Volkswagen Golf R versus Seat Leon Cupra 280 - which is fastest?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ก.ค. 2014
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We pit two of the most powerful hot hatchbacks currently on sale head to head around Cadwell Park to answer that all-important question - which is fastest? Steve Sutcliffe is about to find out.
Autocar, the world's leading motoring magazine and website, delivers industry-leading news, the most in-depth car reviews and opinion from our team of experts. Our presenters include some of the world's top motoring journalists who have unrivalled access to the world's fastest, rarest, most exotic and most exciting cars on some of the world's best roads and race tracks.
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2:50 "I think the Golf is just a tiny bit quicker in a straight line"
6:32 "I think the Seat might actually be a tiny bit quicker in a straight line"
"The car I'm driving is faster, I drove the Cupra last. It wins!"
In the golf he was in front and so very difficult to tell whether pulling away from the leon. Whereas in the leon and behind the golf, it is easier to judge.
I love my Seat Leon, and in my opinion its looks way better, they have the same suppliers and chasis but Seat knows how to dress it better
federico villar sudek the inside looks kinda boring from the seat
It looks way worst ,design from inside and front lights are ugly as hell on seat
@@macr9647 what no way it looks really aggressive and really cool
@@macr9647 and you cannot judge like that you little pig
The golf is for those who do overated boring in large quantities.
I've always loved Seats, really understated, the same as a golf but it looks better.
so whichever car steve was driving was faster. logic would say that it's the driver not the car that is faster.
Yep
its about power to weight ratio, sure the golf r has more bhp but due to its weight, it lost. simple
so apparently ur bias opinion towards steve, even tho the oher driver who was in the golf agreed, i have to learn. right....
Asher Harris it doesn't matter who agreed, what matters is the evidence that supports what actually happened on the track. so you do have to learn.
to my memory they didnt actually race, they just reviewed the drive on each vehicle. changing turns and giving a parallax error in performance. although not an accurate video, my statement on power/weight ratio is correct, apply it to trucks and small cars for example. i think you need to learn how to read. sultanabran1
Why the hate for SEAT (in the comments)? Seats are very very good cars.
+David Johnson Because it's not a Golf. When really SEAT and VW are the same company and the cars have the same engines in them.
So why pay more for the golf when the seat looks better and performs the same? That's what i will never understand
+David Johnson badge snobbery. Put a Mondeo and an Audi in front of someone and they'll pick the Audi. Despite the Mondeo being, for me, the better car
They use hand-me-down tech and have an interior made from recycled coke bottles. It's coming from someone that's owned 3 to date.
+amillwardmusic Just keep telling yourself that.
I bought the Cupra yesterday. I’m 40 and that car makes me feel like I’m 20 again. I took a spin after work and that car gives me a smile every time I drive it. 22.000€ and it’s value for the money. The electronic damping system is spot on and the “cupra” setting turns the car into a monster!! Harder shifts, full boost, stiff suspension and valve open in exhaust..I freaking love this little car..and I come from a B7 RS4😬
I’m hesitating between a Golf GTI mk7 or this, what do you think is the best option?
(I think the golf has better a interior tough)
@@marciodaniel4570 Hello. If you are going to use it as your daily and one and only car I would go for the golf, but try to get a hold of the Mk 7.5 (facelift and even better interior).
But if you want the most bang for your buck and can live with a slightly cheaper interior and cabin noise doesn’t bother you I would go for the face lifted Cupra from 2017-2018.
I bought the 2015 Cupra since I just have it as a toy and wanted the lightest model (1400kg) and after driving it at stage 1 for a time I took it to the next level a month ago, now it’s stage 2 with 410hp and does 100-200 in 8.5 sec. How much I drive it? 100km/month 😞 😂😂
@@josefinkjellsson7051 410hp & 100-200 in 8.5 sec?! That’s crazy fast haha. Though, I really appreciate your advice bro.
