New CUPRA R officially confirmed

[warren_cox]

the R being priced at £24,995 base price (basically £4k more than the cupra) for

- 265PS

- 19" alloys (silver standard with a white option)

- Leather

- Convenience pack

- Dual exhaust pipes

- Exclusive Piano Black interior detailing

add on things like paint and packs, other options you're looking at around 27-28K

VW and Audi territory - Seat have messed up

So I'd want Nav, CD Changer or iPod, pearlescent paint, sunroof, winter pack, bi-xenons, (I'm going to assume the leathers aren't heated and don't have lumbar support), cruise control, tints.... that just the biggest pricing faux pas I've seen for some time. I'm sure they've just taken the RRP of the Scirocco and whipped off about 10%. Despite their strong resolution not to discount, I can't see they can sustain that pricing in the long term.

 

[Ami-Jane]

look at the photo Tim posted - out of the two which looks the more solid? The Rocco of course and that model is cheaper then the Seat

given the choice people would rather VW than Seat - for a few £K more you can have a 4wd golf R!!

big big mistake Seat

apparently someone has been stupid enough to pay the premium and it's been officially ordered at that price and will be the first in the country (apart from the demo in MK)

 

[TimJK]

Youve got me looking at Roc R's now, I SO want one! just priced myself a £33k one lol. I will get my S3 first though and wait for those to drop

 

[Ami-Jane]

at that price go for the Golf R

 

[TimJK]

Fook that, golfs are boring!

 

[warren_cox]

At that price I'd buy a second hand Porsche; over £32k for a new VAG hatchback based car is madness considering they start life as a £14k shopping trolley. It's not like they even get re-shelled or any aluminium panels. Yes, they're good, but not that good, and I include the S3 in that.

 

[TimJK]

I would refuse to buy a porsche. YUK. S3 anyday

 

[Dude]

look at the photo Tim posted - out of the two which looks the more solid? The Rocco of course and that model is cheaper then the Seat

given the choice people would rather VW than Seat - for a few £K more you can have a 4wd golf R!!

big big mistake Seat

apparently someone has been stupid enough to pay the premium and it's been officially ordered at that price and will be the first in the country (apart from the demo in MK)

Stupid eh... thanks.
At this time, there was no movement for any discount on the base price.
Perhaps if i waited 6-9 months there might be an opportunity to get some discount, however i need to replace my car sooner than that as i only have 2 proper seats and need a 5 door. ... 5 door golf R with options 34k, S3 sportback with options 32k and French ain't even an option. LCR seemed like a logical option for my needs.

 

[Poverty]

look at the photo Tim posted - out of the two which looks the more solid? The Rocco of course and that model is cheaper then the Seat

given the choice people would rather VW than Seat - for a few £K more you can have a 4wd golf R!!

big big mistake Seat

apparently someone has been stupid enough to pay the premium and it's been officially ordered at that price and will be the first in the country (apart from the demo in MK)

Golf R with half decent options is 38k

Sadly all cars are getting more expensive. The focus RS and Scirrocco R dont seem that badly priced now

 

[robdf2]

Stupid eh... thanks.
At this time, there was no movement for any discount on the base price.
Perhaps if i waited 6-9 months there might be an opportunity to get some discount, however i need to replace my car sooner than that as i only have 2 proper seats and need a 5 door. ... 5 door golf R with options 34k, S3 sportback with options 32k and French ain't even an option. LCR seemed like a logical option for my needs.

and if you dont mind me asking how much have you paid for your spec?

and tbh if i was spending the cupra r money it will have to be a TTS , lighter and with 4wd its a no brainer.

 

[ZBOYD]

The launch was seemingly that low key they haven't bothered with a press release

Then again if a £25k basic rrp is factual, I wouldn't tell too many people either. Huge FAIL, its too steep for not enough extra.

 

[warren_cox]

I would refuse to buy a porsche. YUK. S3 anyday

I thought that, then I drove a 996 twin turbo last year. Made my S3 seem like a bit of a toy. I'd want a 997, but just don't have mid £40's thousands to pay for it. Ideally I'd like both, but that's just greedy!

 

[Ami-Jane]

well spoke to local dealer and two people have asked for and got deposits back.

Reckon that will be the same for most people round the country

 

[225]

It still confounds me that the marketing people at SEAT thought that the loyal following would be happy with a FR/cupra with a remap, a token bit of badging, lowered suspension and bigger wheels and pay the price they are asking. (OK theres more but you get what I mean)

The only people who will buy this are folk whos companies are paying.

New Dude, can I ask why you went for one over say a 6month old S3 for example? I know everyone likes a new car and everyone's different, so not having a go as its your cash at then end of the day and nothing to do with anyone else, just interested.

 

[warren_cox]

well spoke to local dealer and two people have asked for and got deposits back.

Reckon that will be the same for most people round the country

I was speaking to one of the guys from Ridgeway VW about the Golf R, and I asked if they had a car in to view. He said quite casually "No, we don't have one yet, there are only about 3 in the country, and those dealers must have placed their orders ages ago" (assuming they didn't then). So I asked about the Rocco, and he said "They are likely to be delayed even longer although we expect to sell a few more of those". So I asked if they had any literature to which he replied "no, just a paper price list, they've been a bit slow releasing all this sort of stuff really".

I don't know whether manufacturers feel ashamed to launch a £30k hatchback in the middle of a recession, or whether VW just prefer the low level internet driven viral marketing that seems to be driving some of the hype.

