I plan to buy either in estate version. vRS slightly less power, but for my budget of £20k I should be able to afford the latest mk4 next year. Alternatively for the midlife crisis in me, the Cupra ticks the hooligan box. Haven't driven either yet. That's the next plan later this year. WWSTW pick?
I’ve a Leon Cupra 290, albeit a 5dr hatchback. It’s been great. Plenty of power when you want it, but nice and civil and economical when you don’t. The consensus is to go for a DSG box, as the clutches on the manual cars can struggle with standard power.
I spotted a 2017 plate Cupra estate (ST) 4x4 for sale recently with 20k miles on it for £21k at a dealer, so should be close to your budget. The 4x4 would help out the power down too.
afford the latest mk4
MK4 vrs is brand new and lists at £32k, I'd be surprised if they were down to 20k next year.
I've got a MK3, it's a great car, but definitely at the practical rather than exciting end of the spectrum.
i bought a cupra 300 4x4 estate after a trip in a friends 300 manual 2wd estate,
had it mapped to around 370bhp & its a proper sleeper, i decided to get the DSG version which is 4wd which was a godsend in the recent snow we had, despite being on low profile 19s it coped fine in reasonably deep snow,
Can't help with your exact decision.
However, I drove a mark 1 Octavia vrs, leon cupra and Audi A3 more or less back to back in 2005.
If you can get a test drive see if you can spot the similarities!
I knew they were the same family. But the engine, brakes, switch gear, window switches were all the same.
I bought the Octavia as it was the best condition in my budget and a very enthusiastic owner who had maintained it well. It all so had the biggest boot for bikes.
See if the differences you see and feel warant the price differences.
If it's power and they are out of warranty, consider a remap? That would possibly take the Octavia to the same power or a bit more as any of the other vw group cars with that engine.
despite being on low profile 19s
How comfortable did you find the Cupra on 19s?
I'm thinking along exactly the same lines.
I've got a Focus ST currently which I really like, but I could do with a bit more space for the dog and going away.
I really like the look of the Cupra estate but 19" wheels put me off a bit. The 4wd drive version seems like a good idea but it's only available in DSG and I'd prefer a manual.
My moon on a stick requirement is estate, 4wd, manual, 200+ bhp and wheels not bigger than 18". Less than £20k would be nice
I'd go for the newer vrs, they're 27k brand new but I also doubt they'd be down to 20k in a years time - maybe for a comparitively leggy one? I don't think the cupra would be any more hooligan
The Octavia is definitely the sensible choice. Practical, comfortable and the VRS version will be quick enough.
Handsome enough in a family bus way too.
But if I bought one i'd feel a little disappointed every time I saw one of these:
Ive had a few 200bhp+ Audi estates and if i were in your position id go for the Cupra
I recently sold my last 2006 Audi A4 Avant Special Edition (220bhp) and looked at a 16 plate VRS estate and Cupra R estate
As much as the VRS is great value for money it doesn't look or feel anything special and being a Skoda means every time i see one i just think TAXI! which is a testament to how good they are
The Cupra was ticking all the boxes apart from a couple of things, i realised i no longer needed an estate car and i missed the Hot hatch Fords from younger days (XR3i's, RS Turbo's, RS16i's etc..) so went and got a Focus ST3 and remapped it to 280bhp
@trailrider jim,
its on 235/35/19's , have driven to wales & back in it (before the current lockdown) & it was comfortable on both the Motorway portion & the dash through midwales on the A roads, it does hae the dynamic suspension with the different mode options which in cupra mode, makes it firm but not crashy,
i bought mine back in july at 24k miles & paid £19'500 for it,
having had a variety of Seats before which were all tuned to some degree ( ibiza PD130, Leon Pd150, Passat PD130) the cupra is the do it all car that can embarass some far more prestige vehicles
to follow on from my previous post,
the cupra is £50 a year dearer to insure than my Leon FR, but the road tax is cheaper so its offset there,
the one thing i have found is driving it & pushing on, it can get thirsty, when i bought it, the average MPG was about 26-28 mpg, with adjusting my driving style im now averaging 28-30 mpg, best mpg so far was 36mpg with the cruise control on, driving to newtown,
i know people with the 2018 onwards models & there average MPG is in the low mid 30 range from average driving / commuting & on a run into the low 40s,
when i was looking it was suggested to me that a 2017 model was the best option for me as i wanted to tune it in the future,
this is basically what i have, same age , same colour
I have a mk3 VRS (petrol, DSG) and it's the best car I have ever owned. The fact I still feel that after it cost me £6,000 after a freak engine failure says something I think!
Cupras look great but to me they always look so much smaller than Octiva. In my head they go in the Golf R Estate "mini estate" class which rules them out - maybe that's perception rather than fact though. I also find Seat dash/interior design challenging, whereas Skoda are practically identical to the equivalent VW - albeit with cheaper materials, and you can even still clearly see the family connection to Audi. As I get older I seem to care a lot more about the interior than the exterior as I realise that's what I interact with 95% of the time.
As an outside option the 280 4x4 Superb has a strange draw to me (especially is space is an important criteria). A friend has one in that mad yellow "Dragon Green" colour and it looks amazing.
but it’s only available in DSG and I’d prefer a manual
Driving a DSG using the paddles is way more fun than a manual gearbox and it does full throttle shifts in something like 1/100th of a second - you can't get anywhere near that in a manual.
Why spend money on a chip upgrade and then waste half a second changing gear?
Then when I get stuck in traffic I just select drive and chill out.......