I’m planning to buy my first sports car and I didn’t know where to start, I was searching for something not too expensive that makes loud dsg noise too 😂
But this definitely helps, thanks👍
Getting my Leon Cupra 290 tomorrow! Can’t wait
I´m so glad i got the Cupra 280 with manual gearbox, it´s an awesome car even in everyday driving. I also love the new Golf R, but to be honest it wasnt worth the extra money (for me), i nevertheless would love owning one...
It seems to me that VAG finally knows what to do with SEAT and give it a properly brilliant hot hatch to establish itself as the sporty brand of VAG.
So the Seat is cheaper, lighter, better looking and steers better. Once again VW has released a lukewarm Golf R which isn't any better than a GTi
Seat for ever
And then there was snow. Good luck seat
Did u even watch the video.....? Golf R has awd, 70/80 hp more and a more aggressive bodykit. What are u smoking dude?
the Golf R looks way better. and living in a place where it rains almost every day and snows a shit load... i think i'll take a golf r thank you
foxxmufasa because isnt 4x4 doesnt mean the Leaon Curpa cant go on rain or on snow with the proper tires! also the quattro system not only is heaver but it will consume way more fuel as all 4x4!
if you don't leave in Alaska or you don't do WRC rally every weekend, the quatro is simply an overkill and doesn't worth its money! .-
I bought a Mark 6 Golf R new in 2011. Waited 6 months for it to arrive. Drove it for 3 months... got bored... tuned it... got bored.... and sold it. I then bought a 2004 BMW E46 M3. Wow, what a revelation. Drove it for 2 years and loved every drive I took. My advice? If you want a 'real' drivers car make sure the wheels that steer, and the wheels that drive are at opposite ends of the car!
really dude? around nurburgring E46 M3 has to move out my way in my little clio 200 cup with 210bhp and H&R suspension. it also cost alot less in fuel too. lol was the M3 a cock extension?
santclause1
Don’t be silly... Just because someone has an M3, doesn’t mean he knows how to drive it. You were the better driver, the clio was not faster.
Add the same spec H&R suspension to the M3 and then check results.
santclause1
You may have a point. It's funny just recently I've reading reading lots of articles from journalists and motoring experts who all say the same thing... "The E46 M3 is a great car, if fact one of the best M cars ever and always ranks highly as one of the best drivers cars ever... but it's not quite as good as the Clio 200 Cup though" LOL.
The E46 M3 may well be the best of all time. But you need to be able to afford it and not everyone is.
Mzn T it wasn,t the only E46 M3 to move outta my way. there was 5 on track the same day. the only one that pulled away had 500bhp. and he had spent about 30k on the car without the cost of the car. i spent £13.500 for brand new clio 200 cup. then £2800 on little mods. [ suspension, exhaust, tyres, so on. and it takes the piss outta cars worth £30.000 or more on a track. i,ve never been a straight line guy myself i find it pretty damn boring. if i wanted to be fast in straight lines i,d buy zx10r. my friends M3 has H&R suspension. even when we swap. the M3 don,t feel nimble. it feels heavy. you have to brake way earlier than most hothatches. yes it,s fast on straights. but thats not fun. it has a great engine though. which in my case is why people rave about it. you have to go on PRICE VS PERFORMANCE. and i don,t think RENAULTSPORT can be beaten. why? because they don,t play at it. like all the other companies. look at these idiots VW/SEAT trying to make a great track car. but on the same hand making them comfy and easy to drive with DSG and all the electronics cutting in all the time. for me it either track car. or family car. you can,t mix both. it,s retarded.
Getting my 5dr 2019 Cupra 290 next week, so I'm watching all these videos on here, it's just making time go slower.....can't wait :D
It's worth the wait.
I got the 290 st and I Just love it
Remember it's not just about weight with a 4WD system - the extra differentials will sap horsepower so power to the wheels will be reduced. Probably almost identical wheel HP on both cars maybe even slightly better for the Leon, PLUS a weight advantage. That said for real world road driving conditions haldex AWD is much more reassuring.
