Leon Cupra estates - which flavour?

[Benmac]

In my past I owned one of the original Ibiza Gti Cupra Sports and then an Ibiza 20VT and loved them. Always kept a bit of a soft spot for SEATs but since then none have really quite matched my needs when I have been changing cars.

In recent years though, for my main car a small quick estate has been what I've needed so now that the Leon can be had in estate form and in Cupra flavour my head turns to possibly having another from Martorell.

I'd obviously love a 300 but having ploughed a load of cash into my house and business in the past few months I'm a little cash strapped. Truth be told my faithful 159 sportwagon is fine but I'm just starting to fancy a swap.

So, given that in the ST body the 300 has 4wd is it really much benefit over the 2wd cars? Or does it actually maybe blunt things a bit? Obviously the 300 has a little more power but the 2wds can always be tuned and they're obviously a bit cheaper due to being a year or so older (I typically buy stuff a couple of years old). I do live out in the sticks so at this time of year 4wd may be a bit more worthwhile than for someone who lives in a city but I'm sure with a decent set of winter tyres it can't be crucial.

I'm hopefully going to drive a 300 4drive later this week and maybe a 280 too.

So - thoughts?

[Nickp82]

I have not driven the 4wd version but do have a 290 Cupra manual and have driven a Golf R.

Personally I would have a 2wd as paying more for the 4wd is not worth it for me and I would never truly need the 4wd for snow etc due to where I live.

One thing I would say is try and have a drive of the 2wd in the wet though, as you probably know by now the Cupra does lose traction fairly easy when accelerating hard and the ubiquitous 'wheel-hop' can be annoying at first so you can imagine in the wet it is even worse.

I have got used to it now and have a decent feeling for how hard to accelerate in the relevant conditions but thought it may be worth mentioning.

[Spidersleg]

I have the 300 hatchback. Yesterday trying to overtake in 2nd gear, not even flooring it for full power, traction control stepped in to cut the power. The weather was cold and road was damp. That'll give you some idea of grip with 2wd.

[Andy665]

I have a 4Drive on order after what will be 2 years in a BMW M135i which has hilariously poor traction

At first it was a lot of fun, like taming the beast - after 20 months and 15k miles its now getting to be tedious - looking forward to the extra traction the Leon will undoubtedly offer. I did test drive a FWD 300 and just knew it would frustrate / irritate me as much as the BMW is starting to

[dontdobends]

Andy665 said:

I have a 4Drive on order after what will be 2 years in a BMW M135i which has hilariously poor traction

At first it was a lot of fun, like taming the beast - after 20 months and 15k miles its now getting to be tedious - looking forward to the extra traction the Leon will undoubtedly offer. I did test drive a FWD 300 and just knew it would frustrate / irritate me as much as the BMW is starting to

Ditto :-)

[Benmac]

Gulp. Bought one.

Let buyer's remorse commence.

Mystery blue, every option bar the panoramic roof and full leather. I prefer the alcantara anyway and also the solid roof.

[Andy665]

4Drive or 300?

4 months until I get mine and now started to look forward to it. Did not go mad on the options with mine as its on lease so just the Driving Assist Pack and something else I can't even remember now

[Benmac]

Both as it's the ST

It's an ex demo hence almost all the options being ticked.

[GrumpyTwig]

Benmac said:

Both as it's the ST

It's an ex demo hence almost all the options being ticked.

Good choice, I ended up with the Skoda as the budget didn't stretch that far, great car but even with 80 less horses front end traction is poor and not helped by the DSG box engaging the clutch with as little sympathy as possible. So the 4wd is worth it if you can.

[TedMeadows]

I've had my st 4drive for 6 months now. Its completely sure footed even in the snow we've had recently. Even pressing on in the wet its difficult to get the traction control light to come one. I think the money you'd save on front tyres it will cover the cost difference between the fwd after a few years. I've just reached 10k miles and the original tyres still have loads of tread left.

[HJMS123]

Benmac said:

Both as it's the ST

It's an ex demo hence almost all the options being ticked.

You do realise the estate (ST) comes in both FWD and AWD?

The 300 manual is FWD and the AWD is DSG only as the AWD/DSG cannot be specced seperately

[robbo 2006]

I’ll be interested to test drive one of these. I have been interested in a Skoda Octavia vRS estate 245 to replace my 159 wagon. I’ve had a Cupra K1 before and although I loved the power from the manual gearbox the interior let the overall ownership feel down. Has Seat invested more into the inside to make it a nicer place to sit? If so I will take a 300 ST 4Drive out for a spin if I can find one. Thanks!

[AJB88]

Have driven them all. 4WD you can just plant your foot and go, FWD you need to feather then foot down.

I own a 420ps FWD Leon Cupra and I can pull away in that even in the cold, you just need to learn how to do it.

if I was buying a brand new one now I would probably buy the 4drive because I've had 3 high powered FWD's now and need a change haha.

[Benmac]

HJMS123 said:

You do realise the estate (ST) comes in both FWD and AWD?

The 300 manual is FWD and the AWD is DSG only as the AWD/DSG cannot be specced seperately

You're quite right yes. I was only looking at DSG ones so had got into the mindset that they were all 4wd