The Car Thread: Mark III

[Soundwave]

Picking the Cupra up tonight. Very excited.

Great stuff
Glad you got one, look forward to your pics & thoughts

Neil

[charlesr]

Powerflow exhaust weld has come apart.... Trip to Brighton.
HID ballast blew. £90 + fitting (have to take the front of the car off)
New tyres - Falkens again. Not too bad £450 + fitting.
Suspension is leaking. No chance of getting OEM fitments. Aftermarket MeisterRs are £900 + fitting. Hopefully top mounts are intact.
Expensive month.

[Brad]

Jeez. I was moaning at £530 for cam belt, shock bushes and anti roll bar link replacement...

[fishbowlhead]

Jeez. I was moaning at £530 for cam belt, shock bushes and anti roll bar link replacement...

Thats actually really cheap for all that fitted, on any car.


Just got home from picking it up. Bought from a main SEAT dealership with 1 year hassle free warranty which is great, have to say they were nothing but helpful and knowledgeable, traded the scoob in no issues, got another £400 off as the alloys were scuffed (honestly I couldn’t even see it but whatever) and the sales guy was great to deal with, nothing like the snarky skinny prats that put my back right up at the ford dealership when i test drove an focus ST.

Absolutely love the car to drive, such a wonderful suspension set up it practically glides. Gearbox and clutch are a spot on match and well set up, gear ratios equally spot on with a lovely snicky gear stick. Corners perfectly with the progressive steering which is wonderful.

More impressions tomorrow once ive set everything up to my liking.

[Soundwave]

Thats actually really cheap for all that fitted, on any car.


Just got home from picking it up. Bought from a main SEAT dealership with 1 year hassle free warranty which is great, have to say they were nothing but helpful and knowledgeable, traded the scoob in no issues, got another £400 off as the alloys were scuffed (honestly I couldn’t even see it but whatever) and the sales guy was great to deal with, nothing like the snarky skinny prats that put my back right up at the ford dealership when i test drove an focus ST.

Absolutely love the car to drive, such a wonderful suspension set up it practically glides. Gearbox and clutch are a spot on match and well set up, gear ratios equally spot on with a lovely snicky gear stick. Corners perfectly with the progressive steering which is wonderful.

More impressions tomorrow once ive set everything up to my liking.

Sounds great, really pleased that you are happy with it so far
Always nice to get extra money off

Which dealer did you go to?

Looking forward to your impressions after you've run it for a couple of days

Neil

[fishbowlhead]

Purchased from the main Seat dealership in Braintree, very helpful and the sales person was straight and honest, unlike the snot nosed streak of piss sales kid at Ford Rayliegh weir i wanted to nock out.

Have to say i love this car more every day. Its perfectly balanced in all departments and a joy every time you get in it whether your pootling around or hooning in Cupra mode. Great shout to look at one Soundwave as i otherwise would of looked past Cupras and gone onto an ST or Golf R.

[Soundwave]

Purchased from the main Seat dealership in Braintree, very helpful and the sales person was straight and honest, unlike the snot nosed streak of piss sales kid at Ford Rayliegh weir i wanted to nock out.

Have to say i love this car more every day. Its perfectly balanced in all departments and a joy every time you get in it whether your pootling around or hooning in Cupra mode. Great shout to look at one Soundwave as i otherwise would have looked past Cupras and gone onto an ST or Golf R.

Ah Marshalls
I might see what they have in the new year as I'm definitely thinking about a Cupra 290 for my replacement
Glad to hear they are good

No worries man, always happy to champion the Cupra, it's always overlooked for the other cars in the VAG family & unfairly in my opinion, it does everything the others do & for less money, it's a genuine performance bargain...plus if the mood takes you they are so easy to tune for big increases.

Neil

[fishbowlhead]

Year i have no idea why why they are not championed more by Seat, i guess the higher ups at the VAG group don’t want the GolfR or gti upstaged.

Anyway 1 week on and heres my impressions,

Driver Useability,
Absolutely brilliant. Controls are everywhere they need to be and fairly intuitive, took all of 3 days to get used to everything and adjust to my preference. Steering wheel is just lovely.

