Leon Cupra R review - 7 months

[Andrew]

So, 7 months into my ownership of the SEAT Leon Cupra R (LCR) and I felt it time to write a review. This may well be of more use to people who are just about to buy their first quick car than those of you who have owned a string of performance beasts.

Firstly you need to understand my previous motor history. My first car was a 1.1 Fiesta, my second and third 1.4 Polo’s, then I borrowed a 1.2 Clio for a few months and rounded the prestige driving portfolio with 2 months in a 1.6 Toyota Corolla … Auto. As it is clear to see I had absolutely no experience of a performance car and did not know what to expect when I got mine – other than a couple of test drives.

To begin, the inside. The LCR feels very well built indeed and is complemented by a great stereo. It has lots of space for carting stuff round if you need to given it is a 4 door hatchback. The seats are very supportive and just as good as any that I can recall sitting in (having test driven S3’s). Storage space is a bit limited as the CD changer takes up most of the glovebox and the dark interior shows up dust and dirt very quickly but as one who loves his car it is cleaned often enough not to be a problem.

Enough of the inside – how does it go? The jump from a 1.6 Auto Corolla to a 210 bhp LCR is quite a large one. There is no notable torque steer but getting it off the line without the traction control light flickering away like a strobe in an 80’s rave is difficult – I accept this could be down to driver skill of course. Once in second and the car begins to fly. In every gear from about 2500 rpm the surge is there pulling strongly until the limiter. If you are trying to conserve fuel and potter about town in 5th, getting any instant response from the engine if you need to is a wasted exercise, as with any turbo car I guess.

About town it is easy to drive smoothly as the power is very progressive. Out on the motorway it cruises quietly in sixth and you are never left feeling short of overtaking power in top at 70 and above. As with any performance car the extra speed is gained so quickly 100 feels quite normal (apparently).

The only run ins with other performance cars have been with an M3 which pulled away but not as fast as I expected and also an R32. The R32 and the LCR were pretty much evenly matched. The only time the R32 got away was when I decided we were into speeds I didn’t want to be caught doing so backed off.

I’ve not really driven it to any limit on the twisties but it certainly feels stable enough. I’m not confident enough in my own abilities to really give it some stick but anything I give it is sorted with consummate ease. It feels sporty enough for me but I’m sure something like a Civic Type R would feel far more “involving” but then that was not what I wanted. This is a fast and composed hatchback.

As far as the costs go you really can’t get much cheaper than a standard SEAT service. The intermediate services are £74 and the more advanced services are only £125. If you do 10,000 miles a year £125 is all the servicing you can expect to pay for the year! Tyres however, are a different matter – as is fuel. Tyres can be dispatched to the rubber graveyard with just 8,000 miles of enthusiastic driving. Tanks of fuel can gobbled after just 200 miles if you really try hard. At £230 and £45 (Optimax) a throw respectively this can be alarming to an ex Polo/Fiesta/Clio/Corolla driver! However, my own conservative style (!) means I’ve got 15,000 miles so far from car tyres that spent their first six months as demonstrator car shoes in Newcastle! Similar driving techniques see 320 miles to a tank – still expensive by small car standards but on the whole acceptable.

Unlike lots of people on here I’m not into changing my car a great deal. As I see it you sit in one of two camps. One sells a car before it has lost too much and gets another and the other keeps a car for ages and reaps the rewards (eventually) of not having anything pay back on it. The third camp are rich enough not to care either way … when I’m in that camp I’ll let you know. I feel that I could live with this car for a long time. It has lots of practicality, it is fast, it looks good and has a well built feel to it. Not to mention the fact that if the power ever did become “boring” there is always REVO to restore the excitement. As I understand it 280 bhp is on the cards and is enough to give an S4 a run for its money through the gears.

It is not all rosy of course – the car has its problems. There are some warranty issues like the stereo sometimes not picking up FM very well and the paint on the gearknob falling off. I’ve yet to have anything major go wrong but if you read the posts on here no car is without its warranty faults. The front splitter is very low and it is impossible not to catch it on things like driveways or large speed bumps. The wheels are very very easy to scratch as the tyre offers no protection of any use to the rim … oh, and over time the rear callipers go a shade of pink. Nothing outrageous wrong with the car … unless you really take exception to shades of fuchsia.

Hopefully this will give performance “first timers” who are ordinary drivers an insight into what they can expect from their new purchase. If it is an LCR all the better – you will love it.

[Snail]

Nice review mate. Maybe you should cross post it in the "reviews" section.

[Andrew]

How do I do that?

[Ari]

Magic

[Andrew]

Thanks Ari - did me saying "Abracadabra" have anything to do with it?

[Crusoe]

Nice review, i'll need to post one on the first 2K miles in my S2000, another week should rack it up.

fuel economy seems pretty dire, at £45 a tank and only 200miles you were only getting about 16mpg! with lighter use only giving 25mpg. Know turbo cars like the juice but that seems a bit excessive, specially as the cupra doesn't have the extra losses of the quattro transmission to turn four wheels?

[cerbera]

Good review mate! Glad you're enjoying the car.

JT

[Andrew]

The trip computer says between 25-26 with urban driving - not even spirited driving! Motorways you get 29-32 but booting it really gets through a tank. Currently 24.2 after just 25 miles of giving it some welly!

[Crusoe]

Probably right then if you do a lot of urban driving, mine doesn't like that either lol fortunatly i don't have many 30 limits near me.

[max_b]

very well put together review there mate

glad your enjoying your LCR

max

[AZURES3]

Good review Andrew, my LCR still amazes me for performance, SEAT service and the price of the car. I have to say I prefer it to my Audi S3 except in the wet

AZ

[Cupramax]

Still enjoying mine as well but getting itchy feet after nearly 2 years ownership which is a record for me. Cars dont usually last more than 6 months...