All the latest launches appear a bit 'half arsed'.

 

[ZBOYD]

I think its the Audi brand influence now pulling the strings more than ever.

High RRP coupled with lots of profit making optional extras. The model in the past has seemingly worked for Audi customers.

I'm just not so sure traditional SEAT customers will flock in their droves to buy what is a very expensive Leon Cupra with a bit of performance tinsel on top.

I've had 4 brand new performance SEAT's over the past 10-12 years and class myself as premium model buying SEAT customer, and in-turn I don't expect something for nothing.

But really the inflation in prices for their flagship models have increased to such a large degree that for the first time in more than a decade I will not be changing my car. I'm even considering moving away from SEAT in the future. For example I would rather buy a premium used BMW, Audi or VW than a brand new SEAT.

If the cars carried this premium into the used market, like an Audi or VW would, then maybe the hit wouldn't be so painful, but you know full well that the dealers can't and won't offer premium trade-ins for these cars.

 

[Dude]

It still confounds me that the marketing people at SEAT thought that the loyal following would be happy with a FR/cupra with a remap, a token bit of badging, lowered suspension and bigger wheels and pay the price they are asking. (OK theres more but you get what I mean)

The only people who will buy this are folk whos companies are paying.

New Dude, can I ask why you went for one over say a 6month old S3 for example? I know everyone likes a new car and everyone's different, so not having a go as its your cash at then end of the day and nothing to do with anyone else, just interested.

Starting to wonder with all the bad feeling, if I’ve made the right decision…
When I was looking at 6 month old S3 sportback with 5k miles, they were only about 1.5k cheaper than a new one, however I wanted to move away from Audi.
Looked a new GTI also, but with a decent spec you are looking at 30K. 5 Door fast hatch backs all seem really pricey… Not sure where I would stand in cancelling my order and getting my money back, or what I’d go for if I did…
There is lots of ill feeling towards this car from the faithful, think mainly down the cost of it.

 

[225]

Starting to wonder with all the bad feeling, if I’ve made the right decision…
When I was looking at 6 month old S3 sport back with 5k miles, they were only about 1.5k cheaper than a new one, however I wanted to move away from Audi.
Looked a new GTI also, but with a decent spec you are looking at 30K. 5 Door fast hatch backs all seem really pricey… Not sure where I would stand in cancelling my order and getting my money back, or what I’d go for if I did…
There is lots of ill feeling towards this car from the faithful, think mainly down the cost of it.

Trouble is us that bought the LCRs etc of this world did so as it was different, had performance with the best of them and was properly priced. The new range of hot SEATs all just melt into one and I think a lot of us see it as a major shame. SEAT for me was value for money and something different from all the usual hatches and they looked good, now sadly they have sadly lost their way.

 

[warren_cox]

There is lots of ill feeling towards this car from the faithful, think mainly down the cost of it.

I don't doubt it will be a very good car, BUT at a price that certainly I wouldn't pay for it.

I'd happily come back to the brand if the right car was made available at the right price, but to sell my S3 for £19k to a dealer (if I was lucky) to buy a Leon for £28k just isn't an equation I can add up considering some of the gadge I'd have to sacrifice.

I almost feel a little betrayed by whoever is pulling the strings behind the decision on pricing, as this wasn't what the brand was supposed to be about.

Years ago I was toying with buying an R32 (back in 2003) but after much deliberation and a test drive I thought that the £24k asking price was just too high and so I elected to stay with my car to it's 3 year end period.

I happened to take my wife's car in to be serviced at Listers in Coventry (an Ibiza) the same month I'd made the decision above, and when I was waiting, sat there in the showroom was an LCR225 in black with Nav and Recaro's. After looking at the spec, and at it's price-point I was blown away. Although I was very happy with my 18 month old Lupo GTi, within 2 days I had a platinum R ordered from a dealer and on the way for collection. Against my £15.5k Lupo the LCR seemed inordinate value at £18k, and much better value than the R32 I'd originally been considering.

And there lies the crux, I don't see the key differentiators in the new car that made LCR Mk1 so visually appealing or offering such a well planned spec. No Brembo's, no Recaro's, no hand me down Audi dashboard. It's just a 'slightly; cheaper clone of its overpriced peers, with no option to heat your seats or pack some decent audio with a preinstalled subwoofer.

To buy a car today at that kind of money and not be able to add a factory Bose/Dynaudio sound system is just madness. To offer leather seats without heating on a near £30k car. I'm getting angry (when I should be just disappointed), as I really love what the SEAT brand used to offer, and I feel that it's being diluted by suits as is always the case when the economics override sense and passion.

 

[ZBOYD]

I think that the manufacturers are blowing hot and cold on their recent hot hatch efforts. They are adding huge premiums but they are not really adding any creative flair. Weigh up the Leon Cupra R and your not getting a huge amount extra for what is seemingly a £4k RRP premium over a boggo Cupra. Certainly spending that 4K on a boggo or nearly new Cupra would surpass the Cupra R.

I'm also wondering if they are at all bothered by that. The whole industry appears to be turning towards volume 'eco' vehicles. The premium hatches are rising in price and in some way while the die hards hang onto the hot hatch they are supplementing the industries efforts to turn green.

SEAT themselves introduced a prototype Leon Hybrid based on a Mk2 earlier this month. It won't see the light of day for a while yet, at least until the Mk3 appears in the next 18-24 months, but that is seemingly the future. New hot hatch ownership will become more the domain of the wealthy I fear.