Volkswagen Golf R vs SEAT Leon Cupra on track
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- The powerful new Volkwagen Golf R takes on the SEAT Leon Cupra 280 on track.
Golf R review: bit.ly/1gFTsRz
Leon Cupra review: bit.ly/1klzSsV
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With snazzy looks, four-wheel drive and just shy of 300bhp, the new Volkswagen Golf R is the pinnacle of the massive Golf range. But is it the best hot hatch in the VW Group stable?
To find out, we brought along the new SEAT Leon Cupra 280, which has just taken the fastest ever lap time around the Nurburgring for a front-wheel drive car, for an Auto Express track battle.
The most powerful production Golf ever made, the new Golf R costs £31,970 if you choose the DSG gearbox and five-door body. It gets 296bhp and 380Nm of torque from its 2.0-litre turbocharged engine, and has four-wheel drive to put all the power on the road.
Lighter and cheaper than the Golf, the SEAT Leon Cupra is only front-wheel drive, but it has similar underpinnings and the same engine. It develops 276bhp and 350Nm of torque. Like the Golf, this car is fitted with the DSG dual-clutch gearbox.
Stable and powerful, the Golf R performed well around our circuit, recording a lap time of 1.14.8 seconds. However, the sharper and more agile SEAT recorded a lap time of 1.13.9 seconds.
So which car comes out on top in our hot hatch head-to-head? Well, it's a bit expensive, but we really like the Golf R. It's a great road car - it's fast, upmarket and composed. But on the track the SEAT Leon Cupra may only be front-wheel drive, but it has almost as much traction, it's much more agile and it's faster against the stopwatch.
Crucially it's nearly £4,000 cheaper, so in this head-to-head track battle it's the SEAT Leon Cupra that takes victory.
It's funny how the Golf R review on Auto Express' website nearly contradicts this review. "No front-wheel-drive car can match it, no matter whether it’s fitted with a limited-slip diff" www.autoexpress.co.uk/volkswagen/golf/86366/r
Also, "If you want to have some real fun, turning off the traction control fully disengages the system", which is inline to what I have been reading everywhere else and the opposite of what this reviewer says.
I love watching VW fanboys arguing why the Golf R is better!
+MrThePrivateer I'm not saying the Golf R is a bad car, it's just that you can get pretty much the same performance with a Leon Cupra or a tuned GTI for a much lower price.
+GreekDude997 They all have their merits - I've driven them all except the GTi and the Cupra R isn't a patch on the Golf R. The Cupra 280 (which I own) is very close but I came very close to ordering a Focus RS...........and veered off and ordered a Golf R for March 1st. The Cupra 280 is oh so close but as a Cupra 280 owner and having test driven the Golf, the VW just has that little bit extra - and I've ordered mine with the correct gearbox.........which isn't a DSG - because I like to ENJOY driving the car myself - any ballbag can pull a couple of paddles but executing a good downshift in a manual with ME blipping the throttle is far more fun - DSGs are for fannies to argue about shaving a few tenths of a second off their acceleration time.
MrThePrivateer Only 10? I cut my teeth on 12 speed Twin Splitters and Road Rangers.........any idiot can drive a DSG - all the DSG does is shave a few tenths off the 0-60 time. Driving a manual in a hot hatch isn't about bragging rights on 0-60 times in the pub - it's about the excitement of driving - and when that DSG box goes wrong or needs new clutches out of warranty, you're going to be paying BIG time - and if manual transmission is supposedly outdated, how come the Focus RS and Cayman GT4 are manual ONLY........? Even the manufacturers realise this - except Ferrari - but then modern Ferraris are for fannies anyway.
MrThePrivateer I drove one - that's why I went for a manual - as I said earlier - any tool can pull or push a paddle - driving is not about acceleration times - it's about enjoyment which you obviously know nothing about and I've seen the posts on the internet about knackered clutches on DSGs and the Mechatronics box going wrong - far less to go wrong on a manual and the manual is more fun - but I guess you're just a Gran Turismo fanny who thinks he can drive........
