I\'ve got a March 2001 Ibiza Cupra and have found it to be a delightful little motor, coming up on 30000 miles, no real problems at all, and it does get driven pretty hard sometimes. (I live on the Isle of Man so a 130mph blast over the mountain road can be done quite legally.)
Only complaints are that it munches front tyres at a frigtening rate (new set every 10000 miles if driven enthusiastically), and the driver\'s side window dropped into the door (although that\'s a VAG problem, not SEAT specific, it happens to Golfs and TTs too).
Overall build quality is superb (my Mk4 Golf GT-TDI driving father-in-law was so impressed his next car is going to be a Leon), dealer service is excellent, and of course it\'s one seriously fast little car.
My next car\'s going to be a SEAT, that\'s for sure.
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I've just bought (a week ago) a jan 2003 Leon Cupra with 5k on the clock.
I hope the coil packs prove to be ok!
Generally really happy with it - but if I had to be harsh - there is one plastic panel on the dashboard under the s/wheel that creaks (I will investigate)- and I think the brakes suffer from fade quickly when driven with gusto. Radio buttons a bit fiddly - not as good as my yr2000 Ibiza!
The performance is fantastic - the economy in 6th is a bonus - the climate control is miles better than the Ibiza's.
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As far as I know 2003 models have updated coil packs, so you should be OK.
Re. the creak under the steering wheel - it may be coming from the flexible section just above the steering column that moves whenyou adjust the height.
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I had a 2001 Ibiza Cupra- agree about the radio. Big buttons, and all the info on one screen. Do think the Leon system is better quality- seems to have better definition and more bass. And the climate control really is good! Not noticed the brake fade, but then mine only has 200 miles on it so far, so I'm being a bit careful. All round, great car I think. Just a shame VAG's reputation has been sullied by the coil pack situation. Bit of a cock-up all round.
--
Dr Alex Mears
Seat Leon Cupra
If you are in a hole stop digging...unless
you are a miner.
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Did somebody mention 'Cupra' and 'Economy' in one sentence there?
The two just don't go together in my experience!
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I swapped a 2001 Leon TDI SE 110 for a 2002 new-model Ibiza Sport TDI 130. Mistake. Although the Ibiza is ferociously rapid in a straight line, the Leon is the better car, in terms of spec, build quality and (most of all) handling. The only reason I got rid of mine was a persistent graunching noise (of the "help me, I'm about to break" variety) from the front suspension, over which the supplying dealer more or less admitted defeat. Apart from that it was a fantastic car.
(Have also since got rid of the Ibiza, due to an unplanned interaction with a kerb on a roundabout near here - a car that powerful should be able to take a roundabout on an A-road at 35 mph without understeering into the side of the road. And no, I wasn't being a lout, just minding my own business, going to work. As I said, great acceleration, dangerous round corners.)
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The new Ibiza doesn't drive anything like as well as the last model, in addition to that the Sport TDI 130 doesn't (AFAIK) benefit from the uprated brakes, shocks, tyres etc that they put on the last model Cupra.
I didn't know what "corners like it's on rails" really meant until I got my 2001 Ibiza Cupra, I've given it some serious stick over the mountain section of the TT course here on the Isle of Man, and it always feels totally secure, plus you get good warning with tyre squeal when you're getting near the limits - no problems with understeer - it just takes whatever you chuck at it.
Pulls really well right through the rev range, fiercely fast in a straight line, and it's got the handling to keep it all in shape through the corners.
Agree on the brake fade though, you do notice it after a hard drive. (Although I'm still on my first set of pads and discs after 30000 miles which isn't bad going.)
As for economy, mine's averaged out to 38mpg (I measured it over 2000 miles so a proper average with all my different styles of driving accounted for), not bad for a 140mph car that does 0-60 in less than 8 seconds :)
On top of all that it looks nice, reasonable servicing and running costs, and just as happy on long drives as it is nipping around town.
Best car I've ever had, no doubt about it.
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The new Ibiza doesn't drive anything like as well as the last model, in addition to that the Sport TDI 130 doesn't (AFAIK) benefit from the uprated brakes, shocks, tyres etc >> that they put on the last model Cupra.
AFAIK the brakes on the new model Sport TDI have larger discs at the front (although you wouldn't know, to use them) than the std. Ibiza. Suspension definitely not uprated to cope with massive weight over front wheels, hence tendency to kamikaze understeer at low speeds - very unforgiving. Tyres are v expensive (see below) & no better than average in terms of grip.
Never drove an old-model Ibiza so can't compare, but hear lots of good things about them.
Just got mesmerised (silly boy) by 229 lbs ft at 1,900 rpm - which is fine, but the engine's so lag-prone (assume this is because of large-ish turbo) and the gears so widely spaced (because they decided to have a top gear that does 38 mph/1,000 rpm that you're forever changing gear to keep it in the power band (1,800 - 4,100 rpm). Doesn't make for restful driving & isn't really what you expect from a diesel bought for torque.
Also, 53 mpg average cannot compensate for 205/46 ZR 16 tyres at £130 a wheel, oil consumption using magic VAG oil at seven or so quid a litre, the aforementioned lethally unpredictable handling and sundry other disappointments. Autocar's road test couldn't help but wonder about what might have been with the new Ibiza Sport. Quite.
Anyway, all this is digressing wildly from the original topic. I offer humble apologies and tiptoe away quietly.... :-)
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Why not trade in your Sport TDI 130 for an older model Cupra? It's an infinitely better car and probably much more like what you're after.
Get one that's been looked after and you'll be laughing.
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Wish I'd thought of that, because I've read a lot of reviews praising the old model, but to be honest with you, the whole experience, especially
1) making it on to the traffic news when my broken Ibiza was blocking half of one carriageway of a busy A-road, necessitating the involvement of a (fortunately) sympathetic member of local constabulary to redirect traffic round me, and
2) the near-impossibility of locating some of the suspension components
put me off hot hatches and in particular hot SEATs in a big way, so I decided to go all boring and middle-aged and get something rather more sedate. The opinion of the good lady wife also had some impact here... ;-)
As it happens I have a very friendly neighbourhood FIAT dealer, whose general manager lives literally round the corner from me, and as soon as the Ibiza came back from its three-and-a-half week holiday at the repairers I traded it for a substantially newer, base-model Stilo 1.6 3-door, getting a number of extras and money back in the process. Nice, especially when you consider that I was upfront with them about what had prompted the change.
Despite the reams of reviews, comments and so forth all saying what a load of rubbish it is, IME so far the Stilo has actually proved better to drive than the Ibiza and has the added advantage of actually going round roundabouts rather than into the sides of them!
I will happily concede that I was probably just unlucky with my Ibiza, but it comes to something when a piece of boggo Italian rent-a-car fodder that everybody hates proves to be a better drive than a whizz-bang performance job underpinned by VW-Audi engineering. Oh well, never mind, eh?
P
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