[TripleD]

Just test drove the Golf R estate, from driving a 320d to that, it's pretty tempting but the driving position and throttle response are big downsides, that and the apparently 7600 deposit they want for £520 per month pcp over 4 years!

Was speaking to the brother in law who works at Seat, apparently the Leon Cupra ST is worth a look, 0% Apr, same engine as golf, same media, some cheaper plastics, but it kinda looks okay.

But from a BMW to a Seat that's a big drop in quality.

Anyone else thought of changing to these?

[tinytrevor]

Was looking at the R estate, £4k down and £570 p/month. No dealer contribution and a waiting time of 6 months. I just love when they lie about no support being available because that this is a very desirable car.
Also, could not justify the price they charge you for a leather interior!

[InquisitiveA]

Given that there are no discounts on the Golf and big discounts on the F31, isn't there a way of staying in a BMW? Surely an F31 340i could be had for that money or less?

[terrycollins999]

These figures are way too high, I got quoted less when I was looking approx. 6 months ago. With that said it worked out lower cost to do a PCP on Audi RS3 over Golf R. I think approx. 4K deposit and £450 a month...

Then we went for the 335D which was 3K deposit and £440 per month. Never looked back. Far better vehicle all round.

[TripleD]

Trouble is I've had my 3 series for nearly 3 years, moving to another will change and engine, but it's just the same old thing.

They had a contribution on £4400 and I've got a 4K negative atm.
Better deals on the hatch version, also interestingly the options are cheaper on a hatch compared to the estate! Wtf??

Not sure the dog would fit in a hatch

Seat is tempting at 0% but not gone through figures with them.

[Firaxis]

Originally Posted by TripleD

Just test drove the Golf R estate, from driving a 320d to that, it's pretty tempting but the driving position and throttle response are big downsides, that and the apparently 7600 deposit they want for £520 per month pcp over 4 years!

Was speaking to the brother in law who works at Seat, apparently the Leon Cupra ST is worth a look, 0% Apr, same engine as golf, same media, some cheaper plastics, but it kinda looks okay.

But from a BMW to a Seat that's a big drop in quality.

Anyone else thought of changing to these?

The Cupra is a beast, plus it's far cheaper you should easily be able to pick one up for £269.00 and 5K deposit.. It was on my bucket list when buying a new car..

The question you're going to want to ask yourself is, if you could pick up a 340I or 335D for around £360.00 and 4K deposit. Is it worth the price difference?

[SaintMac]

My son has just bought the 1.4 fr, five door. I have to say it is a great car. Yes, quality not as good as bmw, but I think it is still good and well specd.

[Roberto71]

The best kept secret in VAG is the Leon CUPRA is the best out of the lot of them. The consensus among motor journos seems to be that you get Golf R performance for the Golf GTI money.

[mikeoz]

Hi
Just sold my Golf R 7 month old and picked up a 330d M Sport fully loaded from Ocean BMW.
Only had 7k on clock and picked up a 330d with similar milage and 10 months old and fully loaded with toys.
Wife having baby so need bigger boot. And got a very good deal from Chris at Ocean Falmouth. Long drive but got 2k more for my R than any other dealer.

The R is a hell of a car for driving full on and I took it to Germany 3 x. It is however flawed like alot of High performance cars.
The ride and constant drone are tire some on long journeys. The fuel range is poor along with a small tank. It really uses alot more fuel than the current Golf GTI does. If you get Bridgestones from factory they are truly awful but the 4x4 limits the awfulNess better than the GTD does for example.
It also feels brittle. I think a s/h car with 50 k on would be intresting to see what the rattles etc are.
You really need the 19" wheels and dsg for resale and the leather is a rip off and of rubbish quality. So don't buy.
I got 10% discount on my R hatch so you should get deals.
Waits are long like you said however. 19" dsg and Pano roof make the ultimate wait as vw don't seem to have the parts.
The F30 is by far superior in interior quality and feels alot more solid and better screwed together.

[tinytrevor]

I'm not an expert, but I would seriously consider a fully loaded leon cupra with a choice of either manual/dsg. There are great discounts to be had and the interest rate was 0% samo time ago. Not a perfect car, by probably better value from money than the rest of the vw group.
Also, would anyone really need to carry around that heavy-ish haldex clutch when a FWD cupra is as capable in most of the normal situations? Think it does also look better with a twin exhaust.

https://broadspeed.com/new_cars/Seat...mber_Of_Doors/

[Proftinkerpot]

6 months ago VAG were throwing away Golf R's for £249 a month. That to me showed a scary lack of confidence in the longer term value if the manufacturer was discounting so hard. 2 weeks ago I saw a PCH deal on a Scirocco R with nav and leather for 6+23 on 10K miles per annum for £250/month including VAT. That would make for a cheap second car.

That was Stable Vehicle Contracts.
A Golf R under the same terms is £320 a month on personal lease deal.

[Drisser]

Originally Posted by mikeoz

Hi
Just sold my Golf R 7 month old and picked up a 330d M Sport fully loaded from Ocean BMW.
Only had 7k on clock and picked up a 330d with similar milage and 10 months old and fully loaded with toys.
Wife having baby so need bigger boot. And got a very good deal from Chris at Ocean Falmouth. Long drive but got 2k more for my R than any other dealer.