MrThePrivateer Lol - don't have to watch my tone with a bawbag like you who knows nothing about cars - BTCC, F1 etc is all racing not normal every day driving - as for your driving - I've been driving everything since age 7, licence holder for 26 years and probably done more miles backwards than you've done forwards. Masturbation is supposed to be a form of stress relief - I suggest you go fuck yourself and calm down - stick to Gran Turismo and GTA.........
I must say that I like that new Seat a lot - They have reached a really nice mid class design, sporty, contemporary and far more interesting for looks than the current Golf - Have seen a few various versions on the road lately, even a Estate and my eyes find these SEAT´s every time. Was it just me or did it sound pretty good too the SEAT ?. I can understand why many people will still by the Golf, but I would opt for the SEAT as an impulsive buyer, it´s simply a lot fresher.
Nice! The Leon will most likely be my next car. With a manual gearbox though.
Check my channel for more volkswagen and seat. I filmed the Golf R in Red Black and Blue. The Cupra in Red and Black
Btw:
Sachsenring, Golf R: 1'41'73
Cupra 280: 1'42'30
Nordschleife
Cupra 280: 7:58.40
Golf R 300: 8:14.00
+jose lamas Cupra was on semi-slicks.... not a comparison at all.
Abzug0386 - Cupra 280 had a Performance Pack which will be avaliable as an option later
Abzug0386 jose lamas Calm down guys, anyways the Megane RS275 eats both of them cars on sachensring AND Nordschleife
Yeah, the RS275 is going back to claim its Title again
what i find more interesting: the leon is just 0.3 seconds slower than the bmw m235i - so a proper balanced and lighter fwd car can really hold its own. nice stuff :)
The Golf R with an ECU remap and some aftermarket suspension tuning will be an seriously awesome car.
ruskeee you do not want to tune that little 4 pot engine any further...
ruskeee 300 hp is the limit, if you want to have a RELIABLE car
False. It can safely handle more power without any internal work. Volkswagen is known for overbuilding their engines.
ruskeee so why didn't VAG tune the engine to lets say 400 hp in the first place? and why does Audi RS3 have 5 cylinder engine and not 4? All that is done to maintain a good level of reliability so the engine does not go pop after 30 min on the track.
Edvinas Sorys There's a TON of people who tune their Mk6/Mk7 GTI's/R's and they run just fine. VAG didn't tune it to 400 because they would then have to upgrade intake and exhaust, upgrade the handling to match the power, as well upgrade some cooling components, which would increase cost for them and increase the overall cost of the car, putting it in a different place on the market and messing with their entire product line. RS3 has the 2.5 5-cyl because it's a smoother engine and can be tuned even higher than the 4-cyl. They tune all their cars conservatively with lots of buffer room. If they are going to make a car that sits above the S3 and costs more, they need to justify it with a unique engine. They COULD just tune the S3 to 400 but it would have less potential for extra power and it would be missing a lot of the characteristics that come with that 5-cyl. It's not because the S3 can't reliable handle 400, it's because the RS3 needs to be more than just a tuned S3 to justify its price.
I call bullshit. Slower than the GTI?? Give me a break, this guy can't drive.
That comment was rubbish. Especially when one could see it was raining a bit when the Golf was on it's lap
Not to mention the fact that he short-shifted quite a few times in the R. As if we can't hear the change in RPM's on the video... =/
Golf GTI with performance pack. Assuming dry conditions this is not surprisingly as the GTI will be lighter too.
I specced both a S3 and an R to my preference and the R was a few quid more expensive......Which is kind of weird. Bravo to SEAT, though. At last we've got a VW Group car that is actually superior to the Golf .......
I've never understood why the bourgeoisie sheepishly flock to VW showrooms when its dealership network (at least in the UK), salespeople, after sales service and products are so middle-of-the-road.....VWs can get to BMW price levels when loaded with stupidly expensive options and, frankly, I'd take the Blue-propeller every time.....
The Golfs compared to other hot hatches still look like little vans.The front is just awful.Golf fans only response when they are beaten in performance based tests,is the old and overused comment "Yeah, but the interior in the Golf is so much better"
it is hilariously funny a comment like this comes from a Honda fan.
