Ritey Posted September 2, 2005 Report Share Posted September 2, 2005 Well .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A3Floyd Posted September 2, 2005 Report Share Posted September 2, 2005 I saw one of these yesterday as i was driving through Maidstone - was a bit confused by it. It kinda looked like a cupra at first glance, then i saw a TDI badge on the back. Whats the deal with these FR models? Are they something special? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritey Posted September 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2005 FR models are high speck 140bhp tdi's some don't have the cupra r kit but most do. Roughly the same price as the new leon 2.0 tdi. Test drove both today, new leon model is a nice ride with quite a nice feeling engine, the old leon feels a lot more solid, although the new one has 5 star safety rating. Interior on the new one I really don't like though, hence why I'm asking about anyone who's had dealings with an FR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A3Floyd Posted September 5, 2005 Report Share Posted September 5, 2005 Cheers Dave The FR i saw certainly looked like a CupraR - i had to do a double-take when i saw the TDI badge on the back I'd guess that its a stonking drive but all of that torque through the front wheels will no doubt have ESP doing overtime. I assume it will be a similar drive to my mates A3 TDI130 Quattro. If thats anything to go by, it'll be very good indeed. Only thing that i'd say is a negative point is that the Leon interiors look very cheap and plastic compared to the A3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritey Posted September 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2005 To be honest, although I didn't push it as much as you would if it was your own, but it didn't seem to have that much of a problem, all depends on wheel size and tyre choice I suppose as to how much grip the fronts have. I could live with it for a while, and probably only visit AMD after a couple of months Might have some traction issues after that though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustynuts Posted September 11, 2005 Report Share Posted September 11, 2005 [ QUOTE ] FR models are high speck 140bhp tdi's some don't have the cupra r kit but most do. [/ QUOTE ] Aren't they a 150 tdi engine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritey Posted September 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2005 Er, might be, the sales lady that I had with me didn't fill me with confidence about her knowledge on the car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
instructormike Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 I have an FR 150, remapped to about 195BHP. My Leon is fitted with all the Cupra R kit, brembos. bilstein/eibach suspension,18" wheels etc. It's quite handy! Isn't embarrased on track, where it spends quite a lot of time. You can see it on my website www.drivertuition.com on the performance/track link. Now has the strut bracing so doesn't roll quite so much. The car does ~7 sec 0-60 and 40-mpg easy (16 round Spa!). For a diesel its pretty effective though it tails off over 110 on track where the Cupra R keeps pulling. I needed Cupra R performance and handling with diesel insurance for road instruction and it works well. MC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritey Posted September 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 Hi there Mike, thanks for the informative first post. So how long have you had it for??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
instructormike Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 About 4-5 months. Done Donington several times. Spa once and lots of road tuition and it's still in one piece, though on its second set of discs in 4K miles! A good car. Can't stay with a friends GT3 though!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritey Posted September 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 Not suprising though really Still would consider it, a stonking car for the money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
instructormike Posted September 14, 2005 Report Share Posted September 14, 2005 Yep. Not much that can give the performance and realiability at the price. Having said that, the Cupra R kit really makes the difference to the car. Standard FR feels soft, slow and wallowy by comparison. I'd have the 225 Cupra R every time given the option as there's nothing to touch it for the money. As I said, only reason I don't have it is 'cause of insurance for instructing. A seriously driven R will show the way to most cars on track when well driven. It's got such good balance you can brake really late and it won't bite, as the track/wheelbase/CentreofMass of the car are so well matched it'll keep you out of trouble and work for you. You can steer it with the fingertips at full chat. Latest ones you can't switch out the electronic stability gizmos though, which messes things about a bit. Buy a 2004 Cupra! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojjer Posted September 19, 2005 Report Share Posted September 19, 2005 Yeah picked it up last week. I've got the petrol version 1.8 turbo, 180 bhp. I've heard you can get it re-mapped to 220 bhp for about 600 quid. Trouble is I'm skint having just bought the car! And anyway I love the car as it is, plenty quick enough for me at the moment. Certainly quicker than any of the new Leons until they release the sportier versions, sometime next year I think. Handles great as well (with my admittedly limited knowledge) and I can certainly vouch for the traction control !!! BTW: this is my first visit to the site, liking it a lot. cheers Cojjer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritey Posted September 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2005 Welcome aboard, so they've called a 180bhp 1.8T FR? I assume it looks like the cupra r but has the cupra engine? Bizzare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cojjer Posted September 20, 2005 Report Share Posted September 20, 2005 Yeah, exactly. Apparently they rebranded the Cupra last October to the FR - looks like a Cupar R, with all the body kit, is full of gadgets but lacking the 225 BHP of the R and the ESP to name a couple of things. Strange the way these marketing people think. When people ask me what car have I got it would be so much easier to say a Leon Cupra, but oh no I have to go round the block and explain it's an FR which means it used to be a Cupra............etc etc! cheers Cojjer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted September 20, 2005 Report Share Posted September 20, 2005 I've yet to see one of these FR things with the R bodykit on them. They look exactly the same as mine from the phtos I have seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritey Posted September 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2005 You wouldn't be able to tell the difference if they take the FR badge off, until you hit the tarmac with the same driver, or visited the petrol station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 seems some confusion going on here. FR is 1.8T 180bhp or 1.9 TDI 150bhp Cupra is the same car with a few difference in equipement, seat material/wheels/mirrors etc. Cupra was renamed FR because SEAT are going to drop the Cupra R name due to complaints from iirc Honda so there dropping the R name. SO all future Cupra models will be called FR and all future cupra R models will be called Cupra (look at the ibiza as an example) FR+ is the runout model for the last few leons. FR+ petrol (1.8T 180bhp) got cupra R style wheels in 17" diameter. FR+ deisel (1.9 TDI 150bhp) got the cupra R style bumpers bodykit and cupra R style wheels in 17" diameter but kept the twin round rear pipes instead of the cupra R oval. I called it FR+ as thats what its called in the dealer network but its simply badged as a FR. PS just as a side note Cupra R name never made much sence to me anyway. Cupra meens cup racing, R meens racing, so cupra R meens cup racing racing lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritey Posted September 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 Thanks for clearing that up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonb Posted September 25, 2005 Report Share Posted September 25, 2005 [ QUOTE ] Yep. Not much that can give the performance and realiability at the price. Having said that, the Cupra R kit really makes the difference to the car. Standard FR feels soft, slow and wallowy by comparison. I'd have the 225 Cupra R every time given the option as there's nothing to touch it for the money. As I said, only reason I don't have it is 'cause of insurance for instructing. A seriously driven R will show the way to most cars on track when well driven. It's got such good balance you can brake really late and it won't bite, as the track/wheelbase/CentreofMass of the car are so well matched it'll keep you out of trouble and work for you. You can steer it with the fingertips at full chat. Latest ones you can't switch out the electronic stability gizmos though, which messes things about a bit. Buy a 2004 Cupra! [/ QUOTE ] Mike - you're in the Warrington area aren't you?? Think i've seen your car on Asda near me!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
instructormike Posted September 26, 2005 Report Share Posted September 26, 2005 Yep, live and instruct in the warrington area. You can't mistake my Leon as it's got www.drivertuition.com across both sides and the back. Oh, and it's bright (ovni) yellow of course!!! I'll be down at Aintree this Saturday together with my GT3 pal and a few others, if you fancy popping along. May even be able to offer a ride though I will have someone in the car most runs. Going to try and toast the Brembos again as I've got some Tarox 6-pots about to go on.MC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carr20vt Posted September 30, 2005 Report Share Posted September 30, 2005 The FR's bumpers aren't the same as the LCR. They are the MY03 version. LCR has deeper front bumper with honeycombe grill and splitter. The FR TDI is a serious piece of kit. I love the performance of my remapped LCR used to have a remapped Ibiza 20vt that was very quick and fun as well. Would look at getting the TDI thou as my current 22mpg is crippling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy Posted September 30, 2005 Report Share Posted September 30, 2005 [ QUOTE ] The FR's bumpers aren't the same as the LCR. They are the MY03 version. LCR has deeper front bumper with honeycombe grill and splitter. The FR TDI is a serious piece of kit. [/ QUOTE ] The FR gets the older cupra bumpers yes but the TDI FR+ run out models gets the Cupra R style kit. The one i looked at looked the same as my old cupra R only difference was smaller wheels 17" rather than 18" same style though, twin rear round exhaust rather than the oval and silver mirrors of a FR and normal brakes no brembos. The petrol FR+ though only gets the 17" wheels the style of the Cupra R's not the bumpers though. Picture below from SEAT.co.uk site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carr20vt Posted October 3, 2005 Report Share Posted October 3, 2005 Like you say only the run out models have the same LCR bumpers not the yellow tdi featured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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