This was the review that made me consider the Seat, test drove them both, I now own the Seat!
Sure when i'm tip toe'ing along in the wet. snow or ice Golf R drivers will no doubt feel smug as they pass by, but when its dry and the tires are warm... or I catch my refrection as I drive through town, then I am reminded of why I bought the Seat :)
Love the Seat. I'll take a 5 door please
I'll take a 5 door cupra too !!!
Ian Townsend im buying one tomorrow :)
What an amazing car that Leon is! And there will also be a more focused version (basically the one that lapped the Nord). Can't wait to see how much better that one is! If everything goes as planned, it'll be my next car.
So did you get it
They R both brilliant cars
I can only conclude that the one driver is quicker than the other
+Tlangela Ntshembo Mkhacane You are wrong.
That was obvious. The presenter was the faster, whichever car he was in. Also, there's one shot where the other driver in the Golf got rather unstuck on a couple of bends.
0:23 Leon: "Well, fuck this shit; why should i turn when i can go straight?"
used to have a ibiza cupra bocanegra in white with the black front loved it then sold her for a e 92 m3, I saw one those leons the other and thought it looked amazing and after watching that review think I'm heading now to order one lol can't wait
The Seat Leon's front looks sooo much better than the golf, i mean just look at the headlights of the Seat in comparison with the Golf ..
This is exactly how cars must be tested!
vaw power Well they are meant to be performance cars after all. :)
Love the blue on that VW!
I'd rather take the Leon over the Golf R. Better price-value ratio (they got almost the same performance) and with 5 extra grand in your pockets you can still make big improvements on the Leon to outrun the R. In my opinion it also got better looks, but that's totally relative. The only real advantage of the Golf R is its name anyways, and that's why it'll have better sales results overall.
great review!
The idiotic soundtrack is quite annoying!
It's Darude-Sandstorm
James Hill
no it isn't
MichalMalpa
Yes it is
Nikita Ind
You deserve Fiat Mutipla for not accepting the fact that you are wrong
does any one know the song's name that is playing at the begining and at the end when the guy is speaking?
Much prefer the Seat.👍
Steven T. Don't we all
Imagine Cupra with 4x4 :D I like Golf, but Seat looks amazing!
This test is stupid. Why do you put the golf out front??! or any car for that matter. You should be judging on the best lap times for each car! The Seat cant pass and does not get a chance to open up and go putting limitations on the car. The car out front sets a pace. This is not how you fairly compare 2 cars
Excellent point
They did put the Leon first at 9:00 but they didn't show it. However, Sutcliff did say the Leon turned out to be faster and they preferred it.
But I think you're right, one driving trying for the best lap time in each would have been a better test. I still liked the video though.
Looks like you bought the wrong car
By the time you take into account weight and how much power is lost through the transmission of the 4wd the figures are probably a lot closer,hence why this video shows how close these cars are, but I do think that the 3.2 vr6 lump should have stayed because the new mk6-7 2.0 is just a gti made more powerful, or should I say the gti is a detuned version of what it should have been
one of the best video of autocar
This track in Lincolnshire really is awesome :)
music was loud as fuck
darude - sandstorm has to be loud mate!
I drive a brand new 70 plate cupra 290 and my younger brother a 2017 7.5 R and in every respect the seat is faster apart from a launch. But that’s not to say the golf isn’t an awesome car. Suppose it’s just down to personal preference and the fact the cupra is soooo much more affordable to buy run and insure, both great but for me it’s the seat that’s all round the better car.
Think I'm gonna buy a Cupra
get the 290 it has a crazy loud exhaust too. I just got mine 2 months ago, and i really can only recommend the car. Such an awesome allrounder and even cheaper than his competetors without loosing any quality to them. If youre interested check out my pov drive of the 290.
absolutelly WONDERFUL blue color on the golf.