I'm also a McLaren fan,so does that make a difference?
Hahahahaha its so true, like you buy a hot hatch for its interior
dilawer321 hahah silly boy thats exactly the reason why i just bought a golf 6 GTI myself cause it looks fucking great from the inside not some cheap ass plastic car like megan or any other hot hatch that i forgot to mention also 210 HP is plenty for dutch roads we arent even allowed to drive faster then 130
edin cirkic A 7000 euro Dacia Sandero with 90HP is also enough for driving at 130 on Dutch roads...
Stop buy the golf only for the name its name when you can buy a more faster Leon and cheaper! I think that Leon is more sportly but it's a personally opinion
Sound of that cupra! 😍
I'm not claiming to be expert driver, but somehow it is hard to believe that same car with less grip and grunt is better/faster. Could be track configuration, could be lack of enthusiasm.
It's the weight and the Cupra now coming with a LSD. If both cars maybe had 80hp more the R would benefit from its 4wd. But that 20hp it got over the Cupra now isnt going to cut it.
As Cogency said - there's not much difference in power and the 4WD adds a lot of weight to the Golf.
x
And you have also to consider the drivetrain losses, maybe the Golf has 20 hp more on the flywheel but i'm sure that difference is smaller when you measure the power that goes to the tires.
I've driven a new Leon Cupra and the VAQ front diff and it is amazing! Way better thaan the old one.
Pau Prat Very true pal!
It's a different setup. Different spring rates, anti roll bars, dampers, different weight distribution, different wheel geometry settings, etc. On top of that its lighter and more efficient because it's not 4WD.
i'd take the seat over the golf based on looks alone
golf looks horrible
+VaultBoy93 style are you dumb they don't lack style hence why most reviews say it's better looking it lacks a quality interior
I think it's harsh to say 'horrible'. Its ok, conservative yes? But tbh so is the SEAT
Al3oqab inside of seat looks 'horrible' compared to golf
74 kilos more but two more doors and all wheel drive... Not a lot
Never regret choosing a cupra 290 over the golf r!!
I see brand loyalty kicking in again, makes reading quite funny really.
Some of the excuses... bit of rain when the R went round, its got the haldex system which if anything is advantageous in the damp (and that means the disadvantage would be for the SEAT and not the Golf).
The big fact that most people are missing due to bickering is that they are both good cars, the SEAT is more suited to the track, the R looks to be that comfy cruiser with go when you need it, hence the GTI comments (which will probably still be VW's better seller over the R).
Anyone who buys one or the other will have a great car that suits THEIR needs.
Seat can never be better than Golf! Why ? Well VW owns Seat and i highly doubt they`ll make it better than their own car. In fact most of the Seat models were build on VW technology. Same goes with Skoda ...
My 'old' Leon is a blast to drive at any speed, so this new one must be bonkers :)
I really like the Seat's noise. Sounds a bit gruntier.
Not exactly a fair review.
You done one time with each car, and obviously you're gonna drive slightly better in the second run which is a bit unfair on the Golf R.
Use more than one driver, do more than one test with both cars. That way you get a fair review.
In my opinion, Golf R wins every time
Boo Baa This guy knows this track like his back pocket, it was completely fair.
Still not fair, he seems bias from the get go, didn't seem like he liked the Golf R
Boo Baa
He said it's a great road car, wich i belive it is. Autocar also said the Seat is more fun to drive. I am a Ford-guy, but hats off to Seat in my opinion for making a great hot hatch. The VW also falls short by not offering a manual gearbox. The US will get one in 2016, but EU-spec cars will still be DSG-only. Nice one, VW.
Erm what? I'm in the UK and recently took delivery of a manual R. The U.S. is DSG only for the time being.
so do as many tests as possible in order to favour the car you want to win? Dry your eyes.
Cupra Leon For Ever!
by Far better looking (specially if you add the new body kit SEAT offers now)
lighter so more agile
newer technology (full led, diff, custom driving modes)
faster (yeap it is)
more economical
WAY cheaper!
full of Extra features as standard!!!
p.s i have an Ibiza 2010 dsg7 Cupra 180bhp and i want to sell it now for this!! :)
Exactly mate, and because it's not a VW, it's not boring or pretentious either!