Cupras look great but to me they always look so much smaller than Octiva. In my head they go in the Golf R Estate “mini estate” class which rules them out – maybe that’s perception rather than fact though.
No they are definitely smaller. Octavia has a slightly longer wheelbase than a Leon and the boot is bigger too.
Both would give me a lot more room than my Focus hatchback though.
As an outside option the 280 4×4 Superb has a strange draw to me (especially is space is an important criteria). A friend has one in that mad yellow “Dragon Green” colour and it looks amazing.
I never even new that existed. Pretty much identical powertrain to the Cupra in the pipe and slippers Superb. That would be a very good Q car!
Driving a DSG using the paddles is way more fun than a manual gearbox and it does full throttle shifts in something like 1/100th of a second – you can’t get anywhere near that in a manual.
Because using a manual box is fun!
A good gearbox with a nicely weighted throw, timing the gear shift, the clutch and the accelerator perfectly for a quick shift while still being smooth.
Yes DSG is faster but it takes something away from driving.
Its probably not a show stopper but I still prefer my cars with 3 pedals.
timmys
Cupras look great but to me they always look so much smaller than Octiva.
They are smaller. Assuming we are talking about the previous generation for both cars (and probably for the new variants as well):
the Leon numbers are 587L seats up, 1620 seats down
the Octavia numbers are 610 seats up, 1740 seats down.
The Leon still has a lot of boot space though - yes, the Octavia is more but the Leon isn't really a 'mini-estate'.
I was looking last year at either the diesel Octavia VRS or the diesel Leon. In the end I went for the Leon.
The interior of both is OK, but I preferred the Leon. The seats in the back of the Octavia when down don't seem to sit as flat as the floor on the Leon and I think the Octavia always has a load lip, while the Leon doesn't (unless you drop the false floor).
Personal opinion of course, but the Octavia always looks a bit 'thicker' at the rear end & more utilitarian. Dressing it up with big wheels & some badges doesn't really alter that fact & to me, the Leon estate design is better integrated - this is probably some of the reason it loses out on boot space.
I spent quite a lot of time when lockdown was eased going round dealerships & looking at all the various options - Focus estate (new one too expensive for me & old one didn't really appeal), Kia Ceed estate (new one just in budget, but engine range not great for something with a bit more grunt), C-Class estate (would have had to get a higher mileage much older car without things like Android Auto, which I definitely wanted), Audi A4 estate (boot smaller than Leon & extra price didn't seem justified, would have had to go for an older, higher mileage car & it didn't feel much nicer to me to warrant the compromise) & Octavia estate.
It was definitely between the Leon & the Octavia, but the Leon styling & interior swung it for me. I didn't feel that I really needed the extra boot space that the Octavia offered, although I am sure there will be times when I struggle to get things in the Leon & think 'bloody hell should have got the Octavia...'!
I previously owned a mk4 VRS (manual) and my other half has a Cupra 290 (DSG) hatchback and they are completely different beasts. The VRS is a great load lugger but the chassis is utterly outclassed by the Cupra, which is also noticeably quicker.
The Cupra also has much better standard spec and it feels better put together than the Skoda.
I have a mk3 VRS (petrol, DSG) and it’s the best car I have ever owned. The fact I still feel that after it cost me £6,000 after a freak engine failure says something I think!
Wow timmys what was it?
Superb 280 isn't a bad shout if you want more of a cruiser than something for throwing round the corners. Your 20k should get you a 2017/2018 car. Seem to be less estates round than hatches though.
2019 onwards cars are labelled as 272 due to the introduction of GPFs and a downgrade in power. They also have only direct injection rather than the dual injectors of the previous revision which means they are allegedly more susceptible to coking of the valves and valve seats. But on the flip-side they have the 7-speed DSG.
For tuning everyone thought that the earlier engines would be better but Revo seem to be getting good results with the GPF equipped engines.
Wow timmys what was it?
Some part broke* that caused a valve to drop into a cylinder. Result = total engine replacement. It could have been even worse - the turbo survived but that too could have been toast if swarf from the engine had got into it apparently.
Good news (for others); It was a total freak occurrence, there's no history of the 2.0 TSI engine doing this (believe me I checked!), so I wouldn't let my experience of this put anyone off cars with this engine. People seem to chip them up to silly bhp with no issues.
Bad news (for me); Because it was a total freak occurrence, with no history of issues with this engine, there was very limited contribution from Skoda UK towards the repair.
* the video report from the technician either said collar or collet - I was too upset at the time to remember to clarify.
I bought a new Cupra ST 300 at the end of '19. I've done exactly 10,000 miles in it. Can easily get mid 30s driving swiftly but sensibly. 40 ish on motorway. I use Super Unleaded.
Great car; more capable than exciting, but a very nice drive indeed. Very well spec'd (Lux pack).
DSG pretty good.
Mods:
1. disabled awful soundaktor
2. Installed 18" alloys as the roads I use are awful. Transformed the ride, as I no longer have to avoid every single divet!
Possible stage 1 (Revo) but need to think about how long I keep it. My next car will (sadly) be my last ICE and for that reason it might be a hot hatch as I'll be running a van for bike duties alongside.
what is the ride quality like on the leon on 19s? I do about 28k a year and want something that i actually 'want' to drive; but am conscious of having an appalling ride/noise on motorways
It's fine on 19s, but you are aware of potholes far more than on 18s. On a motorway, the 19s would be no issue. I very rarely get mine off minor A road and B roads.