View Full Version : Cupra TDI v Cooper S in next weeks autoexpress out 4 August
Just incase you did not know next weeks autoexpress (out 4th august) the SEAT Ibiza Cupra TDI v MINI Cooper S.
So maybe get your copy ordered now :)
Geoff.
christdi
28-07-2004, 21:10
Sounds interesting, shame Auto Express dont do 0-100 times in their road tests. It will be interesting to see what the Cupra's real 0-60 will be though. I will have my one by then so I hope they dont slate it
pbirkett
28-07-2004, 22:45
Well I hope the Seat gives the Mini the pasting it deserves :D
oooo its out on my birthday
mark sheerin
28-07-2004, 23:25
Sadly I suspect the Cooper S will murder the Seat....
on handling
on performance
and even on value as the Cooper S will have better residuals despite the Cupra's better mpg.
The SEAT will be by no means disgraced but its 16k price tag will surely be questioned.
If you want to know why the Cupra is 16k then all you have to know is that the VAG groups profits are on the slide...particularly in Asia and China as they loose market share to new Chinese manufacturers.
You heard it from me here first...A chinese company will become the largest producer of cars worldwide within 2 years....
Looks like my furniture company won't be the only victim of the rise of the Chinese economy.
christdi
28-07-2004, 23:46
Sadly I suspect the Cooper S will murder the Seat....
on handling
on performance
and even on value as the Cooper S will have better residuals despite the Cupra's better mpg.
The SEAT will be by no means disgraced but its 16k price tag will surely be questioned.
If you want to know why the Cupra is 16k then all you have to know is that the VAG groups profits are on the slide...particularly in Asia and China as they loose market share to new Chinese manufacturers.
You heard it from me here first...A chinese company will become the largest producer of cars worldwide within 2 years....
Looks like my furniture company won't be the only victim of the rise of the Chinese economy.
On handling and value I would agree, but on acceleration we will have to wait and see. I wouldnt be too quick to rule the Cupra out
Will be a good one to read, especially as I want a Cooper S!
cpufreak
29-07-2004, 01:16
The SEAT will be by no means disgraced but its 16k price tag will surely be questioned.
I think Seat realised this which is why they dropped it to 15.5k.
Also with people like Tom's mum getting a ibiza Cupra TDi for 14.2k, it all turns into a bargain.
besides the mini is now 'uncool' (source: TopGear), and oversupply of them, and ones coming out of fleet deals (eg foxtons), will affect its residuals...
muddyboots
29-07-2004, 07:30
Will be a good one to read, especially as I want a Cooper S!
:no:
muddyboots
29-07-2004, 07:34
If the Cupra's output of 160bhp is underrated by the same margin as all the other PDs, I wouldn't have thought there'd be much in it, mine (~170bhp) can match a Cooper S OK...
mr_claypole
29-07-2004, 07:49
if you visit the autoexpress homepage, they have a review of it and they rate it very well...
cost wise...even at 15.5k.. its gonna be quite expensive for some people.. especially when it comes downto talking about residuals vs mini..
cpufreak
29-07-2004, 08:03
if you visit the autoexpress homepage, they have a review of it and they rate it very well...
cost wise...even at 15.5k.. its gonna be quite expensive for some people.. especially when it comes downto talking about residuals vs mini..
mini been around what 3 years now?
cars which had been in fleets coming out.
too many about.
its residuals will fall soon.. :)
driveforward
29-07-2004, 08:29
Will be a good one to read, especially as I want a Cooper S!
Gimpoidic fashion victim.
pbirkett
29-07-2004, 08:29
Yeah its bound to go out of fashion shortly. I never could see what the fuss was about anyway, theres a few ex Mini (Cooper and Cooper S) owners on briskoda, and they claim that the cars were very poorly built, and in the case of the Cooper S, not as fast as you'd imagine - some of them even stating the Fabia vRS they bought to replace them feels just as quick, so I'd expect the Cupra TDI to at least match it in acceleration. It wont match it in handling, but it should match it in build quality. The residuals of the Cupra TDI will not be poor either.