I've just bought my 3rd Leon - a Cupra R. I love it - had it dyno'd and it's supposed to be 261bhp as standard - it's not! 274 bhp as standard - only thing I do is use super unleaded fuel. Gets a lot more looks than a Golf too!
Easy win...
Yep, pretty easy win.... if u pick a driver that shifts TWICE before crossing the start line (2:57) and accelerating out of corners with ~ 3,000 rpm (4:02 - 4:18).
+Abzug0386 Lol tears.
Danaldo91
You realized that this comment is 2 years old, right? *facepalm*
+Abzug0386 Says 1 year here, face palm, but ok pal. Saying that, you're probably still crying that it lost to this day? Going by the 10000 other comments on this thread by yourself.
Danaldo91
What does "says 1 year here" mean....? Learn the english language before you post shit on youtube, please.
Id give the golf r to my gf and i would have the cupra 😎💪🏻
Honda Civic Type R now is the fastest front drive car around Nurburgring
Fussinated Pre-production, so doesn't really count even if Honda claim it was factory spec. Also it's still got the cheap and nasty torsion beam rear suspension, so it'll be skip happy, unpleasant & uncomfortable on the road, & if you aren't a driving God it's going to be very difficult to get good consistent times at the track.
Matthew Sharpe
How did you come to this conclusion without even driving the car? Pre production means that it could well be peaked up because it may fail the planned goal. or it may be softened up for it may need some adjustment to everyday use. It is an either or situation and the production car may perform even better than this.
Fussinated Because it has a torsion beam rear suspension set up - which is horribly compromised - the only advantages you get from torsion beam is its utterly reliable, lasts forever, and is cheap & easy to manufacture - for that trade off you get poor ride quality and an easily unsettled rear, which as I mentioned may well be controllable if you are a good enough driver or if the stability control systems are very good, but will be deeply unsatisfying.
On top of that you just can't do much to improve a torsion beam setup, unless someone clever comes up with a way to convert it to some fully independent system, which is what it should have had in the first place.
The Type R is therefore compromised in many ways because of this, and at the money they will be asking for it, that just isn't good enough.
Regardless of how good it ends up being, it could have been better if they had bothered to put proper independent rear suspension into it. They went cheep-n-nasty and hoped the car buying public wouldn't notice.
Matthew Sharpe
“Because it has a torsion beam rear suspension set up - which is horribly compromised - the only advantages you get from torsion beam is its utterly reliable, lasts forever, and is cheap & easy to manufacture - for that trade off you get poor ride quality and an easily unsettled rear, which as I mentioned may well be controllable if you are a good enough driver or if the stability control systems are very good, but will be deeply unsatisfying”
This is so wrong. Because your claims about the ride and handling is valid only if the car us a rear wheel drive. On a front wheel drive car it does not make much difference since the characteristics of a front wheel drive car is understeer and the torsion beam provide necessary over-steer characteristics to it.
“On top of that you just can't do much to improve a torsion beam setup, unless someone clever comes up with a way to convert it to some fully independent system, which is what it should have had in the first place”
That is irrelevant, because the issue at hand is performance and the ease to achieve it. If it is possible the flexibility of the design is irrelevant.
“The Type R is therefore compromised in many ways because of this, and at the money they will be asking for it, that just isn't good enough”
Actually your reasoning is compromised due to the fact that a well executed torsion beam rear suspension works quite well on a front wheel drive car. Beyond that until the previous gen Mustang also had a torsion beam rear axle and it handled better than many European junk that has independent suspension at rear.
“Regardless of how good it ends up being, it could have been better if they had bothered to put proper independent rear suspension into it”
This is your imagination. Again, you are speaking out of ignorance without even driving the car.
“They went cheep-n-nasty and hoped the car buying public wouldn't notice”
OH! haters does not need to notice anything, they can create their own excuses.
