Faults:

Several visits to the dealer to sort out the front suspension - loud, "clunking" noises. Eventually rectified with new anti-roll bar and various other bits & pieces.

Coil packs have failed on two separate occasions - 4500 & 9000 miles. Due another one soon?!

Quality of paint-work (metallic grey) not too clever - chipping like mad.

General Comments:

Good performance, but not as impressive as I was expecting. Also has problems putting down the power in 1st & 2nd, especially in the damp. Traction control isn't exactly subtle either.

Respectable handling, but not a patch on the (2000) Astra SXi that went before it - jeez, can't believe I just wrote that.

Supremely comfortable - fantastically equipped at the price. Forget the hot hatch tag - but as a spacious, refined method of covering distances at a fair old lick, it cannot be beaten at the price.

Faults:

Water incursion onto sills of front doors.

A few annoying rattles - one from the interior light which does not sit firmly, one I think from the CD autochanger.

No other problems to date.

General Comments:

Generally, very pleased with the car so far (9 months, 13000 miles), except for the above mentioned problems.

Judging distance through the rear windscreen is difficult, as it is so high up, making it a little tricky to reverse.

Comfortable and very quiet engine.

Fuel economy is in accordance with official figures (46-50mpg)

Faults:

Breakdown in January 02 with an electrical fault, 4 days to repair.

Breakdown in February 02, same electrical fault, the Electronic Control Unit was replaced after a 7 week wait.

General Comments:

Superb performance for the price. The turbo provides effortless power without needing to change gears, although you'll need a lot of restraint not to make full use of the 180bhp.

For motorway cruising a higher ratio for 6th gear would be useful as the sporty exhaust note can become intrusive on long trips. Of course you can always turn the stereo up.

The suspension could be stiffer, although it does make for an excellent ride. The seats are comfortable, but don't provide enough support for enthusiastic cornering (perhaps the optional leather seats would help).

Dashboard layout is excellent, the only minor niggle being the headlight indicator being partially obscured by the steering wheel.

Overall it's great fun to drive, but given the poor reliability I would buy something else next time.

Faults:

No wrong things.

General Comments:

SEAT LEON CUPRA 4 150 HP TDI (Nr.VSS2221M22R026172)

I own this superb machine since October 20, 2001 (previous car – Seat Leon TDI-110 HP).

I believe it was the first of this model in Portugal.

I was astonished with the performance of this beautiful machine (black is beautiful in this model, and the rear Recaro seats are really comfortable) but it is difficult to understand why a CD player is not included in a €33.330,00 (pvp in Portugal) car. As a mater of fact, if ordered to the dealer, an extra cost of €790,00 (installation not included) must be paid.

Are you faced with this kind of situation in other €pean countries?

Best regards

Mauricio.