Hi,

I've read the thread where people were mulling over a 230 or a Cupra 290. I'm just wondering if anyone took the plunge and what their thoughts are? Is the SEAT a step down in quality of build? Lastly if anyone did swap from a vrs to a Cupra did you opt for the ST or the hatch.

Appreciate the comments if anyone has any

Yes I have, I've a mk2 vrs petrol at moment, my seat leon 290 st black edition should be here in 3wks as currently just boarded the cargo boat. I really wanted a 230 estate but weighing both up I felt the Seat was a better car especially the black edition which has the bucket seats, not only that I got a much better pch deal than on the skoda

Thanks for reply and good luck with the car. My dealer just got the SEAT franchise for our town and I was set on a 230 but the Cupra interests me. I'll be interested to see what you think of the estate as I think id consider an ST.

Yeah had to be an ST imo looks so much better than hatch equivalent, if your looking I'd order soon as they are pulling the plug ready for face lift , the sc (coupe) has already gone

I'm in Ireland and we still have the 230 so I expect we still have the Cupra. The facelift is supposed to be unveiled at Paris in 3 weeks so I might wait to see the facelift and then pull the trigger. Best of luck with yours

There are some cracking PCH deals on the 290 right now.

I chose the Skoda over the Seat due to the interior, seems awful in the car Seat, very plasticky! 

I chose the Skoda over the Seat due to the interior, seems awful in the car Seat, very plasticky!

My son had a Leon FR 1.4 150Bhp and I was very impressed with the overall package. Unlike my VRS, the B pillar didn't rattle... and the interior seemed pretty solid although a tiny bit blander than the Octy....

Do I dare get into gear about the problems I had with my 2014 FR?.......

B pillar rattles? I'd have asked for B pillar rattles rather than have the myriad of issues that Leon had. Build quality is definately not better at all, its also a blander interior, as common as arseholes and my seat lost 48% in 18 months.

But hey, Im biased!

That's why I went for black edition as agree standard cupra interior look poor but with the bucket seats it's so much nicer

Dont get me wrong, I 'get' SEAT, or at least I used to. Ive had 5 personally, 3 of those from brand new. I bought a 2.0 16V ibiza that had the golf gti engine, red seat belts, a zig zag pattern on the seats and it was Kiwi yellow. THATS what SEAT were about. Now they are trying to be the cool kid and have ridden their reputation to the limit. They arent the same manufacturer I used to love that stuck 2 fingers up at VW and the likes. They are topshop knockoff skinny jeans at primarni prices. The soul is gone.

But thats just my experience and bitterness. Others may differ lol

I had the bronze 2ltr 16v cupra with awful rainbow seats and white 16s, loved that car

I had the bronze 2ltr 16v cupra with awful rainbow seats and white 16s, loved that car

Oh the white 16's Id forgot about them!!! Was a stonking engine, mine had a magnex system and pipercross induction kit. What a noise.

Soul is gone though. Beaten to death by a big greedy corporate stick.

Again just my opinion

Seats biggest knock back was when the mk2 facelift Cupra R was denied 4wd.

We looked at the Leon before getting the Octavia. We chose the Octavia based on the extra boot space for a pushchair but I would happily have had either.

 

The 290 is very fast though as I found out when I accidentally picked a fight with one

There was one sitting at a red light which then turned green before I'd stopped. I was doing around 30mph and floored it when the light changed. He saw that as a challenge passed me like I was standing still.

He saw that as a challenge passed me like I was standing still.

Shouldn't take a knife to a gun fight

The thing that struck when I took one out for a test drive (apart from the speed) was the steering response together with the grip that came in bucketfuls!

I was checking one at a dealership while waiting for a friend and one thing was immediately obvious - everywhere inside it is a MUCH smaller car than the Octavia.

At least for me, boot space matters and I simply wouldn't be able to live with the Leon boot, even in SW/kombi/estate version.

Ive got a 290 black on order.

Was actually looking at buying a Ibiza Cupra and stumbled across the epic PCH deals in early July.

 

The ST is a better looking car than the hatch, but TBH its a step too far for me.. technically i dont need anything bigger than the citigo

I looked at one as a replacement for the Octavia, but as others have said it did seem smaller in all departments. On the test drive I did not think it was a big step up in performance compared to the petrol vRS.

The Octavia's trump card is space. If you don't need the space go for the Cupra.

Thanks for the replies guys. I find it hard to believe the ST would be a lot smaller than an octavia. I will certainly test it out though.

I looked at a 290 Cupra before going back to my vRS. I only sat in one in the showroom but it immediately felt so much smaller in width across the front windscreen and was quite basic looking inside.

Switches all seemed smaller and had a cheaper feel to them. However I am sure that had I got one, these things would have become the norm and wouldn't really be an issue. I also think the performance

and noise is sure to put a rather large smile on ones face!