Nive Test! Thx Autocar
love the look of the seat.
Stick a 600 quid stage 1 remap on the leon which takes it to between 350 and 370hp then try it again, still £4400 less
+TheLukey21 same price for golf r puts it into around 386bhp on my friends. they're both beasts but id rather have a golf r personally.
+AwAiS786M ye but the golf r is already more expensive and they are comparing price and performance. Personally i would have the Leon as golfs are to common.
It's the same exactly engine so in terms of power.... as the journalist said the front end of the Leon is better probably because seat team spent 60 days and 400 laps of the ring to finely tune the handling of it.
In terms of real life id want to win. I wouldn't care if seat spent 2 years in the front bumper. Winning is winning. Awd is just the future. Respect to the seat but to say it's better is not on to me.
@ AwAiS786M OK, you have the exact money to buy the Leon Cupra but no where near enough to buy the Golf R. Would you buy the Leon Cupra or stick with daydreaming about the Golf R's 4wd haldex 5 system and R badges? A simple answer would do here.
You can soon get the Cupra with a performance pack which includes bigger brakes (370mm discs and four piston calipers in the front) and lighter 19'' wheels. Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tyres are also optional.
Would have liked a lap time for each. For me I would actually take the Leon since in my eyes it is a more beautiful car - The R is solid but perhaps it should be more radical - It certainly should be able to be with the 4 wheel drive system.
I wish you would have done some timed laps with the same driver to actually compare at the end.
Wish they sold that Seat in the US. We dont get many hot hatches. We have, I have a small dick big trucks, and I like to waste fuel SUVs
I live in Europe and have both :-)
97 F150 4,6l cs i love V8, a Bmw 535D for daily driving
and I bought my wife the new Cupra... and its awesome.
got the old one 2009 before but the new one is an other exp.
hope you get the hothatch over there... and we get the mustang :-) AT THE FORD DEALER,
not backyard dealers with dogs you need a weapon licence :-)
Huber Heinrich Good for you.
+Huber Heinrich uhmm and what doesthat have to do with fikes's comment?
+fikes73 100% agreed. Tired of our neglected market that gets no 3-door hot hatches. When I first saw the new Leon Cupra, I nearly cried, because I knew it would never come to the US. Shame because it is probably the most beautiful hatchback in recent in history and an amazingly good deal for the money. I'm really upset that we can't have one.
Can you please test the alfa romeo Giulietta quadrifoglio verde Vs the Leon? It will be amazing
There is a few things which have not been taken in consideration in this video such as wind resistant ， the car behind needs less power than the car in front as the car in front is cutting the wind and suffering from Drag a 2004 Civic Type R is perfectly capable of keeping with a 2004 RS4 provided the same stays in the Front cutting the Wind
Idiotic... the Gold blocks the Seat all the time. Let the Seat drive first and see if he is quicker or not...
Yo quiero uno de esos carros... los autos son mi pasión!
steve, u r awesome :)
Do they have the same tires? My experience is different tire absolutely affects the turn in characteristics on a VW group hot hatch.
four years later, i actually know who "mauro" is. good guy
Simple generic remap on Golf R will take it to 360bhp/370ft/lbs which its 4WD system can put down and utilise all of. The Seat one the other hand is probably already nearing the power limit of its FWD drivetrain.
Exactly. The R is hitting 3.8 0-60 stage 1. The Cupra could handle the power but not a launch. That's my answer to "why AWD+DSG?"
this video shows that steve is a better driver than the other guy
Would rather have the golf 7 r dsg simply because of the 4WD
Please give us a time around the track next time because it might be more relevant
I'd go for the Golf R based on practicality of all drving conditions - dry, wet, snow, ice. That sort of power needs 4WD to save drivers from themselves. It's a 5 grand premium, but the reassurance of the 4WD, and resale value, is worth it.
There are A LOT of Mk7 R's out there and it's starting to impact residual value.
