Advice Please

[robloveday]

Hi all, new member but have been reading the forum for a while.

I currently own a zafira SRI and because of a change of personal circumstances i want a small sporty car that wont break the bank, I have been looking at getting a new ibiza, either an fr or cupra and with the current VAT offer now seems a good time but i have a few questions.

1. There seems to be a lot of threads around the net about the reliability, should i be concerned about this or is it just the 'people only post when theres a problem' thing? also most things i have read are regarding the cupra, is the fr any more reliable?

2. Apart from the power, bumpers, seats, wheels and BT kit are there any other differences in the 2 models? are the breaks, suspension etc any different?

3. For those who have driven both, is the extra grand+ worth it for the cupra (this would be extremely stretching my budget), the 0-60 is only marginally different and i dont care about topend as you cant do it on uk roads anyways.

4. I do a lot of motorway driving and hate wearing a bt headset, is the seat bt setup any good and has anyone used it with a HTC desireHD? And are they comfy motorway cruisers?

Sorry if these have been asked before, i had a look around but didn't see the answers

Cheers
Rob

 

[sicasey]

Hi all, new member but have been reading the forum for a while.

I currently own a zafira SRI and because of a change of personal circumstances i want a small sporty car that wont break the bank, I have been looking at getting a new ibiza, either an fr or cupra and with the current VAT offer now seems a good time but i have a few questions.

1. There seems to be a lot of threads around the net about the reliability, should i be concerned about this or is it just the 'people only post when theres a problem' thing? also most things i have read are regarding the cupra, is the fr any more reliable?

2. Apart from the power, bumpers, seats, wheels and BT kit are there any other differences in the 2 models? are the breaks, suspension etc any different?

3. For those who have driven both, is the extra grand+ worth it for the cupra (this would be extremely stretching my budget), the 0-60 is only marginally different and i dont care about topend as you cant do it on uk roads anyways.

4. I do a lot of motorway driving and hate wearing a bt headset, is the seat bt setup any good and has anyone used it with a HTC desireHD? And are they comfy motorway cruisers?

Sorry if these have been asked before, i had a look around but didn't see the answers

Cheers
Rob

Hello and welcome to the forum!

From experience, I personally do not think there is that much in it between the Cupra and the FR (petrol of course). The extra money is really for the styling IMO and the FR doesnt exactly look shabby.

As far as reliabilty issues you will mainly find that the only people who have had major issues are owners of the 1.4 TSi engine Ibizas' but strangely mainly the Cupra/Bocs models.

If speed+economy is top of your list then I can't recommend the FR 2.0 TDi highly enough, it's a fantastic all rounder in every way.
And once maps are properly sorted for them you are looking at a seriously torquey motor. Bear in mind this motor is fitted into much heavier golfs/A4/A6 etc so imagine what it is like in a small car like the Ibiza.
The torque figures are already slightly higher than that of a Cayman S!
Once the engine is bedded in a little it is realistic to achieve 50MPG

And yes it is an excellent motorway cruiser, I sit in lane 3 @ 90MPH+ with the "big boys" lol @ slightly under 3K revs, refined and pulls as hard as any German barge in 6th.

And with the VAT offer Its a no brainer IMO. Hope this helps a little.

 

[TSI BOY]

Welcome mate. I have an fr and love it

1. Yeah some people do have problems with there cars BUT I think you will find that most cars havent put a foot wrong. As you said I thinks it's the problem that people only post when something goes wrong.

2 apart from what you listed there the same only differences are: visual, exhaust note is louder on cupra, and brakes are same aswell unless you go for the upgraded ones that are only available on the cupra an of course the extra 30bhp but can easily be remapped to 220 with revo as it is te same engine (except the map)

3. All depends on personal opinion. I didn't much I'n difference between my fr and the box I test drove

4. I don't have the bt but a mate does and except the stupid accent on the voice control he has had No problems


Hope I have helped
Sam

 

[robloveday]

Thanks for the replies guys

I must admit i prefer the cupra styling, but i dunno if i can justify the extra money just for that lol

Tbh it was the TSI i was looking at, the last couple of cars i have had have been diesel and i fancied a change (i think im having an early mid-life crisis lol) it also doesn't help that i have had nothing but problems with the dpf on my current car and a friend had loads of probs with the same on a leon.
I do quite like the quick diesels (mines a zafira sri150 which is pretty quick for a big car), but im a little fed up with the noisy engines, at least with the tsi its a good noise lol

Thanks for the info TSI BOY, thats helped a lot, i think it will prob be an FR then.

I havent had a chance to test drive one yet, do they handle well? and are they any good on motorways, i have found in the past that the hot hatches are great fun but not that comfortable on long drives.

