Cupra vs. Evo 5

[LiCkWiD]

Morning all. Been looking at the price of Evo 4/5s on Pistonheads and im suprised by what you get for a cool £7,000.

We often see threads and posts about Impreza encounters in Cupra R's and the like.. but I was wondering. What is the chances of being able to out-do an Evo 5 in a Cupra/Cupra R? Are they worlds apart in terms of performance or would a few well-spent thousands put you in Evo-slaying territory?

Whatcha all think?

 

[RobM]

Are you talking straight line speed? Or round the twisties on a track?

I think it would be very easy to get an LCR to out drag an Evo 5, but once in the twisty stuff forget it, the Evo will kill you.

 

[m0rk]

Just a shame that at the end of the twisty road the Evo will need servicing

 

[Reg]

Can't imagine an LCR out dragging an Evo 5 in any situation! Its lighter, has traction, more power and shorter gearing. Starting modding an Evo and you'd forget what an LCR is, straight line and corners. Start factoring in running costs though and it isn't a pretty picture!

 

[LiCkWiD]

Heh. Well, the handling of the Evo is legendary. Did you see the Evo 8 vs. Lambo (I forget which.. perhaps the Gallardo) on TopGear where they demonstrated the handling capabilities of the Lancer?

Around a twisty track, the Lambo simple couldn't shake the 5-door family car! Quite impressive.

So basically, in a straight-line or sprint... the Cupra would take the podium? Interesting... and good to hear

Are Cupra/Cupra R really that rapid on the straights?

 

[karlosR]

no, don't most evo's have a 0-60 time of around 5 seconds? i was happy when my LCR kept up with my brothers evo2 after a rolling start.

 

[LiCkWiD]

Hmm.. Shame. But as mentioned, the running costs are a world apart. The Cupra R is so affordable compared to the Evo.

I knew a bloke at Uni. who had bought a Civic Type-R on a 2002. He was certain that his little VTEC would be able to competently take on ANY hothatch... and bury them. This was before the Mk5 Golfs release. So whether he'd admit defeat vs. the Mk5 R32 or not, I'm unsure.

I brought up the topic of the Type-R vs. a Cupra R and, again, he said he'd win.. no problems. I remember a comment on here about a bloke keeping pace with a Type-R that was redlining, and then eventually pulling away from it.

Straight up Type-R vs. Cupra R? Hedge your bets.. who'd win? (I'm interested to know)

 

[Steve_B]

Straight up Type-R vs. Cupra R? Hedge your bets.. who'd win? (I'm interested to know)

Do a search, this question seems to be coming up every other day at the moment. Bear in mind that this is a Seat site, and as we all know the LCR is the fastest car on the planet, so the answers may be a bit biased

 

[Balf2k]

My friend has an Evo 4 with engine rebuild and big dirty ATP turbo pushing 485BHP, I cannot vouch for a standard evo up against my LCR but his motor is a world apart from my car in terms or gut wrenching, throw you into your seat acceleration right up to 8500rpm ........ although, it has so much lag and turbo doesn't really come on boost til about 5000rpm that I can whoop him from start stops sometimes..... Then he inevitably whistles past like i'm in reverse lol.
I have had many a scooby encounter but never come across any evo's willing to push it, I just hope they will be standard ones if they do.
I was SO close to buying an Evo 6 instead of the LCR but then I thought logically about service costs and it was a definite no no for me, my mates evo 4 needs the diff oil changing every 3000 miles, he said it was £200 a time at Mitsubishi but he does it himself, I just thought do I really want to be jacking my car up and getting dirty every two or three months? If I could afford it I would definitely have one over my LCR, the cornering is impeccable and I was literally sh1tt1ng my pants when we hit the B roads in the Evo 4, I didn't think it was possible for a car to physically get round a corner as fast as this bloody thing did, I was literally shaking when I got outta the car. Truly awesome (affordable) motors but you really have to think if you can afford to service / insure / run it before buying one. I still love my LCR though

 

[LiCkWiD]

Heh. We all like to know whether our choice of car can beat-up the next guys cars' dad Or something similar..

