AZURES3 Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 Guys After owning 3 Audi's and the last making me feel a little bored of Audi customer service I am thinking of breaking the mould I want some cash back and am estimating a trade in value on my car of about £26500. I am very close to ordering an A3 2.0 FSi Sport but some other thoughts have come in to my head. I want a fun hatchback. AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snez22 Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 Seat customer service is supposed to be worse than audi but i'd get the leon and save a packet. second would be the honda. the a3fsi is a totally different type of car compared to the other two. more a cruiser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drillslinger Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 Well Dude, my opinion on those three would be: New Audi A3 2.0 FSi Sport:Prolly the "Nicest" of the bunch. Been in one, and aside from the "TT" bits, it's comfortable and appears well-built. But it's naturally more expensive. Seat Leon Cupra R 225 BHP: IMHO this would be the "Funnest" of the bunch. Only FWD (As are the other 2) but with a powerplant we KNOW works well. PLUS, the extra you save on the cost can be put right back into mods But you give up a little on build quality I would expect. <font color="red">Honda</font> Civic Type R:Nuff Said. Sorry Dude, don't much like Japanese (... I really THINK SO!) cars. Haven't been in the new Type R so can't say too much So in summation, I say, if you wanna save a few bucks, get the Seat and mod it a bit (Something you CAN'T do yet with the FSI). But if you just want, in Snezz's words, a "Cruiser" then I figure the 2.0 FSI's the way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbie123 Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 I would take the Cupra R for a test drive AZ. As you know I did have one on order before I bought the TTR (I got a cracking deal on the TTR). It really is one hell of a car for the money and I personally thought it provided a better driving experience than the S3's we had (ducks for cover ) I would say the only downside was the quality of the interior but knowing that your saving so much has to make up for it. I wouldn't expect Seat customer service to better though BTW have you thought about putting a new car on a PCP deal or Lease purchase thereby you would get a lot of your £26500 back in cash less a deposit for the finance. Plus by defering an amount to the end your repayments each month will be low. With interest rates as low as they are maybe this is an option which would open up a larger range of cars ? while still giving you cash back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hants_Cruiser_UK Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 I think you know my choice AZ, after coming from a Leon to the Cab The build on my Leon was totally solid and rattle free - light years ahead of the Cab. As for customer service, I can not comment, because I never had to contact them. The car was totally fault free for the two years I had it The times it went in for servicing, I was treated A1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shao_khan Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 I test drove Seat Leon Cupra R back to back with Honda CTR, Mini Cooper S, Vauxhall Astra Turbo and to be honest the Seat was the best of the lot as an every day car. The mini felt slow (I guess it is giving away 40bhp here) handled well, but felt very cheap inside and a bit clostophobic. The CTR was a good car, but the roads were a bit damp and is was a real handful, accelerate hard and the car pull away from you and grip int he damp is severely limited. Also unless you are really giving it some the performance is quite marginal. Vauxhall - enough said - furiously fast, averagte handling, average build, average looks, average average average. Leon was well built, not as S3 but still to a good standard, has good brakes, good seats, performance was all youd expect from the 1.8t and you didnt need to thrash it to get anywhere fast. In the damp again it felt very sure fotted on the road and I will say feels faster than S3 or TT, i guess weight saving and lack of 4wd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veracocha Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 The most FUN car would be the Civic Type R in my opinion. It has sharper handling than the Leon and the engine note is in another league. I love the genuine race car sound and the pops and blips between gear changes - it's very exciting. As a drivers car the Type R opens a can of whoop ass on the A3 and Leon, is cheaper, is a good day to day car (not as good as A3 or Leon) and is cheap to run and economic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZURES3 Posted August 7, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 Cupra R is in the lead. £18K on the road )))) Hondas gearstick reminds me of an old reanult or 2CV AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 that A3 will be lovely but boring I voted for the Leon but i wouldn't get any of those. For £20k I'd get a nice second hand S3 and chip it - much nicer looking car than the Leon and a decent interior Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZURES3 Posted August 7, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 [ QUOTE ] that A3 will be lovely but boring I voted for the Leon but i wouldn't get any of those. For £20k I'd get a nice second hand S3 and chip it - much nicer looking car than the Leon and a decent interior [/ QUOTE ] Agreed but I have had an S3 already. I want something different. AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snez22 Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 for 20k it would be a year or two old S3 whereas the cupra would be brand new plus save you 3 grand and when chipped i reckon it could take a chipped s3. typeR is ace too but may get tiresome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZURES3 Posted August 7, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 The new 225 BHP Cipra R comes with tracker and some other extra's £18K on OTR delivery early November AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerbera Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 Ari, Having driven the Honda quite extensively I love it! However, I'd be inclined to go for the 225bhp Leon at that price.......I reckon it's the best overall for the money. Haven't driven one yet - but looking to get a test drive in the next couple of weeks just to see what it's like... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brabus Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 [ QUOTE ] Ari, Having driven the Honda quite extensively I love it! [/ QUOTE ] Um, I didnt see Ari post anything? Did I miss something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerbera Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Ari, Having driven the Honda quite extensively I love it! [/ QUOTE ] Um, I didnt see Ari post anything? Did I miss something [/ QUOTE ] Ooops........I meant AZ - sorry, must be the heat.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ari Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Ari, Having driven the Honda quite extensively I love it! [/ QUOTE ] Um, I didnt see Ari post anything? Did I miss something [/ QUOTE ] Nice to know though, all the same! Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] that A3 will be lovely but boring I voted for the Leon but i wouldn't get any of those. For £20k I'd get a nice second hand S3 and chip it - much nicer looking car than the Leon and a decent interior [/ QUOTE ] Agreed but I have had an S3 already. I want something different. AZ [/ QUOTE ] My Charger may be coming up for sale soon You'll get plent of chage out of £26k!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerbera Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 Can I change my mind !?! I totally forgot about one other option........ Mini Cooper S with Full Hartge Conversion!!!! Will come in at around £20K and I can guarantee that it will put a BIG smile on your face and should hold it's value well too! One of my best mate's just joined the forum last night (MINI MAGIC - somewhat gay name if you ask me!) and he's got said Mini. I went with him to pick it up a few months back.........OMG - sounds fantastic with the Hartge exhaust and goes like stink. It's running at approx 230 BHP and is one of the most grin inducing cars I've driven recently!! Very quick X-country, although not as stable as you might imagine. Fairly easy to get the back end out under braking on country roads (when you don't really expect it too!). Certainly more twitchy than standard Cooper S, but increased performance worth the trade off IMO... Needs a brake upgrade too IMO, but apart from that it has completely tranformed my opinion of the new Mini's.... Looks fantastic in the gunmetal grey too....! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shao_khan Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 Did you know (I read in a mag somewhere) that of all the hartage conversions done they have had problems with nearly 70% of them with reliability in the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerbera Posted August 7, 2003 Report Share Posted August 7, 2003 [ QUOTE ] Did you know (I read in a mag somewhere) that of all the hartage conversions done they have had problems with nearly 70% of them with reliability in the engine. [/ QUOTE ] Didn't know this !?!? Can't wait to direct my mate to this post though..... In fairness he's had nothing go wrong so far...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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