Cheers

 

[TSI BOY]

No proplem mate. Yeah I personally think handle reli well standard but Some people on here have upgraded suspension and make it stick like it's on rails lol all depends what you want / use it for. I think it's comftable enough you can't expect the best of rides off course but that's what you pay for with a sporty car ( worth it thou) but by no means breaks your back. Most I travelled I'n mine is 2 and half hours and was fine

Go have a test drive and give it a blast on different roads etc you won't be dissapointent I promise

 

[bizscotty]

I am biast as I own a FR but the styling of the cupra/boc wasnt enough to sway me. I remapped mine to 220bhp for £330ish after a little while any way.
I drive a 50 mile round trip every day and the car is perfect for me. I'm not really a morning person so the dsg in D with cruise control is perfect to get me to work smoothly. On the way home when I've had enough of work the paddles in + or S really make the end of my day. I'l admit that I have had a new engine just after a year but that was due to a dodgy batch injectors going round.
The only reason I would get a cupra really would be that my insurance would be about £200 cheaper!

 

[newtoseat]

It's a bit confusing, depending where you read, but I don't think the ' No VAT' offer applies to the FR anymore.
I may be wrong

 

[robloveday]

Cool, at this stage im not fussed about a remap, its quicker than my current car anyways, i drive a min of 50miles a day commute, then once a fortnight i do a 400mile round trip so the reliablilty/fun/comfort balance is more important at the mo.

newtoseat, really?? bloody salesman told me i had to march to get the offer, i made it clear i wanted either the fr or the cupra, ill have to pop down for a test drive and a proper chat, if the offer isn't on anymore i might have to reconsider, just cant stretch any further moneywise

 

[aski_2010]

For me personally the FR was never really an option it was cupra or boc all the way.. i couldnt justify the extra cash for a black nose and slightly different interior of the boc. The cupra similar to the FR doesnt look as hardcore as the boc, slightly under estimated at the lights if you catch my drift.

1. I have had my car since june and have had no problems what so ever (touch wood) this will continue
2. I think this question is down to personal preference, i liked the cupra styling etc better than the FR, simple as really.
3. I only drove the boc so cant comment on this one. My cupra is mapped to 220bhp, all i can say is well worth the money and the MPG has improved too... power on demand and good mpg a win-win situation
4. my cupra does not have bluetooth connection so cant comment.

 

[newtoseat]

Taken from the SEAT site but if your salesperson says VAT free

It'll be interesting to find out




Ibiza SC - PAY NO VAT (available on Chill and 1.4 85PS models only)

Ibiza SC SE Chill - £199 up front, £199 per month

Ibiza SC SE Chill 1.4 - PAY NOT VAT + Typical 8.9% APR (available on Chill and 1.4 85PS only)

Ibiza SC S A/C 1.2 - Half VAT reduction - Save £905 + Typical 8.9% APR (available on all models exl. entry, Chill and 1.4 85PS)

Ibiza SC S A/C 1.2 TDI CR Ecomotive - Half VAT reduction - Save £1119 + Typical 8.9% APR (available on all models exc . entry, Chill and 1.4 85PS)

Great offers across the SEAT Range - contact your local SEAT Dealer for details

 

[dannychapman10]

Bluetooth works fine with desire hd
Go for the cupra mate, the extra cash is worth it for the extra bhp, styling etc and the central exhaust
I've had a clicking noise from the supercharger belt which is being sorted on Monday and an ecu update which is supposed to sort the map for the fuel to stop the build up of carbon around the spark plugs try both mate, but the power and exhaust note will sway you

Danny

Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk

 

[jc_boc]

Do you want to buy brand new or are you partial to a used car with the extras you want? if so then the cupra may well be within your reach. My boc costs me dearly but I was prepared to pay the price for the looks hehehehehehhehehehehe

 

[robloveday]

cool cheers dannychapman10

I wouldn't mind used but i dont want to travel too far to get it and there are only a couple within a 60mile radius, there not that much cheaper and don't have the options i want.

What sort of fuel consumption do you guys get? is it anything like what seat claim?

 

[sly200sx]

Rob. My wife had a 57 plate sri zafira 150 diesel and it was in the garage loads of times to get things done like, new flywheel/ clutch, swirl valve, egr x3, etc etc. She now has a 59 plate petrol zafira sri and its been no probs so far....
I went to a 10 plate boc from a 1.8 petrol vectra, i changed job and no longer needed a motorway cruiser etc, and have never looked back. Love the DSG and love the handling etc. Going to look into revo if i can get it cheap enough, not doing it at £499 plus VAT thats for sure!
Also bluetooth is great on my iPhone, love the way it logs into the car automatically when i start driving although i have not got it to download my iPhone phone book yet.

 

[DannyDizzle]

i love the blue tooth i aint got a cupra yet(hopefully this month), but i love the blue tooth in mine. only problem is it doesnt download the phone book as i know of, u have to put them in your self? i had to any way, and the one problem is, when you say save, it thinks you say star, but appart from that, general use of it is spot on.

 

[WJs]

Also a quick question that il dump here if you dont mind.

Is there any difference in the Sport & FR suspension? Stiffness/bumpyness? Or is it the same?

 

[DannyDizzle]

its lower isnt it?

 

[techie]

Mines up for sale, save waiting

 

[skeat12]

Diesel FR all the way, who would want a puny 1.4l engine????





Sit's and waits for Jason to reply

 

[jc_boc]

LOL! You really wanna go there again mate?!
1.4tsi = 220BHP and enough torque to put the power down