2001 Seat Leon Cupra 20VT from UK and Ireland - Comments

Coil Broke Down - Replaced at 8K.

Leaking Door Seals -

Rattle From Hatch.

Rattle From Rear Seat.

Interior Trim Falling Off (Various)

Intermittent Alarm Fault.

Paint Chipping on Bonnet.

Grabbing Brakes.

Weak Synchromesh on 1st Gear.

Engine Hesitation From Cold.

Reasonable acceleration, but suspect handling on anything other than smooth surfaces. When driving hard, the lack of body control is actually dangerous. The car needs softer springs and stiffer dampers. I'm astounded VAG allowed a vehicle like this to be sold.

Decent comfort over long distances, but marked down for the intrusion of the centre console into the left leg - very painful and almost 12K on, just as annoying.

The seats are comfortable when travelling in a straight line, but for a car with sporting pretensions, fail to hold the driver or front passenger in place when cornering quickly.

Fuel consumption is reasonable for a car with 180bhp, but I'd hoped for better. There isn't that much difference consumption wise between it and a hard driven Impreza Turbo, but in performance terms, the two cars are like Night and Day.

After initially impressing with its build quality and reliability, things are going down hill quickly of late. Shame...

My underlying memory of the last 9 months of Seat ownership won't actually be the car, but the help and advice I've had from the members of SeatCupra.net. I hope it's acceptable to mention it here.

I know exactly what you mean, I owned a Leon and it was a disaster, South European looks with Russian build quality.

Did you know they only build the Leon at one day of the week, and that is on Monday, and if you are unlucky, your car will be build on a Monday morning after a wild siesta.

When they build my car the workers where still drunk, I had probably the first one that morning and it shows.

It would have been better if they had send my Leon in a flat-pack so I could build it myself, at least I would know what to do with all the extra screws and bits left over at the end.

Seat tried to safe some money on the wipers too, the rear wiper is jumping over the rear window like a bull in a rodeo and the front wipers can't cope with the curve of the windscreen.

This car is a joke! a bad one!

It's gone now - traded for a new Subaru Impreza WRX PPP, which's been delightful over the past 6+ months.

Incidentally, the Leon Cupra is still sitting on the forecourt of the dealership's Seat branch; unsold, unwanted and unloved... They've reduced the price by £3500 (£1000 less than they paid for it). Word is, they'll take around £9500 to get rid. A £4500 drop in value in 6 months and zero miles. Eeek!

My 11 month old fully loaded Leon TDI SE was finally sold for the same price they gave me when I traded it in.

I'm happy to be rid of it, I lost 2500 pounds in 11 months, the worst I have ever done with a car, but I'm happy it is gone.

No sleepless nights anymore thinking, will it be damp in inside again in the morning?, will it start?, what will go wrong today?

I spend a little more money for a BMW 318 and it was worth every penny.

Not sure on the "Engine Hesitation From Cold" that happens on all cars mate!!

On all cars? This was so bad as to make it difficult to drive, when warming up.

Cheers.

I'm pretty sure this was started by mr toonman.

The review was written when I owned the car, but the sour taste remains I'm afraid. I'm told the car was written off when the driver lost control and ended up in a ditch.

I've had a similar number of problems with my cupra. In the last 400 miles it has been back to the garage four times and broken down twice. Faults include - Water pump failing (engine overheated), oil leak, engine management light on (Seat unable to find out why), wheel bearing failed, car pulls hard to left on flat ground (seat say it drives like all other Leon's, I would be curious to know if others have a similar problem?).

All faults above got through the Seat 101 point check! Seat UK have no control over their franchised dealers and are powerless to assist customers.

I can't wait to get it fixed so I can sell it and get a proper car.

Hi.

Mine pulled to the left too, and I was told the same thing, "They all do that Sir..." Strangely, it didn't do it early on in the car's life. Can't remember how many miles it took, but it started eventually and was there when I got rid. Tyre wear was even, if heavy at the front.

It didn't bother me too much, as so many other things went wrong.

Good luck in getting your car sorted.

I Bought my 51 Reg. Cupra secondhand with 16k on the clock. I only had it a month before things started to go wrong. In the last 10 months the engine management warning light has come on seven times, each for different reasons.

All 4 coil packs needed replaced; Dump valve was replaced; LAMBDA was replaced twice; leaking pipe in turbo unit, to name, but a few of the problems the car has had... Also had the climate control unit replaced due to sticking buttons and the horn stopped working.

Needless to say I am in the process of selling this 'Turkey'. The SEAT Dealership has been friendly and professional at all times, it's just a pity I've had to visit them so often.

My next purchase will not be a SEAT!!!

Toonman slagging again.

Imprezza is just japanesse sushi compared to cupra r.

Hi.

Simply telling the truth about a car that was unreliable. Shame some Seat owners can't accept the truth. After all, several other owners (possibly now also ex), have chosen to express their disappointment with their Seat Leon Cupras - in my review alone.

It's a shame to see that almost 2.5 years since I sold the Seat, some owners are still having a "pop" at me.

In addition, if you wish to slag off a car, its country of origin and the country's national dish, at least learn to spell and avoid the grammatical errors - Impreza (one "Z" not two), Japanese (one "S" NOT two) and Sushi (capitalize please...). It might help to add some credence to your argument.

Cheers.

I have owned my Leon 1.8 20V T now for 5 months and have had no problems, I brought it with 84k on the clock and now done a further 5k with not one hint of a problem.

Yes there are little niggles like the cup holder not ejecting and paint chips from high motorway speeds, but apart from that the engine is still responsive, breaks are very sharp and starts and runs with no problem every time and no leaks.

OK there may be poor examples of the Leon 20V T on the road, but that can be said for all makes and I've owned lots from Golf GTi's, Toyota & GT4's, Mazda RX7's and Ford RS's.

This is still the best car I have owned by far and can't wait for the next generation Leon and upgrade to the R!!