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172 again or ibiza cupra r





Yeah ive driven a Ibiza Cupra R a "normal" Ibiza Cupra and a chipped Ibiza Cupra. If you have got a bit more cash id get a Leon Cupra R (huge tuning potential) and a brilliant car.
 


Was behind one of these tonight - quite fancy one but had heard the handling wasnt great to its good to see Neil praise it.

Out of my price range at the moment - I am also happy with my car aswell -if its bits start falling off and im left in the rush hour with no power by the Clio its high on my list. They do seem very heavy for what they are tho.
 


I remember an EVO when they tested the 172 vs the Cupra R performance was near on identical and the handling circuit times were the same and they praised both cars for their handling.
 

Ant1

Brembo! Brembo! Brembo!
ClioSport Club Member


It might be worth me test driving one then. The one on the link has only covered 4100miles since new. Im sure i could knock it down to just under 9k :devilish:
 


If it comes down to looks it has to be the 172, if the performance is that close I would go for the 172 everytime. I dont see anything special about how the Ibiza looks IMHO.
 


Ant1 if you go to look at a yellow Ibiza Curpa R make sure its not from the Seat race school thing. About 20 of them were put back on the market and sold through Seat dealers. I think they were all on 52 plates (all with similar number plates) To make doubly sure its not a ex track car check under the carpet in the boot for the holes caused from fitting the roll cages!!!!!!!! A Seat garage tried to get me to buy one these!!!! Found out from a friend where it was from! BUYER BEWARE when buying a yellow Cupra R!!!! look out for some cheap yellow Leon Cupra Rs being released on to the marketon! (they replaced the Ibiza Rs)
 


Yep! I was a ball hair from buying it! Just look in the places where a roll cage is usually mounted and you will find holes! LOL
 


The Ibiza Cupra was a nice hot hatch, but considering it cost £17,000 versus the £14,000 of a 172 it was overpriced IMO when new. Only 75 came to these shores AFAIK, so you could have a job finding one. Are they really better than a standard 156bhp Ibiza Cupra 1.8T?

It still has the inherrent Polo chassis limitations and although you can tune it to buggery, I for one am starting to appreciate that a car with a better handling balance is usually a superior machine. Depends what you want it for really - what do B-road prowess and lap times mean if you live in the city and use motorways all the time? If this is the case, go for the pumped up VW (which only matches the 172s speed in this, the highest, rarest spec), but if your car needs soul and proper back-road ability then look to the 172.
 


I agree Ben on the handling front but having owned a tuned turbo the lure is always there.

It is supposed to be a fair bit better than the standard Cupra.

There must have been more than 75 surely as ive seen 2 in Inverness in the last 2 weeks.
 

Ant1

Brembo! Brembo! Brembo!
ClioSport Club Member


hmmm i just got so sick and tied of 172 breaking down i vowed i would never by a renault again. Myabe i will have to look at something else. Any ideas? mind you i should be able to alter the handling on cupra r
 


Ibiza 20vt is a lot of car for the money, particularly when you factor in the tuning potential. However, no matter what you do (coilovers, etc) its ultimately limited by a dated chassis concept and cant make the most of big power increases. I ran a 2001 20vt for a couple of years and it had some JABBASPORT tweaks. It was running a little over 200 BHP, and despite brake and supsension mods, it was never going to be a match for the Cup (my current wheels) in the handling department. I seriously considered the big money conversion offered by JABBASPORT (280+ bhp) and spent some time in other Cupras with the mods I was thinking of, but it was clear that while it would be a monster on the straight stuff (bucket loads of mid-range grunt), it would always be heavily compromised on fun-time B-roads and on track.

Ibiza Cupra R was never worth the money IMO - why pay £4-5k more than for the 156 BHP model when you could buy the latter, add the necessary mods, and still save almost £3k.

Decide what you want from your car before you take the plunge. Thats the way I approached it and it lead me to the Cup ! Sure, meaty straightline performance is impressive but, personally, I get much more of a buzz driving the twisty stuff in a car thats made for it - its a good laugh embarassing more expensive machinery along the way !
 


Agree with Scooby Stu. Use to own a standard 1.8T Cupra and handling did suck compared to Cup, which is why I traded it for the Cup. The chassis is from a 1995 polo so not good. The interior is much better than a clio but it depends what u want.
 


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