Fussinated Might want to brush up on your mechanical knowledge a bit there - the Ford Mustang had a live axle not a torsion bar (and yes, that is another design which is a budget compromise - which is why they got rid of it for 2014) - though at least with a good multilink live axle you can get a somewhat predictable ride, generally they too will bump steer badly. Many Mustang tuners dump the rear suspension and install independent upgrades.
Rear wheel drive vehicles cannot use a torsion beam setup at the rear on account of having a diff and axle drive shafts that would get in the way of the torsion beam. You will only ever find it in a FWD car, and SHOULD only ever find it in budget FWD cars, not cars that are pretending to be track oriented. Perhaps Honda just didn't have room in the Civic body shell for anything better, or perhaps they just don't care and the whole thing is a cynical cash grab.
Just look at the competition - VW Golf, independent rear suspension, Ford Focus, Independent rear suspension... now why do you think they did that?
I am not a hater, I am simply pointing out that a $30,000+ car that is supposed to be track oriented should have a better suspension setup. Sadly most people are clueless idiots and won't even notice and will just hand over there money because POWWWERRRR!
Bit of advice, don't accuse people of being ignorant when you don't even know the difference between live axle and torsion beam - you might end up getting called an ignorant fanboy. I'm not even going to start on what is wrong with your odd claims about oversteer.
He mensioned the brembo brake sub 8 pack for ever day uses on road its pointless specing the cupra with that option. I was getting my car serviced at seat the other week and we was looking at a 290 with the sub 8 pack. The guy at the service desk told me that to replace the brembo front discs and pads is about a £1000.
My Brakes are around £1600 just for Alcons so don’t worry about it. And that’s standard.
SEAT all the fucking way
"Do you really need to get the Golf R?"
*MX-5 in back of shot*
Because the answer is always Miata.
Its because miata is always the answer!!!! you cant just twist the words. its never to late to appreciate a miata
@@archer7716 but it's not a miata
If the Golf R had been three door the weight difference would have been a better match, what i sum up from this is just buy Honda Civic Type R next year.
Call me a loonatic... but the engine sound inside the golf sounds a little 5 cyl imo
Comparing a 5-door to a 3-door is lame -_-
VW not producing a 3-door Golf R is even lamer -_-
The Golf R needs another 100bhp to take full advantage of its 4wd system. On a rolling start from 10mph its no faster than a Golf gti, save yourself a few thousand £ and get the gti golf if you must have a golf lol
I don't think so, we test 7R and gti Performance, a lot of difference! And when you get only stage 1 on R, it is brutal!!
By the way, Cupra 280 just lost a comparison with Vauxhall Astra OPC, Megane RS, Golf R, GTI and BMW M135i in EVO car magazine.
Winner (same points): Golf R and Megane RS
2nd: Cupra 280
Guess at least EVO uses real tests in which the driver doesnt use low revs to slow the R down.
And timing cars against the clock is not a real test? Hell if I just wanted to say what my favourite car is when it comes to feel and personal preference id say its a 1999 impreza sti jdm, timing cars against the clock though there is no argument
Please realize the faults the driver made in this lap (with Golf R only). I like the Cupra, got no issue with it but that test was not fair.
Driver accelerated out of corners with something around 3,000 rpm und shifted TWICE before start line. You can clearly hear that in the video. I'm 100% positive the Golf R would have been quite a bit faster, if not faster than the Cupra if the driver wouldn't have done that.
Nahh, on the nurburgring the leon is faster, also dont forget most vag cars are at the best in the mid range its not like a civic type r where you have more power in the higher rev range, generally 4wd is not so good on track, also consider the golf weighs more, and consider the transmission losses from 4wd (around 30% loss compared to around 15% loss from 2wd) add all these and on paper the seat is probably the faster car already, also seats have always had a sportier set up then the vw cars! 4wd bieng faster is a myth, the proof is there just watch the nurburgring video of the leon 7mins 58 is almost the same as a tuned jdm sti spec c with 320bhp with a pro rally driver at the wheel
dilawer321 Oops, now you're mixing up some things. Cupra did that Nordschleide-time with SEMI SLICKS.... the same semi slicks, the Porsche 918 Spyder comes on, btw.....
You've got any idea what difference semi slicks do compared with a standard tyre on a long race track like the Nordschleife? A huge one, would guess something around 20 sec.