The R is a hell of a car for driving full on and I took it to Germany 3 x. It is however flawed like alot of High performance cars.
The ride and constant drone are tire some on long journeys. The fuel range is poor along with a small tank. It really uses alot more fuel than the current Golf GTI does. If you get Bridgestones from factory they are truly awful but the 4x4 limits the awfulNess better than the GTD does for example.
It also feels brittle. I think a s/h car with 50 k on would be intresting to see what the rattles etc are.
You really need the 19" wheels and dsg for resale and the leather is a rip off and of rubbish quality. So don't buy.
I got 10% discount on my R hatch so you should get deals.
Waits are long like you said however. 19" dsg and Pano roof make the ultimate wait as vw don't seem to have the parts.
The F30 is by far superior in interior quality and feels alot more solid and better screwed together.

Totally agree about quality the 330d is 100% better place to sit and the golf touchscreen media is like something from the 80's compared to prof nav. At the end of the day it's still a small hatch and I drove the R back to back with 330, m235, audi RS3, golf GTi and the R was near the bottom of my list. Gti looks better IMO and on the same test route same driving the 330d returned 41 mpg v 23 for the R !!

[Watsey]

Of those specific choices I'd go for the Leon every time. Cupra has been consistently well reviewed and the Sub8 is better again, although apparently the brakes are over-servoed

I had a Leon Cupra 20VT years ago and loved pretty much everything about it, except the scrabbling understeer. Seems to have been largely eradicated from the current models.

[225]

Another vote for the Leon. I had a 225bhp Cupra R and a later FR and both very good. The current model has regained the looks which were lost on the last one which went a bit dumpy if you ask me.

My R was remapped and you could change lanes with torque steer if wet but I am sure the new ones with lsd etc are gar better!

[....,,,,..,,..]

Vote for the Seat here as well.

We contemplated the same Seat Cupra earlier in year.

Main thing that put us off was the knobscoffers they have as dealer / salesman here.

It's actually quite hard choosing a decent fast Tourer, Estate or big enough hatch.

Interested on how you get on with the Seat ST space wise etc and how test drive pans out.

[mikeoz]

Originally Posted by Drisser

Totally agree about quality the 330d is 100% better place to sit and the golf touchscreen media is like something from the 80's compared to prof nav. At the end of the day it's still a small hatch and I drove the R back to back with 330, m235, audi RS3, golf GTi and the R was near the bottom of my list. Gti looks better IMO and on the same test route same driving the 330d returned 41 mpg v 23 for the R !!

Hi
Spot on the media system is rubbish. However they are on version 2 now and it's alot better.
A bit like the original Idrive. Should never have left the factory

[TripleD]

Went to Seat today, two sales guys working that had two customers, and two waiting so gave up, had a sit in the Leon Cupra hatch in the showroom, wasn't too bad, sat nav and switch gear is all out of the golf, rubbish location of the usb as I would have to keep unplugging the iPod.
Yeah it feels cheaper but a cause for concern is the price at £30k and an ex demo 280 on the forecourt at 23k that's a big drop in barely a few months. I guess due to the 290 release, but still.
Guess the test drive will be next weekend now!

[Firaxis]

Originally Posted by TripleD

Went to Seat today, two sales guys working that had two customers, and two waiting so gave up, had a sit in the Leon Cupra hatch in the showroom, wasn't too bad, sat nav and switch gear is all out of the golf, rubbish location of the usb as I would have to keep unplugging the iPod.
Yeah it feels cheaper but a cause for concern is the price at £30k and an ex demo 280 on the forecourt at 23k that's a big drop in barely a few months. I guess due to the 290 release, but still.
Guess the test drive will be next weekend now!

Get a 340i / 335D and be done with it ..

[TripleD]

Originally Posted by Firaxis

Get a 340i / 335D and be done with it ..

It's something to look into, but I fancy a change,going from a 320d to a 340i will change an engine, but nowt else.

[tinytrevor]

Originally Posted by TripleD

It's something to look into, but I fancy a change,going from a 320d to a 340i will change an engine, but nowt else.

A fully loaded cupra ST then? Unless you could be bothered waiting for a C450 AMG (which has been available on European and American markets for a while now, so should be able to watch a few reviews). Or an Audi S4 when it eventually comes out. Probably next to no discounts will be available on these two, whilt you can get all options ticked in the seat for a price of basic 340i/335d.

[Firaxis]

Originally Posted by TripleD

It's something to look into, but I fancy a change,going from a 320d to a 340i will change an engine, but nowt else.

Is that such a bad thing though? I've been searching around for a year to find my next car and for price / power ratio Beemers just can't be beaten.

Audi's are expensive compared to Beemers (well for every quote I've ever got), the Ford Mustang is impracticle and still more expensive than a 340I / 335D. Merc's / Jag's still too expensive, you're talking a mid / base range car for the same price.

Whilst hot hatches are sometimes impressive to drive, I've never found one that's a great all rounder. I'm talking interior / power / ride comfort etc.

If you can wait there's the Alfa Giulia on it's way, I've heard they start from 22K for the base model.. Going by my history of Alfa, it'll either be one of the best cars you'll ever drive or one of the worst..

[....,,,,..,,..]

Originally Posted by TripleD

It's something to look into, but I fancy a change,going from a 320d to a 340i will change an engine, but nowt else.

That alone is an immense change.

It totally changes just how you approach driving.

Driving a 4 pot diesel and a 6 cyl Petrol.

It's the entire dynamics thing, how you approach and leave junctions.