Ya know what, my searches almost always prove pointless. Perhaps it's the way I'm doing it. Lemme try.

Vroom vrooom.

 

[RobM]

Can't imagine an LCR out dragging an Evo 5 in any situation! Its lighter, has traction, more power and shorter gearing. Starting modding an Evo and you'd forget what an LCR is, straight line and corners. Start factoring in running costs though and it isn't a pretty picture!

Sorry, I didn't mean the LCR could out-drag it in standard form, I meant with a few well chosen mod's. But then you're not talking about standard Vs standard I guess and could just as easily do those mods to an Evo... hmmm.....

 

[RikH]

Just a shame that at the end of the twisty road the Evo will need servicing

best post im going to read today!

 

[Chris 16v]

LCR's are quick but not Evo quick. Evo's are manicly fast, but affordable - maybe to buy but not to run, servicing, petrol, parts and insurance are a nightmare. I also think the LCR is a far better looking car.

 

[Reg]

Are Cupra/Cupra R really that rapid on the straights?

Forgetting mods (because people will talk forever about mods without any real comparison being drawn up) they are quick, but its not a 'fast' car (Cupra R). It is after all heavy, with 225bhp at best (at the crank). They are good to drive thanks to a fat torque curve and gearing that is well suited to the engine. I love my LCR, but am under no illusions about it being the great road runner that some people think it is!

Ultimately, an LCR is a family car thats been upgraded to give some power and handling, and a bloody good car it is too. But an Evo is nearer on the scale to a racing car that has been adapted and slightly civilised for the road. They might have 4 doors and seat 5, but they are not made to be comfortable on the daily motorway commute. They have horrible interiors, apart from the drivers interface usually (i.e. seat, wheels and pedals). The later Evo's were expected to be bought more by competitors to strip them out, weld in a cage bucket seat and harness and go racing. Why spend a fortune on expensive fittings when the poverty spec-taxi model bits would do. A friend of mine lent me his Evo 6 Tommi Makinen for a week while he went away, I had some of the most memorable drives of my life. But thank christ I didn't have to use it every day or service it etc.

 

[LiCkWiD]

Hello Reg,

With regards to your comment.. is the equivalent model Ibiza a faster machine then?

 

[Reg]

Not driven one, but its feasible a Ibiza Cupra will be faster than a Leon Cupra, both running the same 180bhp engine, because the Ibiza is lighter. I'm sure someone will know for sure.

 

[kempos]

1st off a friend of mine owns an evo 6 and celica gt4 and out of them 2 the evo seems manic.
but having come across a playful evo 4 on my commute home in ibiza tdi (non standard) i did manage to stay with it on overtaking from 40 to 60 passing 1-2 cars at time possibly due to high torque of tdi and turbo lag of evo.
would not even bother from standing start or anything higher speed as it would be far too embarrasing

 

[Revo Kev]

Got to say my Tommi Mak was one of the most fun cars to drive I've owned and been in. It's not the same kind as car as an LCR. If you want a toy, or can afford and want to spend alot of money running an Evo then they're fantastic. But the LCR is a great quick everyday/small family road car.
Forget comparing straightline speed, at the end of the day the better car is the one that brings the biggest smile to your face. Depends what you want out of a car!

 

[Chris 16v]

Got to say my Tommi Mak was one of the most fun cars to drive I've owned and been in. It's not the same kind as car as an LCR. If you want a toy, or can afford and want to spend alot of money running an Evo then they're fantastic. But the LCR is a great quick everyday/small family road car.
Forget comparing straightline speed, at the end of the day the better car is the one that brings the biggest smile to your face. Depends what you want out of a car!

Sums it up perfectly ::

 

[LiCkWiD]

I just wish I could take smiles to the bank.. Then I'd be driving an RS500 or an RS200 (Ford). Naturally, my services at work would command upwards of 400 smiles per hour

Seriously though, it's true. The fun-factor is and will always be a deciding point when buying cars, for me anyway. Badge and performance aside, I'd rather a LCR than an Astra VXR or something wildly excessive in the BHP area.

At 22, the Evo5 is a long way off. Cheapest quote returned at £1,600 and I suppose I should consider that fair. Nevermind.