Yep would make a big difference maybe not 20 srcs though but most likely the seat would still be faster I think, 4wd likes to understeer too much I dont even think the golf r would beat the megane 265 round the ring? The last golf r was in the mid 8 mins around there which is probably why they didnt even publish the time im into my vag cars and have owned a few (not a golf r though) few of my friends own r's and I could beat them with a stage 2 leon cupra r 1.8t....
So how exactly is 1.14.80 for the R slower than 1.15.06 for the GTI performance pack ? Owen needs to do his maths methinks.
Its still a boring front wheel drive SEAT.
They should have made it AWD
How is FWD more boring than AWD you idiot?
How can this guy even see where he's going?! His eyes are in line with the top of the steering wheel. At one point he's driving along and his hand is entirely blocking his vision. I hate people who cannot correctly adjust their seat in a car.
the seat is ugly
seat :)
Hmm so much to say. The Leon creamed the Golf, but look at the guy bouncing around in the Leon during cornering as the rear end struggles for traction.
Even though my heart says go for the Leon, I think unless I was going to go on track, I'd be happier with the Golf most of the time. Especially on long journeys. Damn I hate being practical ;p
You're paying around £5,000 more though.
golf looks way better in real
Put Michelin pilot sport cup 2 tires on the Golf R......instant sub 8 nurburg time
I'd like to see a test between a DSG Golf R and a manual one...........
x what is the point ? Its obvious who wins... Manual for pleasure and DSG for lap times
Very odd gear changes. I do not understand the driving he does. It may trick the result. I don´t believe it cannot beat the GTI, in fact being slower, having 70 more horsepower and four wheel drive to put it down, however bad it could be on corners.
The golf looks like every other golf that's come out. It has more power, but the Seat looks better. I wish the Seat had 4WD then I might consider it.
for me seat forever is faster , cheaper and more efficient than vw even in addition is the same group , why you are so stupid want to pay more monery for buy the same car
+Ferrer西班牙 Not the same - I have a Cupra 280 and now have a Golf R on order - the SEAT is very good but the Golf has the edge.
It really shows on the interiour that the seat is cheaper then the golf. Thinner and cheaper plastic and not by far the nice feel as in the golf. You get what you pay for.
tbear6812 Yes - my Golf is way nicer inside than my Cupra was but the Cupra in sub 8 form is bloody fast!
Working on Selling my Golf now and there will most likely be a cupra st in it's place :)
tbear6812 Have you got an R? How come you're getting an ST?
Golf out performed on track and in price by SEAT cousin. Happening more and more these days. Leon looks much sharper too
Weird, haven't seen even one outperforming yet. Where have you?
Abzug0386 Did you watch the video?
I think so, yes. What I've seen is a driver that shifts twice before start line and accelerating out of corners with ~3,000 rpm (all only in the golf though). Guess the Cupra would have outperformed a GT3 RS as well with this sort of driving.
Abzug0386 other videos showing that the cupra was faster and felt faster.
Surly the best hot hatch in the vw range is/will be the RS3? Personally I think the S3 is already better than the Golf R, if nothing else the interior is just so much better, only an opinion though.
The new gold R is only 700 ponds cheaper than the s3(with comparable spec), yes I agree in the past that was true, but with this generation they are pretty much the same price. With respect to the RS3 I wasn't trying to compare it to these cars because yes it is much more expensive, but also a lot more capable. What I was trying to say was that at least the new RS3 will be the best hot hatch in the VW range, and considering the old RS3 is still faster than the new CLA amg, one could argue that is still the best in the range.
I'd have the Seat the golf looks to boring
Clearly AE don't know their own videos.. the Golf GTI Performance pack did not set a quicker time than this Golf R.
I would not be surprised if they just got all the number wrong.
With the 4 motion system the Golf R would be heavier than the Golf GTI and Seat Leon Cupra. So no surprise that is slower.
Golf R has same power to weight ration than Cupra..... so the Golf R is faster from the line due to awd, around the same untill ~ 150 km/h due to equal power/weight ratio and again faster > 150 km/h, where weight gets less and power more important.