Personally, I know which car I'd rather been seen in, and its not the Mini ;)
add climate control, 17" wheels, sports seats and a decent Cd player to the mini and your talking £17K at least, so don't think the £15.5k price will count to hard against it. Mini is lucky to get 25mpg when pressing on where the ibiza should give double that which should help against the minis tlc 5 year servicing package thing. Interesting that depreciation figures are worked out against list price though so all the cars that tend to have thousands spent on extras (mini, porsche, bmw etc.) tend to hold more of their value. If i'd bought a £18K mini and sold it for £14K or whatever the standard list price is it would show as holding 100% of it's value which would still hurt my pocket a lot more than a Ibiza loosing 20%.
fabiavrs
29-07-2004, 10:21
Yeah its bound to go out of fashion shortly. I never could see what the fuss was about anyway, theres a few ex Mini (Cooper and Cooper S) owners on briskoda, and they claim that the cars were very poorly built, and in the case of the Cooper S, not as fast as you'd imagine - some of them even stating the Fabia vRS they bought to replace them feels just as quick, so I'd expect the Cupra TDI to at least match it in acceleration. It wont match it in handling, but it should match it in build quality. The residuals of the Cupra TDI will not be poor either.
Personally, I know which car I'd rather been seen in, and its not the Mini ;)
have to agree there are a few on briskoda of which do not rate them that highly! I've driven both the Cooper, Cooper S and Diesel and I have to say none are great! They handle well and feel solid but have no space in them! TBH the 'S' didn't feel quicker than my old saxo VTS (hides head in shame) and my fabia feels quicker than the VTS, so I think the cupra (or even a tuned 130 unit) will give it a good run for it's money if not beat it :bleh:
Not the coolness issue, it's the love of superchargers and cars with nice handling.
If Corrado G60s were still being made...
big ALI H
29-07-2004, 10:50
Don't get me started on Mini's - i had one before i bought my Leon last year. The amount of problems was a joke - very very poorly built - i had a VTR before that which was MUCH better built!
Oh and the dealer i bought from was worse than any SEAT dealer i have come across (and we know how bad they can be!). To be fair when it was working, it was a fun car but one of the most irritating things towards the end of my ownership was the sheer amount on the road. I bought mine a month after they were released and saw very very few for the 1st 6 months or so, when i sold it, there were thousands.
Space in the front is equal or better than the Ibiza but the rear is simply pointless (especially behind the drivers seat), my glove box in the Ibiza is bigger than the boot and there was no storage places where you could hide stuff (ie a glove box) so everything was on show.
My Ibiza feels as quick as the Cooper S' i driven and after chasing a few, theres very little in it really so i expect the Cupra TDi to beat it TBH
christdi
29-07-2004, 10:52
have to agree there are a few on briskoda of which do not rate them that highly! I've driven both the Cooper, Cooper S and Diesel and I have to say none are great! They handle well and feel solid but have no space in them! TBH the 'S' didn't feel quicker than my old saxo VTS (hides head in shame) and my fabia feels quicker than the VTS, so I think the cupra (or even a tuned 130 unit) will give it a good run for it's money if not beat it :bleh:
The Mini Cooper S has pretty much identical acceleration to the VTS, 0-100 in around 22 secs. This should be well within the Cupras range.
fabiavrs
29-07-2004, 13:05
Don't get me started on Mini's - i had one before i bought my Leon last year. The amount of problems was a joke - very very poorly built - i had a VTR before that which was MUCH better built!
:-o Damn then Mini's build quality must be really bad, my VTS was in the garage all the time due to bits falling off or going wrong!!
I didn't know that the 'S' and VTS was the same, though the VTS did feel quicker, or maybe it just seemed that was as you had to really work the engine to get it going!!
slim_boy_fat
29-07-2004, 13:14
Should make an interesting comparison.
Mini should romp the handling
and despite what JC says is still cool
and despite there numbers will still depreciate less
and despite odd example will be better built
The Ibiza should be slitly bigger inside, better boot. Better MPG (given) beter 30-50 and 50-70 (providing they dont use 6th) Poss higher top speed.
If it was my money i would go with the Ibiza, but only casue you can get them for around £14.5k If they were both exactly the same price then Mini would win..
And yes i am a tart i would put 18" wheels on it.. :bleh:
big ALI H
29-07-2004, 13:17
I didn't know that the 'S' and VTS was the same, though the VTS did feel quicker, or maybe it just seemed that was as you had to really work the engine to get it going!!
Same with the Cooper S too TBH and even more so with the normal Cooper (as i had)
fabiavrs
29-07-2004, 13:51
I loved the old mini, it has passion and flair, but the new mini does nothing for me, where as the VTS was a great car just built badly, of which the most part I forgave it, the Mini really just done nothing for me, yeah it was nice, yeah it looked nice and maybe it was a better handlering car than the VTS and ( keeping to the topic in hand) the new cupra, but it doesn't make me want to love it!
How many of us truely buy our cars because of what other people think, or how great they are? You buy them because they make YOU feel special, and because it works for you.
It's all horses for courses, at the end of the day both car in their own way are great both will have pro's and con's but which one you choose you will be on to a winner.
Anyway I'll shut up and go back into my darkhole full of diesel fumes!!