Space,
I’ve got the estate version and theres plenty of room for 4 adults & a ton of stuff in the boot. Or 2 adults, 2-3 kids & buggies in the boot.

Boot,
This is seriously well designed boot. One touch for the parcel shelf, levers to lower back seats, plus the boot floor can be removed to increase space even further. 12v power point in the boot as well.

Steering,
The progressive steering system set up really is lovely, you always feel in control but the steering always feels playful at the same time.

Power,
Didn’t think 280bhp through just the front wheels was going to work to be honest, however the mechanical differential lock really does keep it in check and delivers power through the 19tyres just fine. Torque starts at just 2000rpm and coninues progressively all the way to the red line, this really is perfectly set up, snaps your neck off on launch and just carries in all the way to the redline then all over again as you go up the gears, Cupra mode is just grin inducing, keeps the noise to a grin level and not asbo levels which is nice.

Gear box and clutch,
Are a perfect match, bolt action snick snick on each gear is just addictive, think Civic TypeR, same feeling.

Economy,
Not really something you consider when looking at a 280bhp sports car but its been remarkable give its power output.
Motorway: its returned 40mpg on a 70mile roud trip with stop starting & heavy foot for overtaking, which i was absolutely shocked at.
Round town: its returned 29mph pootling around and following the gear shift prompts (which are set up spot on for best economy)

Pretty remarkable figures there for a car of 280bhp.

So year definitely a fan of Seat Cupras now.

Downsides,
Model i have doesn’t have apple car play as it missed out by months apparently. Will cost me good money to get a new head unit fitted and programmed, but long term will be money well spent as the sat nav built it isn’t very good.

That’s really it to be honest on the downsides, though I imagine the normal hatch back would be far too small for a family, estate that i have is big enough.

[fishbowlhead]

Well turns put the intermittent issues I brought up with rev hang on full boost and changing gears on the test drive, turned out to be the clutch has gone, drives fine but has been doing it intermittently since purchase.

Being sorted on the warranty 🙂

[fishbowlhead]

Picked the car up from the dealer this morning.

Clutch, flywheel and all ancillaries around it changed for new.
Broken trim sorted.
Bumper protector put on.

Cannot fault the service from Marshal Braintree, they diagnosed the clutch on their own, ordered the parts for next day and did the work without any issues whatsoever, would thoroughly recommend them.

[Soundwave]

Picked the car up from the dealer this morning.

Clutch, flywheel and all ancillaries around it changed for new.
Broken trim sorted.
Bumper protector put on.

Cannot fault the service from Marshal Braintree, they diagnosed the clutch on their own, ordered the parts for next day and did the work without any issues whatsoever, would thoroughly recommend them.

Awesome news on the repair & service from Marshalls

Quick question everyone but would you still consider a Diesel car these days?

Still trying to decide what I get next but have my eye on a couple of Diesel options along with a whole raft of Petrol choices & just wondered what people think about oil burners these days?

Thanks

Neil

[fishbowlhead]

I think if your getting the car at a decent price and has full history on dpf filter cleaning & engine oil changes diesel is still viable, i mean you get more mpg the petrol on average.

Buying new though diesel is dead. Modern petrol, hybrids, electric is the way forward.

[Soundwave]

I think if your getting the car at a decent price and has full history on dpf filter cleaning & engine oil changes diesel is still viable, i mean you get more mpg the petrol on average.

Buying new though diesel is dead. Modern petrol, hybrids, electric is the way forward.

Oh yeah it's definitely not going to be new I'm looking at 3-4 year old cars at the moment
Just seem to keep being drawn to the 4 series & the frankly ludicrous 435xD is looking quite attractive along with a couple of other 240+ BHP Diesels too

Neil

[charlesr]

Car is bonkers fast in the cold weather at the moment. That is all.

[charlesr]

Actually the ZetaCRD coilovers are mega too. The ability to make it feel like a Jag or a Le Mans car at the twist of a dial is fun.