@@martinallenuk hello from 2021! Got myself a Cupra 280 earlier this year and you hardly see any cupra's on the roads in the UK. Whereas the R is extremely common...but used car prices have gone crazy these past few months so hard to tell until we are in a post covid world...whenever that may be
I wish all reviews are like this - unbiased and fair. Go the dark horses!
Aside the comparison of cars (which was well done), the colour grading during the dubstep-ish music was done brilliantly: vibrant and saturated, whereas while the rest of the video it looked bland and boring (must be gopro limitation). Hence, the suggestion: don't make parts of the video shot on different cameras look to different and you would end up with excelent product both visual and content wise. Cheers!
I completely expected that
The dubstep song is SENSEI-ROBOT RACE
the 75something kilogram definitely make a difference, but i guess its the front diff that makes the real difference, the golf will have more traction in the snow and on wet or simply bad roards - but on a dry track, that extra grip and better turn-in in the seat outdoes the 4 wheel drive in the golf.
The golf R is so much better then the GTI I have both currently and it sounds amazing. Just try this test in the wet then we'll see who has the better car.
how it sounds? really? ok, go disconnect the Soundaktor that lives under your rain skuttle then see what noise it makes :)
I drove normal versions of both not sport but Seat it feels more sporty, in my opinion categoric i would choose Seat Leon
The video mentions a £5,000 difference many times. However the advertised prices on the cars are £28,530 and £31,315. Admittedly I used a calculator, but I work that would to be £2785.00.
I wonder how much of that price difference exists after three years when the residuals have kicked in?
Why does anyone care about residual value? Cars are not investments anyway and you loose about 20% in the first year alone and if you crash it, forget the residual value it was going to have. Why buy a car if you're going to sell it a couple of years later. Might as well lease instead then and avoid the hassle of selling later on. And if you're so worried about residuals, buy a car when it's one years old. Arguments for better residuals make no sense. You buy the car that's faster and better, not one that's going to loose the least money.
ACS607 LOL!
basgetz You said it!
basgetz How do you work that out? I'm so intrigued. Going on humour me, you sound so clever despite your grammatically incorrect sentence.
ACS607 Don't bother. Some people see everything in numbers. They have no idea what you're talking about. It's almost sad.
does any one know the song's name that is playing at the begining and at the end when the guy is speaking?
I like both cars but the golf looks better and the interior is definitely better.
Nice corner cut on video from leon:))
Can I point out that at the time of this review the 3 door version of the Cupra has 265ps = 261bhp and the 5 door had 280ps = 276bhp .................so makes it a bit more interesting !
I'm not that surprised given the specs, lightness is very handy on track less so on the road. The horsepower gap is not big enough to give the VW any advantage taking into account the added weight of the of the AWD system and also based on the same chassis so this all adds up to no surprises. Take these cars away from a track where you actually live with them and the advantages of the VW will become apparent over time. Both well sorted machines though and would be nice to have. Got to say though looking at both the dashboards in this video you can immediately see where the extra £5k is going..
yes you can see where the £5K went, but I wouldn't pay that money for a'nicer interior'. When you are actually driving any car you are never consciously aware of the interior.
neil1jnr A car that looks good and has a nice interior is just as desirable as one that looks shit and has a 90s ford interior. You draw enjoyment from all sorts in a road car. I think the golf is a far more desirable machine, and it'll doubtless make you back that £5k difference over a couple of years of ownership.
Of course both being automatics I wouldn't touch either.
Now do the same test on a wet track.
WiseGuy02 Of course the Golf will be better in the wet......but for all the money it costs, it should be better in the dry as well.
x I'm more interested in why VW won't allow SEAT to have 4WD. My guess would be that it would be quicker after some Cupra tunning ;-) Maybe now that VW is boasting that 400 hp Golf frankenstein, they will give them the go-ahead.
