack of challenges these days.
172 Cup by any chance?
Check out the weight difference and it's quite depressing!
However... I like having ABS, Climate Control, full electrics, decent stereo system etc!
Why would anyone in a 180bhp cupra be suprised about being beaten by a even smaller shopping cart with marginally less power but a lot less weight (clio)?
And what power is a remapped fabia vrs putting out then? neck and neck with an LCR. Shirely anything under 190bhp wouldn't be enough...
And what power is a remapped fabia vrs putting out then? neck and neck with an LCR. Shirely anything under 190bhp wouldn't be enough...
I had a 182 (with cup packs) before i bought the leon. I've found the leon is quite a bit quicker towards top end. But in my opinion the clio accelerates quicker and would embrass it round a track.
What you dont get with the clio is the build quality, the resale value and the smooth ride. Kit wise the clio had 1/2 leather seats, cruise control/speed limiter, steering wheel mounted controls on top of what the leon has.
Similar threads
