Seat Leon Cupra R 1.8 20V Biturbo

My 350bhp beats!!

I have a 2003 seat leon cupra R 225 which is now pushing a massive 350bhp and 410 ft lb torque!!! i have raced all kinds of supercars down thesantapod strip and never had problems flying past - she does 1/4 miles in 11.2 seconds. I love the car - never had one problem since i have had it, i took the car to AMD in essex to get all the cams don,revo stage 3 map, pistons, conrods, nos, turbo etc etc spent £10k on mods and i love it. get one really do they have 5 doors loads of space huge boot and if you spend a bit of cash on the engine you can easily get 250bhp or spend more and get 350bhp like me

I own a 2004 Seat Leon Cupra 180 in silver bought it 6 months old, had it 4.5 years never kept a car longer than a year still love the look drive handling everything about the car every time i decide to upgrade the next car doesnt quite impress me enough so I keep it, everyone who sees it loves it as they are rare see on the road.Probably keep a few more years get the alloys refurbed and calipers painted and its as good as new.Mine has 31k on clock new brakes and discs and tires full seat service and no dents or scratches just a few chips had new cambelt and pump.May sell for 10K as its immaculate .

All in all its my 2nd seat and i have to say its the best Seat Leon Cupra R 1.8 20V Biturbo i've had so far my next car is the K1 lets hope it's as much fun to drive as my cupra 180 bhp

Steady power delivery comfortable ride and responsive steering.

Engine fans keep going for longer than supposed to but that could just be a fault with my car.

Practical and economical, very fast and hugely tunable car. Basically an Audi S3, for a fraction of the money. With a few mods it is an all round star car. Looks mean and handles very well. The cabin is roomy and well equipped. The turbo is very reliable and the torque rating is great even from stock. The cars potential is staggering when given a little after market attention. Many, many modifications are available that can turn it into a very fast car.

AWESOME PERFORMANCE! Practical alternative to most sports cars.Mine is a little modified admittedly but It will outstrip a Boxter S all day long.

Was in the market for something more sporty after my Toyota Corolla diesel got written off. Was looking for a Cupra R version, but found that decent examples were hard to get hold of and they tended to be overpriced. I spotted a mint 03 plate Cupra 180 on a private sale in my village. It was in black as well which in my opinion is the best colour for these, though is a nightmare trying to keep it clean. Looks great when it's been polished. This example was totally standard apart from the 18 inch rims off an Audi RS6, but was cherished by its former owner and had everything done when it was supposed to be done. I have no regrets with this one. It was hardly a low mileage example having covered 74,000 miles, but if looked after these can cover big mileages quite easily. The engines in these are a proven unit and can be found in various models ie; the Audi TT, Skoda Octavia VRS and the more powerful Cupra R version.

If you're not happy with the amount of power from the standard Cupra, then it is relatively inexpensive to modify. I deciced to have the ECU remapped so the engine now produces 212 bhp with 234 lbs ft of torque available from 1,950rpm. The cost of the re-map was £225 and just involves the engine management being re-programmed. There's nothing visual to say it's been modified and having this done won't put extra wear and tear on the engine. Be careful though, there's a lot of cowboy tuning places out there. If you're thinking of having yours done then go to somewhere with a good reputation. It's worth having it done and doesn't cost a fortune. My Cupra 180 has similar power and more torque than the R version now. Having said that, if you own an R and fancy having it remapped then you could get around 250 bhp with no problem. You can push the power up further still with more modifications, but that's when it starts getting expensive plus it's going to put more wear and tear on the engine. The sky's the limit.

A friend of mine recently bought an R version in black with 210 bhp. Stood side by side you can notice subtle differences. The obvious one is the brakes. The R uses Brembo discs all round and has a different exhaust. The front and rear bumpers are slightly different. On the interior the seats are different and there's subtle differences like the gearknob has red numbers as opposed to white and there's red on the vents. The R version is also built at a different factory to the one in Barcelona you might be interested to know. One thing that has confused me somewhat is that I keep seeing reviews for the Cupra R Biturbo, but have done my homework and found out that the R still uses a single turbocharger like the 180, but has twin intercoolers which enables more air to get into the turbo hence more power over the 180.

To be honest, there's little to choose from in terms of performance between my 180 and the R version now that it's been slightly modified. It just goes and goes in every gear and has masses of torque low down so it's very easy to make this thing shift. It's also quite easy to spin this thing in first and second and sometimes it will do it in third depending on weather conditions. Recently had all four tyres replaced (they're not cheap) because they were worn on the inside and there was a hell of a lot of road noise. Had Yokohamas all round but is now shod with the latest Goodyear Eagle F1's and the road noise is now reduced considerably. Grip is amazing.

Can definitely recommend these. If you're looking for something that's cheap to run then look elsewhere. Parts are not going to be cheap as is the servicing. It's also pricey on insurance(group 16 for the Cupra 180) and visits to the petrol station can be quite regular. Runs on both types of unleaded, but is preferable using the higher octane stuff for piece of mind at least. Fuel economy is not disastrous but if you're hammering it all the time then don't expect decent returns. I can get up to 33 mpg on a good run. Even though I've got a fast car, I tend to be a steadier driver nowadays, mainly due to soaring fuel costs. It is nice to open her up now again and I find you appreciate the performance more if not constantly driving it hard.