***** It has always been like this - VW owns SEAT and won't let a cheaper SEAT potentially upstage its flagship Golf
But you must admit they rattled them really good with this new Cupra :)
***** They did mate......and rightly so!
have a leon tdi 140 plus repro: 200 hp. 5 years with her, NEVER GET A TROUBLE, NEVER, ONLY NEED GAS, AND TIRES.
If the performance difference on wets or whatever was really going to bother you i suppose remapping the seat cupra would also be cheaper to do than the golf. If i had the money i know what i'd buy!
Sold my R after 10 months. It's overhyped and bot very well built.
I have some stuff to comment:
- It is always easy to follow another car and it will look like you could drive faster.
-It is harder to be the one on the front because you have to push it harder.
- If that was their first time on that track, obviously you get more confident with more laps, so the second car you drive will appear to be faster
I made the mistake of buying a front-wheel drive hot hatch once...never again. The most frustrating experience of car ownership I have ever had.
holotropik same, tip toe the throttle or it spins to hell and back, torque steer, power understeer, hate it
Learn to drive within the cars limits. By the sounds of things it doesn't matter what car you'll buy. AWD understeer mid engined snap oversteer into a tree etc etc.
You should compare those two to Focus ST and Megane RS Trophy.
Since you wrote your comment, that's exactly what Evo did for their car of the year test :)
I reckon the answer to which is fastest is quite simple: the Cupra had the Ring record for a while.
I don’t remember the Golf R having it.
I like both cars btw - don’t read this as a dish on the Golf (I own a MK7 GTI;-))
£5000 cheaper. Could get the seat remapped for say £500
James Landale you're right shitttt
if you think about it, 5000£ for AWD, better insulation, better materials, quality and seats. it's not bad at all.
And you could get the Golf remapped as well for 500£ and get 350hp/500nm.
Two separate drivers.....not exactly scientific! And it shows from the fact that Steve was faster than the SEAT in the Golf and faster than the Golf in the SEAT.....
Impressive car SEAT
pleas what a camerra on board from vw golf ?
thanks !!!!!
5:21 that's what the seat driver is doing to keep up when steve is not looking at the mirror :p
What's the song at the beginning???
Stop saying you believe one is faster in a straight line and do a damn drag between the 2.
In the end I think it came down to who's the faster driver.
Wait, didn't this Seat set record on Nurburgring track in its class?
What matters most - well, it is the driver in this case.
Those dubstep musical interludes were absolutely dreadful, but you can't beat a hot hatch head to head!
To me, the Leon Cupra vs Golf R rivalry seems identical to the Z4 vs Boxter one.
the huge difference is on the front, seat badge and vw badge, the vw just rule them all
Off course the Seat Leon Cupra 280 is faster, I have seen multiple videos confirming that. The Leon is more precise and has less under steer than the Golf R. The Megane RS is still the king tough.
The most silliest review I've seen by far.. OK that's a bit of an exaggeration but you get my point
Nice cut there :) 5:21
the seat has such a good front end because it is wearing a limited-slip differential..
I'm not sure if I'm biased as we've just ordered pretty much the same spec golf but that seat doesn't compare in my eyes it's like a boring looking chav car. £5k is a lot of money but get a proper manual and with the higher residuals the price difference doesn't really matter.
any chance of the same with the Audi S3????
But in wet weather the golf would have the edge every time, and in the UK it is wet over halve the time.
steve is just the better driver...
We ended up now knowing who's faster
I would chooes the Golf R, than Wrap it in Red, change the whole exhaust system, change the whole Air Intake System and the turbo intake system and then i put sick black rims on it. It would look so amazing
The fastest in this category on real roads with corners and corners the only real roads of course and on tracks? Neither one nor the other but the Renault Sport MEGANE 3 Trophy 275R or even the "classic" MEGANE 3 RS 265hp
BUT if i must choice between the both there, I prefer the Golf I think, but I'm not sure, I must try the Seat for that! ^^
That is why VW stopped selling the Seat in South Africa...