FWD vs 4drive

[RacerBice]

I have a Leon Cupra ST 300 4drive today as my daily driver, and compared to my previous 290 it feels slightly muted and not quite as quick. Now that it's up for replacement and given that there really is no better option out there at Swedish price levels, I am hesitating as to whether the next car should be identical or FWD instead. It all boils down to real performance differences, but I still haven't seen any mag doing a straight shoot-out. And really, that's what it needs to be (with the same conditions and driver/s). Anyone.....?

/ M

 

[Deleted member 103408]

Sorry no not seen that but i would have thought you want 4wd due to weather in Sweden.

I presume you have the same issue as the UK where the 4wd will have the 300 engine but the fwd car will have the 290 due to WLTP.

 

[Big Col]

there's an Autocar vid from about 4 years ago with Steve Sutcliffe featuring a Cupra 280 v Golf R and he thought the Cupra was faster, albeit not by much.

The cupra was 20ps down, but the golf weighed more due to the 4wd.

 

[Deleted member 103408]

My fav video ever even more so because Steve went in thinking the Golf was going to be better but the Cupra could supprise. And you can see it did supprise him. @RacerBice are you looking at the ST for comparison or ST vs Saloon.

@Big Col re the 20ps down yes thats what Seat told us but a lot of guys who put the 280 on the dyno (before they mapped it) came much closer to 300 so who knows that may have been a VAG Marketing ploy.

 

[xyz]

I saw this too. I've owned both and the 280 is more nimble but for traction and wet weather driving, my R nails it.

there's an Autocar vid from about 4 years ago with Steve Sutcliffe featuring a Cupra 280 v Golf R and he thought the Cupra was faster, albeit not by much.

The cupra was 20ps down, but the golf weighed more due to the 4wd.

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[Deleted member 103408]

I am very happy with traction on mine (which has a lot more oomph than the stock car) but it is a drivers car,

But this is not about what we think is best worst this is about the original OP in Sweden who has a 4WD and like in the UK the price
means its either a 4WD Seat or a FWD Seat I still think the 4WD is better in your circumstances but agree based on the Golf vs Leon arguments the 4WD is not as involved to the driver so maybe that's why it does not feel as fast.

Again for what the OP is asking I would remind you that the comparison is between the 300 ST (or do seat do other 4WD cars) and a non 4wd (which i guess is the FR ST or 5 door car based on UK Specs)

 

[Lmbarrett83]

I have a Leon Cupra ST 300 4drive today as my daily driver, and compared to my previous 290 it feels slightly muted and not quite as quick. Now that it's up for replacement and given that there really is no better option out there at Swedish price levels, I am hesitating as to whether the next car should be identical or FWD instead. It all boils down to real performance differences, but I still haven't seen any mag doing a straight shoot-out. And really, that's what it needs to be (with the same conditions and driver/s). Anyone.....?

/ M

From my experience the fwd CUPRAs take more driver skill to tease out the consistent performance. I found it a lot easier to have the confidence to push the car and be consistent in performance with 4 drive - obviously transmission plays a big part too.

I've watched the videos of the CUPRA Vs R on the track too. I used to refer to this all the time. In reality though I don't drive on the track so the fwd talents of the CUPRA as compared to the 4drive R are wasted on me.

I think the real world performance depends on the type of driving you do?

As good as the fwd CUPRAs are if they were available in 5dr, 4 drive with the equivalent discounts I'd go 4 drive.

With that said I'm very much looking forward to my fwd 290 - whenever it turns up.



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[xyz]

I am very happy with traction on mine (which has a lot more oomph than the stock car) but it is a drivers car,

But this is not about what we think is best worst this is about the original OP in Sweden who has a 4WD and like in the UK the price
means its either a 4WD Seat or a FWD Seat I still think the 4WD is better in your circumstances but agree based on the Golf vs Leon arguments the 4WD is not as involved to the driver so maybe that's why it does not feel as fast.

Again for what the OP is asking I would remind you that the comparison is between the 300 ST (or do seat do other 4WD cars) and a non 4wd (which i guess is the FR ST or 5 door car based on UK Specs)

Four wheel drive for Sweden. Bare in mind the Golf R is front wheel drive most of the time. In the wet, the fwd Leon loses out massively.

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[RacerBice]

Four wheel drive for Sweden. Bare in mind the Golf R is front wheel drive most of the time. In the wet, the fwd Leon loses out massively.

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Well, again, I had the FWD ST290 for two winters in Sweden. And it worked pretty well in the wet and even on snow, so I am not overly concerned with traction issues. Of course, my current ST300 4drive works decidedly better, but that doesn't mean the ST290 was useless. My concern right now is that in particular in accelerations in highway speeds or even illegal speeds (and that's the area where I appreciate the Cupra's grunt the most), the FWD ST290 felt rabid. Whereas the ST300 4drive feels muted and not nearly as fast. Wanting to understand if this is just a perceived difference caused by greater stability with the 4drive, or if in fact power loss through the drive-train + additional weight are real issues.

 

[Deleted member 103408]

To be clear are you looking at getting a brand new car or just a new second hand motor.

As I would have thought the Cupra ST only comes in 4wd and the Saloon is now a 290 not 300.

 

[surrealjam]

Well, again, I had the FWD ST290 for two winters in Sweden. And it worked pretty well in the wet and even on snow, so I am not overly concerned with traction issues. Of course, my current ST300 4drive works decidedly better, but that doesn't mean the ST290 was useless. My concern right now is that in particular in accelerations in highway speeds or even illegal speeds (and that's the area where I appreciate the Cupra's grunt the most), the FWD ST290 felt rabid. Whereas the ST300 4drive feels muted and not nearly as fast. Wanting to understand if this is just a perceived difference caused by greater stability with the 4drive, or if in fact power loss through the drive-train + additional weight are real issues.

It's probably a bit of both - less "excitement" as it feels safer(!) and also drive-train loss and weight. Four wheel drive is great in some situations but also an extra drag in the times it's of no benefit (such as the high-speed stuff you are talking about). I've never seen a FWD vs 4WD video to highlight the difference from 50mph to 100mph, say. They always seem obsessed with 0-60 when the 4WD is obviously going to smash it!