It is a wolf in sheeps clothing and will not be beaten by the majority of stuff on the road. Of course there's stuff that's a lot faster out there, but these Cupras are underrated hot hatches and represent very good value second hand for amount of performance you get. They might be getting slightly long in the tooth and there's newer and better stuff to have come along, but if you're looking for something fast, good looking, sporty and fairly practical and don't want to pay arm and a leg then this could be just the thing for you.

The Seat Leon Cupravery is a nice drive and comfy it has sporty looks a good engine, turbo standard. Cant get cheap parts, water pump broke and engine mountains broke, and my chews tires.Good all round car but be prepared to spend money on it.

Hi, i recently bought a Seat Leon Cupra (180) couldn't find the Cupra R i wanted. I have just recenlty had revo on my ecu and has made an amazing amount of difference. I have gone from 180 bhp to 210 bhp and 173 lb/ft tourqe to 232 lb/ft tourqe. More tourqe than the standard Cupra R. The car feels so smooth to drive and pulls hard in every gear, especially 4th. i must admit though you do have to be very careful in wet and greasy conditions as its prone to spinning in 1st 2nd and has even in third. However i love my car to bits, my previous cars have been, Hyundai Coupe, Alfa 147 2.0, Megane sport, Golf TDI and most recentley BMW 323CI 170bhp. I have chosen the car in Platinum grey, which in my opinion is a great eyecatching colour. The facelift model also comes with that great bodykit. I paid £9000 for an 03 plate, 38k miles, fully loaded with all electrics, air con, cd changer. This car in my opinion should have much more street cred and pressence than its rivals, Honda Type R and Focus RS, Skoda RS. I also drove the Skoda, the power was not easy to drive with excellent brakes, however i didn't think the power felt as good, even though they are both 180 bhp of the vag group. If you are pondering between this and a skoda, then get this car, you will not be dissapointed. I just can't wait till the summer months when i can unleash this cars full potential on those dry roads. I am having a pipercross induction kit fitted soon, so hopefully it will sound great.

If you want a really fast car buy a ragged subaru or rx7 for less than £7000, if however you want a very nice car, great for single people and yet big enough for families, with great power, speed and good brakes when u need it, cheap servicing and very reasonably priced then get this car the Seat LEon Cupra 20v t 180 and have it chipped by revo for less than £500, cheaper than paying an extra £2500 for the R, and you can upgrade your brakes if you like, i have put EBC green stuff on mine for £89 front and back.

I hope this review is of use to you and also that it makes sense. I Have always read reviews before i have bought a car, and have found them very useful, after all this time though i have never written my own so i thought i owe it to anyone wishing to purchase one.

Based upon the MkIV Golf, but with greater emphasis on looking and feeling like a true sports proposition, the Seat Leon Cupra R 1.8 20V Biturbo is a VW group bargain. The Audi TT uses this engine yet costs £27,000. It's an easier car to drive, quicker than the Honda Civic Type-R or Ford Focus RS and it is also comes loaded with equipment. If you want a lot of car for your money that works well every day, then the Cupra R is for you. Very quick and very well equipped. Top Spec, A/C, PAS, Sports Seats (recaro seat upgrade expensive, but very nice), ABS, Traction Control, Drivers & Passenger airbags. Extremely nimble, great handling and fun to drive.

All in all very happy apart from cooling fan problem. For about 10 grand you should get a very decent second hand bargain. Don't get me wrong, this isn't the best built car in the world. I think the glove box and the indicator switch are made from cheap materials, but everything else feels like it has had extra time spent designing and building this car. No, it won't beat a Suburu WRX STi or a Mitsi Evo, but it will put up a fight. I can say it will beat a Focus ST and a normal Suburu WRX. Don't know why, but the closest thing was a Honda Civic type r, but couldn't overtake me. Also, only 700 are imported into this country a year so quite a rare beauty, so there's a lot of jealous people without one!

Little I have driven comes close in terms of performance to the Seat Leon Cupra. Putting the power down from rest can be a struggle through the two front wheels, so a little restraint is required to over come this. Turbo's generally appreciate some gentle lead in and give earlier response whilst overcoming the lag, which in this beast just hits you in the back ! Clutch is on the heavy side. Worst point is SEAT's build quality and it's dealers. Mine develops rattle after rattle and still needs that new dash, which after 20k, the dealership have still not managed to fit. Dealer manged to scratch the alloys when replacing the front tyres. Drive it hard and the ESP works hard for a relly stimulating, nerve tingling ride.

I have a Seat Leon Cupra R 1.8 20V Biturbo Sports Car and have modified it to 269 BHP.

Now, to be honest, it does break down more often because of the mods, but this is because I cant afford to upgrade the intercoolers yet.

Now modded it is an absolute animal.

I have raced a lot of different cars from lights up to about 60 or 70 Mph. The cupra has killed off a Golf VR6, Focus RS, M3, Escort RS, Clio 172, Celica GT4 and the best feeling of all - beating a Civic Type R - the car I nearly bought instead.

The only two cars I have been beaten by are Impreza WRX STI and a Mitsubishi Evo 6.

If you like speed - get one, if you like cosmetic build quality - dont!