buying advice Curpra 300

[zoomieczek]

Greetings from the Czech Republic.

I'm thinking about buying a Cupra 300, but I'm still not sure what exactly to look for.
A friend of mine has a 300 ST 4Drive with some minor modifications (catback exhaust and remap). I love that car, and I had the chance to try driving it, but I'm still not sure about the ST version.

The car would be my second one. I want something that can handle track driving, but also won't disappoint on backroads. Relatively good fuel consumption would be awesome, but I don't expect something like 5 l/100 km while cruising at 200 km/h.

In short, I have a few questions:

1. 6-speed or 7-speed DSG — which is better in terms of reliability and fuel consumption?
2. Pre-2019 or 2019 and later models? The main differences I found are: pre-2019 models don't have a GPF, use a 6-speed DSG, and have Cupra-colored seat emblems.
3. ST or hatch? Sometimes the ST's boot space and 4Drive would be nice, but I'm not sure about the handling compared to the hatch.
4. Is the performance pack worth it? I once looked at a car with the performance pack, but I didn't get to drive it. If I researched correctly, the main differences are front 4-piston Brembos, the unusually expensive Audi TT RS brake discs, and side skirts.
5. 888 Gen 3 timing chain — I found that replacement is very expensive and no one here wants to do it. The quotes I've received are around €1600. What is the recommended replacement interval for the chain?

That's about it. Thanks for any tips or help with this crazy mess of questions!

Have a nice day.

 

[Mr Pig]

Hi there,

To be honest, most of the advice for a Cupra is going to be much the same as it is for any other Leon model. For example the estate body does effect the handling but it's just the same as it is for an FR or SE. More weight and you can feel it. What I would say is that the Cupra is already carrying a lot of extra weight from the bigger engine, brakes, wheels, haldex etc so it does not feel as light on its feet as the less powerful cars do anyway. Same with 4xdrive. It's extra weight which will give you benefits in some situations and be worse in others. It's always the same. Check reviews on the Audi TT for instance and you'll see the same story. Yes, the 4X has more grip and stability but it is less involving than the 2wd car. Just depends on what you want, to go as fast as possible or get the same enjoyment at lower speeds.

If you can find a good one, I'd go for an earlier car. Most of the changes that happened to the car were either cost cutting or emissions and didn't make the car any better.

The engine is not a big worry, not more so than any other engine. They're very clever and well designed engines which don't seem to give too much trouble if looked after. The thermostat housing is a known failure point and is not cheap but the rest seems fairly reliable. Of course that's assuming it's been well looked after, not modded and not tracked but they seem fairly tolerant of even that kind of abuse. Any car is going to be less reliable if you mod or track it but the Cupra certainly isn't going to be any worse than average and is probably better than most.

Can't advise on the gearbox as I don't like automatics, my Cupra was a manual. The biggest issue you have with the DSG box is that they often don't get the servicing they need and then have problems at higher mileages. It's not crazy common but if you do get DSG issues it's invariably expensive to fix. So generally reliable if looked after but they're never going to be as reliable as a manual. Will also suffer more from abuse.

I'm not sure which brakes my car had but they were excellent. They said Cupra on them, not Brembo so I think they were the standard brakes. Good enough for me I know that.

 

[SuperV8]

My two penneth!
I know of 3x people I work with who have had mechatronic issues with their DSG 7 with fairly new cars.
I would avoid the 370 dia 'performance pack' brembo brakes for a road car, very expensive replacement discs. The Standard 340 dia single piston brakes are still good with the right pads.