better looks (inside and out), better brakes, bigger turbo, decent FMIC...Cupra every time
not too much but remember this price is from last year
yes but how much
not too much but remember this price is from last year
yes but how much
I ve just renewed my FR Tdi road tax at £120 and i am sure the Cupra is the same
The comsumption is purely how you drive as the turbo spools up around 1800-4000 rpm if you stay below that then 50 mpg is available. I would recon the FR and the Cupra are about the same on a light throttle but when you hit the boost the Cuprs's larger turbo might use more fuel. I doubt there is a lot in it though.
FR can do 55mpg
Cupra really struggles to get 50mpg.. and really 47-48mpg on cruise control on a motorway (and cruise control was never standard but folk like me have DIY'ed it). Try and keep below 2000 rpm but at 75mph it is doing 2150 rpm odd.. hence not good economy.
Cupra has better seats, interior (except black cloth is not as hard wearing and shows the dirt quickly), big brakes which I suspect are going to give trouble in the future (FR brakes overheat if you chip it), big Intercooler, hard suspension. Close ratio 6 speed gearbox instead of 5 speed. Fancy front/rear bumpers with bigger roof top spoiler if that is to your taste. Bigger alloys which are prone to damage and you cannot replace with other rims really due to big brake installation. Better for an A road hero blast for those reasons.
FR lot cheaper insurance, little better economy, top gear is lower rpm at 70mph due to gearing so it can get better economy, suspension lot less crashy and comfy for long trips. Interior pretty standard and it does get buttons on the steering wheel for the radio etc. Can be chipped to Cupra levels of power (but then Cupra can be chipped to 200hp or more if you shell out for an expensive new clutch) So more a long trip/gentle romp rather than an A road hero. One for the wallet not the heart.
I tried both a few years back for 2005 plates. FR would have been better really but it was too cheap for company car value and the power seduced me.. now I would love to get leather interior and dump that dirty looking black cloth.. and the front brakes/alloys compromised winds me up.. but it keeps on going. These new generation diesels are not as reliable as the old ones so don't expect the 250k miles that I used to get with no more than oil changes. VAG's Pump Deuse (unit injector direct injection) I'm not sure about but Fords, MB, Vauxhauls with commmon rail direct injection are getting £1k bills for new injectors at 70-90k miles..
Hope that helps.
FR can do 55mpg
Cupra really struggles to get 50mpg.. and really 47-48mpg on cruise control on a motorway (and cruise control was never standard but folk like me have DIY'ed it). Try and keep below 2000 rpm but at 75mph it is doing 2150 rpm odd.. hence not good economy.
Cupra has better seats, interior (except black cloth is not as hard wearing and shows the dirt quickly), big brakes which I suspect are going to give trouble in the future (FR brakes overheat if you chip it), big Intercooler, hard suspension. Close ratio 6 speed gearbox instead of 5 speed. Fancy front/rear bumpers with bigger roof top spoiler if that is to your taste. Bigger alloys which are prone to damage and you cannot replace with other rims really due to big brake installation. Better for an A road hero blast for those reasons.
FR lot cheaper insurance, little better economy, top gear is lower rpm at 70mph due to gearing so it can get better economy, suspension lot less crashy and comfy for long trips. Interior pretty standard and it does get buttons on the steering wheel for the radio etc. Can be chipped to Cupra levels of power (but then Cupra can be chipped to 200hp or more if you shell out for an expensive new clutch) So more a long trip/gentle romp rather than an A road hero. One for the wallet not the heart.
QUOTE]
What do you mean?
I also think your overall review is pretty poor.
"brakes which I suspect are going to give trouble in the future (FR brakes overheat if you chip it)"
1. The Alloy AP brakes have a mix of metals (aluminium body, stainless bolts, mild steel spacer tubes) so they corrode beautifully in our salty winter weather. They are refugees from performance track cars that have been put on a shopping trolley! Their performance is not really any better than the Golf/TT 312mm single sided cast caliper (OK weight might be a slight performance gain). They are a pain in the neck to service and they will never last as well as the old Golf/TT. On top of this they force us to use silly alloys where the spokes stick out beyond the rubber of the tyres so city parking with high curbs will mince your alloys. They are a horrible Bling compromise which has obviously been lobbed on by Miguel from the Halfrauds land of mods in the backyard in the land of San Miguel. Sorry .. they are not long term useful brakes in terms of time to keep them running and they will stick/sieze/break sooner. Had a Golf VR6 4 Motion with the 312 brakes and that had better brakes without needs for stupid alloy design. This is from a former brake engineer... who made many single sided cast iron calipers like the TT; Bomb proof and simple - you can keep the Bling.
2. FR brakes are reportedly OK with 130hp but will wilt on a track day. Once you chip an FR to 170hp odd... then they are no longer adequate if you are push on driver. Heck I faded the AP's on the road when I was pushing down a long hill with about 1000 ft drop (true I am chipped Cupra) but I would hate to think of the FR brakes under those extremes.
My Bad about the 5 v 6 speeds gearbox then.. the FR I looked at had a trusty tweed type interior with light grey interior compared to the dark grey dash of the Cupra with everything in black cloth (looks good... wears dirt quickly ..e.g. cat/dog hairs!)
All IMHO ... YMV
"this doesn't sound like it's coming from the experience of ownership."
Well I have owned a Cupra Diesel for 3.5 years and about 50,000 miles; hope that is enough
I do all my own maintenance and had the displeasure of changing the front pads about a year ago. This and my experience of the Golf with the in house VAG 312mm cast calipers and testing/assembling/designing brakes for 2 years with Girling has coloured my opinion I will admit
see http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=174581
and http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?p=2297749
The rims; the looks are neither here nor there; it was just the ability to damage on high curbs which no other OEM rim I can think of having and the lack of ability to fit alternatives that rub me up the other way.
Sorry .. this is “white goods” transport for me (i.e. utilitarian car), my petrol fumes fever is satisfied by a turbo petrol RWD of about 1.1t with 240hp and no roof that is a lot more fun but less economical, less refined. My other 3 cars have been fully messed with in terms of non standard, rebuilt, resprayed but I am a (relatively to this site) old b*gger so bling or looks do nothing for me with this car.. it is about reasonably rapid effective transport with minimum hassle (So chipped, cruise control, real clutch is all the mods). YOMV
I admit that the FR test drive was 3.5 years ago so others will be better at that than me.
Anyway either car is good for it place in the market...
I have come from a RWD 231hp car with a roof!