Just had a test drive in a Mini Cooper S. Got mixed feeling to be honest. The engine is quite quiet when driving normally and sounds quite nice as it approaches 7krpm. It pulls well (quite a bit of torque low down actually) and the building power as the revs climb is a refreshing experience after a turbodiesel, although for some reason not as quickly as I thought it would. The gearshift is very peculiar, a long gear stick but a very short shift action - quite hard to find the cogs compared to my Furby I found.

Brakes seemed a bit dull, although I wasn't tearing around the hills so I can't really comment on their 'performance' use.

Overall, it's actually quite a nice car. The looks are growing on me and the interior is well put together (especially the old school switches on the dash which feel very solid). Getting in the back requires aerobics to a certain extent and is very cramped.

Tomorrow I test drive an Ibiza FR (closest to a Cupra TDI I could get! No Ibiza Cupra's at all in the 3 dealers I rang!). Should give me an idea of what a Cupra would drive like.

Focus ST test drive awaits soon, although the mpg is putting me off that a bit.

The hunt for a new car continues.

I've been waiting for a drive in an Ibiza Cupra TDi with a view to a change and haven't found one within 50 miles of me at a dealer - they don't run demos because all the kids crash them apparently :thumbdwn:

There was one in a nearby dealer, but it got sold 2 hours after I requested a test drive. The dealer then rang Seat UK and apparantly there were several owned by management which theoretically could be used for demos . . . except they wouldn't give them up. :(

ibiza FR's are crap, i took one out before i got that fabia and EVERY pot hole or uneven bit of the road i felt, plus its that same engine as the fabia i believe but it doesnt put the power down as good as the fab, i was dissapointed tbh although the gear box was better

I would have thought the gearbox in the FR was the same as the Furby? :confused:

The power down bit is understandable as I believe the FR weighs a good bit less than the Furby vRS.

We'll see tomorrow! It's not so much the engine (I have no doubts over the abilities of the PD160 unit) as the car itself and the feel.

i just think it was less effort changeing gear in the FR, after driving the vRS that was 10 times more comfortable i could never have got one, too harsh a ride

It's probably worth a search on Seat Car Club/Seat Enthusiasts but I'm led to believe the FR and the Cupra TDI have quite different suspension set-ups.

I doubt a cupra is just an FR with more power, probably a bit stiffer as well

I would have thought so, but an FR should hopefully give me some idea at least. If anything, the interior looks almost the same from what I've seen in photos so it should give me an idea of that.

Having driven the FR and the Cupra - I can vouch for the Curpa being quite a different beast. The brakes on the Cupra are immensely powerful. Turn in is much sharper, the car stays flatter in the bends, and feels actually more compliant than the FR and vRS. The power is great, although quite laggy below 2krpm, but the benefits in actually being able to rev it more than compensate.

The interior in the Cupra is quite a nice place to be, although no Ibiza feels as classy or well screwed together inside as the vRS.

The FR is still a great car, more enjoyable to drive in a spirited way than the vRS, but you pay for it in comfort. See what you think Rob - I think the Cupra is the car for you. I would of had one if my lease car scheme allowed under 25s to have more than a gp9 car.

Well, drove the FR today. Performance wise it's very similar to Sharkrider's vRS which I drove at the last Brisky meet. One hell of a lot of turbo lag though and Cupra would be even worse! :eek:

Handling was sharper than the vRS but nowhere near the Mini. I was a bit dissapointed by the interior (notably the electric window/mirror switches which were horrid!) and the climate control which didn't produced massively cool air.

I'm sorry to say it but I am looking increasingly towards the Mini. Saying that, an ST test drive looms.

What about the new Fabia, thats due soon. I guess it depends on when you want to change cars.

The mini power delivery will be very different to the fabia as it has a supercharger that doesnt need to spool up and has no lag. So the power is delivered evenly across the rev range, unlike a TDi where you have to wait for the turbo and you get it all in one lump. Rolling Road figures should confirm that.

Thinking of changing pretty soon, so the new Furby is out.

Jury is still out though.