Difference is even more significant on wet or iced roads, of course.
Seat leon is a bomb!
Leon cupra the best Car
The noise they make is great, sounds angry! Love the gurgle during shifts too! :)
Best cupra
What happened to the golf r laptime???
seat leon of course
cupra looks awful
This review is not a good one. In order to better qualify the cars there should have been a time trial. Second you need to have two drivers with equal race driving experience to test the vehicles. It's obvious that one of the drivers is less skilled in this review. As you noticed the host was in the Golf R first and stated how he is besting the SEAT and then he jumps into the SEAT and then proclaims that he is besting the Golf R. I'm surprised no one has picked up on this.
Now on to 4 wheel drive. People have to understand the different types of 4 wheel drive systems. You can't generalize 4 wheels drive systems into one definition. There are systems that are front wheel bias. There are systems that are rear wheel bias, etc. One can not say there is no difference between a car with all wheel drive and front wheel drive and leave it at that. That's foolishness and doesn't even deserve recognition.
Many things take affect how a car performs, from suspension, tires, all wheel drive systems, weight etc.
Again this review in my opinion was inconclusive and I would like to see them do it again with a time trial for both cars and again with drivers with racing experience of equal high value.
Again, My Opinion!!!!!!!
Why oh why can't VW make a decent set of brakes!!
So the Peugeot RCZ R makes it in 1.13.04 in wet conditions...
the Golf should had 3 doors not 5!
golf have 4wd leon not soo
Meh a second here or there is within margin of error.
+niksarass You should change your mind because the megane rs looks CONSTIPATED like it went to the hospital.
The Golf R is too brave. Volkswagen should stop being so composed and compromising, a hot hatch needs to be naughty.
Easy win for the SEAT Leon Cupra
Really enjoy these time attack videos keep it up lads
The Leon looks better too
Pretty obvious that "Auto Express" was running bias against the Golf-R here, yet it excelled favourably with other reviewers! Why's that.?
Cheers Autoexpress. I've been waiting for a UK review of the Cupra 280 for quite some time and i wasn't disappointed. In fact, comparing the fwd Cupra 280 to the 4wd Golf R was an epic idea and thoroughly entertaining. Ultimately the Leon proved that extra bhp and +2 traction wheels count for nothing on a track. The underdog wins.
And all this time I thought these cars were for UK and European roads, the only reason these "Journo's" take them on the track is because they have not spent their hard earned on buying them and neither are they paying for tyres and brakes.
Cupra is the best !
Both look insanely nice but I do miss the good old V6 in the golf in my opinion
it was VR6, not exactrly a V6. But what a legendary engine that was! I am a huge fan of the sound, I think it's the best engine sound ever, even compared to V8s and supercars V10s/V12s it's still sounds richer and more hearttouching! Absoulte masterpiece of an engine!
Or vr6. That's what I meant ;)
R32 was a V6.
x nope. :)
Oh god now I'm confused xD
test fail !!!
should compare Seat Leon Cupra vs Golf GTI ClubSport S not Golf R (4 wheel Drive and 5 door)
Wow disappointing result, why didn't VAG give the Golf R the clever dif AND a higher power gap inside it's own range? VAG do so many niche models they've clearly tripped themselves up here. Leon Cupra = VII GTI PP on steriods (?)
the Golf R has the same diff. Both cars appeal to different markets and drive pretty differently
Could you link me to an article that says that please? I wonder if the 4Motion system gets in the way of the clever diff, they should have two of them and get rid of 4motion for quattro
How many will ever see a track day?? maybe 5 or 10%. In the real world of wet and greasy british roads 4 wheel drive is your best bet.
0-100!
Seat is owned by Volkswagen Autogroup guys... so, who wins in the end?
The brand
The Seat comes with cup R tires (real R tires) so they basically cheated, with the same tires the Megane RS the Focus RS and the Golf R would be faster and i bet Cupra owners will get kinda pissed when they get the bill for a new set of tires that is probably about double the price from the car they came from. Anyway in real life Megane RS to this day still dominates FWD Nurburgring touristfahren.
