SEAT Ibiza II (1993 - 1999) - '99 Cupra 2.0 8v GTi - good car?

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Sun 4 May 2008 20:24
'99 Cupra 2.0 8v GTi - good car? - daveym
Drove one of these today. Thoroughly enjoyed it - very 'rorty,' very fast when desired (60ish in second makes it good for overtaking safely and fun for pulling out of the bends!) and easy to drive at a slower pace and round town. 31 mpg on a fast run wasn't too bad from a 2.0 engine either, I thought.

Faults, given it's a 8/9 year old car? First and second are very stiff and clunky, the clutch is a bit stiff and theres a worrying 'shunt' from the chassis when floored in second if dropping down quickly from third, but that may just be the effect of a comparitively powerful engine in a small, lightweight car. In any case I've been told I'll get 12 months MOT if and when my friend does sell it and she'll get any problems seen to so it's mechanically sound; I'd just need to give it a service and grit my teeth at the insurance quote!

Are these generally good cars and would you folks recommend I go for it, ignoring the boy racer connotations of this kind of car?

Edited by Pugugly on 04/05/2008 at 20:30

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Sun 4 May 2008 20:47
'99 Cupra 2.0 8v GTi - good car? - ifithelps
>>theres a worrying 'shunt' from the chassis when floored in second >>

My ordinary 1.4 of a similar age did that - might be more of a problem in the super bhp version.
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Mon 5 May 2008 08:29
'99 Cupra 2.0 8v GTi - good car? - L'escargot
Just make sure you get a genuine silencer fitted so that you don't annoy all the local residents.
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Mon 5 May 2008 10:46
'99 Cupra 2.0 8v GTi - good car? - Jase
If you can stretch to it, I'd say you should try the same car with the 1.8 20VT engine in it (150BHP instead of 115BHP), but the old 8v engine should be ultra reliable if you can't.

Nice cars in my view, made when SEAT were on the up.
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Mon 5 May 2008 11:39
'99 Cupra 2.0 8v GTi - good car? - daiking
I expect this is the mk 2 so the 1.8T won't be available (although a few enthusiastic owners have made the transplant). The 1.8T was in the mk3 ibiza onwards.

This is the mk3 golf GTI running bits but a much lighter car so it goes better. The 2.0 16v is also available (which is 150hp) in the mk2 but the 8v seems to be more common.

I would check out somewhere like seatcupranet for the usual things to look for.

Edited by daiking on 05/05/2008 at 11:41

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Mon 5 May 2008 11:52
'99 Cupra 2.0 8v GTi - good car? - daveym
Thanks for the help everybody!

I'm into four figures insurance-wise on the 8 valve so the 16 valve is out of the equation - I suspect the 8 would be similar in everyday use anyway. Torque is similar, so I expect it's only top end power where I'd see the difference.

I'm not *that* fast a driver anyway ;) Really I like the extra power to be able to overtake comfortably and get out of trouble and as for day to day use, I find the car easy to drive round town etc.

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Mon 5 May 2008 12:29
'99 Cupra 2.0 8v GTi - good car? - daiking
Not driven either myself but the owners used to say there was nothing in it performance wise at normal speeds but the nature of the 16v meant it went better higher up the rev range.
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