No it doesn't the Cupra's here in the UK have Bridgestones on them.
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My only issue with the new Golf is just the exterior is still boring. The new lights are really nice but the face still seems a bit dull as it its seeming with a lot of the VW's they need to be refreshed up the entire range.
I think the VW will hold value better over 3 years just my opinion
The Golf R does best the time of the Golf Performance Pack in the other vid........
The Golf R either has a 5-cyl engine or a fake exhaust noise played through the speakers.
This has a 2.0 4cylinder. a 5 cylinder such as in the current rs3 sounds way better
Ro W It's hardly a surprise that a real i5 engine noise sounds much better that a fake one.
Who in the world would by a car for the track?
+Γιάννης Γαλάνης Well, I do. What's wrong with that?
+makromizer In that case buy me a WRC for everyday shopping and a Formula 1 to go to work. Oh and please, fill the tank everyday.
+Γιάννης Γαλάνης Really no clue why I would do that. I said I buy cars for track usage, not that I buy track cars for dilly-dally usage. Or have you meant to ask who would buy THESE cars for the track? I was actually thinking about getting a Cupra to drive it on Hockenheim and Nürburgring, it's hardly the worst choice.
people forget the golf is much heavier. this is why it lost. its not rocket science people.
its so funny that this car sounds nothing from the outside and from the insides with that actuator hehe sounds like a v6
Curpa R coming soon...ish, now that will be a monster!!
The Golf R was let down by it's Heldex AWD system.
lugged the R coming onto the front straight for the flying lap, right at 3:00 he grabs a higher gear for no reason...
The DSG in VW cars upshifts on its own at the limiter, even in manual mode. That might be the reason for his double upshifts. But he should have known that or noticed it.
Yep, ironically, right after he says he's starting a flying lap.
hxrly i think the guy driving is a hater when it comes to golf
Cupra 🔝🦁
VW snobs must be feeling like they've been slapped in the face after watching this lol. I hope the Cupra R retains its fwd chassis so that it could knock out the Golf R for the second time and the S3.
Grow up.
Abzug0386 Lighten up.
x Actually, you might be the one who has to lighten up, obviously. If the test driver wouldn't have shifted TWICE before start line (2:57) and wouldn't have accelerated out of corners @ ~ 3,000 rpm (4:02 - 4:18), the result would have been vice versa.
But maybe you're simply not capable of realising that. Like you were not capable of picking a user name with more than one letter.
Abzug0386 Why? That's the point of a hot hatch.. Hot hatches aren't for boring, sensible people like you, they're designed to bring out the rebellious inner child when you feel like it. I think you should take your sour grapes and buy a nice beige, golf estate with a DSG so you can practice your economical shifting.
Abzug0386 Not me - you can't accept that the overpriced OAP mobile got whooped by a better car......the SEAT doesn't have a heavy 4 wheel drive system ergo better power to weight ratio - exactly the same reason why the Focus RS was built without 4 wheel drive - you obviously have no concept of hot hatches - and I have a single letter username to make it easier for simpletons like you to digest facts......although you perhaps need an op to remove your head from your ass before trying to speak informatively about cars......
The driver is as boring and plain as the seats interior
why they tested a Golf R with 5 doors vs Cupra with 3 doors ?
In Germany tuners have already extracted 360 bhp from a simple remap on the Golf R. Its 4wd system can easily handle such increases in power & torque and the soon to be released Golf R Evo will probably be running similar power. I doubt the Seat could utilise any such power increases with its FWD powertrain. An interesting point for enthusiasts who love to modify & tune.
It all depends on whether the mk3 Cupra R gets AWD (bearing in mind the 280 isn't the R). Mark 2 leon Cupras can already do 360bhp on stage 2 but AWD is what all Leon fans are hoping for on the R.
I don't like the badge snobbery, you either like a car or you don't, I personally like the sporty nature of Seat
its not the car its the driver making this result.
They are the same car underneath just different engine set up
That is a terrible driver.
What’s this bloke’s name anyone? I like his honest evaluation!
First
fuuuuuuuuuuuuu :D
the seat is as fast as the A 45 and faster than the m135i