The Cupra R is very obviously more concerned with being driven like your hair’s on fire, so charge into a corner on a trailed throttle and the front end will respond eagerly. The extra negative camber (it’s been almost doubled) allows the car to really lean into its front tyres (our car came with optional Michelin Cup Sport 2 tyres rather than the standard Continental SportContact6s), encouraging the back-end to over-rotate a few degrees. It’s not as laugh-out-loud mobile as the Honda Civic Type R or Renault Sport Mégane (which benefits from four-wheel steering), but it gives the car a more loutish demeanour.
That’s matched by the engine’s tone, which sounds more aggressive than the Golf R’s thanks to a less restrictive (in terms of volume) exhaust that beguiles with pops and crackles off throttle when the car’s set to its top Cupra mode – which is new for the R. Even more satisfying is the snort of overrun when you pull for a quick upshift through the car’s tightly gaited six-speed gearbox. UK buyers aren’t offered a dual-clutch automatic like other markets, but our experience suggests the Cupra is all the more rewarding for it.
Dial things back in comfort mode and the Cupra R is as supple as a warm hatch and as docile as a mid-spec diesel, although it never completely winds back to the same extent as the Golf R. The blip of throttle on start-up is a constant reminder you’re in the hottest Leon to make production yet.
Should I buy one?
The question should be preceded by 'Can I buy one?' because, unless you’re one of the 24 Brits or 775 people from other markets who have already ordered it, you’ll have to wait until the first Cupra R lands on the second-hand market to bag one.
Even if you could buy one, you might have a hard time justifying the price because, as exciting as it is, you are parting with £34,995 for a Leon. Consider that the equally as quick and more playful Civic Type R is £4000 cheaper, while the RS Mégane, which on first impressions could be the Civic Type R’s biggest threat, is predicted to be almost £6000 less, and that figure only seems larger.
Then again, perhaps that’s missing the point. The Cupra R is neither the most extreme nor diversely talented of the class, but it is an explosive model for Seat aficionados and you’d be hard-pressed to find one of those not astounded by its performance.
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Fascinating discussion about language but...
It's SEAT, not Seat. It's an
It's SEAT, not Seat. It's an acronym!
simonali wrote:
Language is a living thing. If enough people prefer to write Seat instead of SEAT, then it will become Seat in common usage, aconym or not.
But...
You read it as Seat, not S.E.A.T. That’s why we don’t capitalise
Pronunciation.....
You pronounce it SAY AT......!!?
not really
Sam, by your metric should be Bmw for Bayerisch Motoren Werk, in place of BMW?
Right, or not? ...It must be totally different due to Brexit, then.
coolboy wrote:
No, 'Seat' is pronouncable and can be made into a word. BMW lacks vowels and cannot be pronounced as a word. So it remains BMW in capital letters and read as three separate letters.
Out of interest
What about NUT (nation union of teachers). 'Nut' is pronouncable and can be made into a word and has a vowel so by your rules its 'Nut'. But the BBC write it as NUT on their website, who's right?
xxxx wrote:
" 'Seat' is pronouncable and CAN be made into a word" does not mean that it MUST be made into a word.
NUT is not pronounced as such for obvious reason.
There are plenty of examples where pronouncable acronyms are pronounced as words eg. AIDS = Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
Calm down
"obvious reason":- that clears that up then, I think
abkq wrote:
NUT may not be pronouced, but it is full of them, very millitant ones damaging our childrens minds and educations, too busy being political when they should be concentrating on teaching.
Acronyms ARE words, there's
Acronyms ARE words, there's no need to make them in to one, whether it can be pronounced 'all in one' like NASA or NATO, or you have to read each letter, like the FBI or CIA.
I think we can all agree it would look a bit odd if everyone started writing Nasa and Nato, given how used we are to seeing them in all caps, but you're right... if there were some sort of uprising against capital letters, then over time we'd get used to it. It's not that there are any rules, it would just look and feel wrong.
And if anyone doubts that acronysms are indeed words, there are many use (and spell) as regular words without even realising it. For example... 'laser' - Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation; 'scuba' - Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus; 'radar' - Radio Detection and Ranging; and 'sonar' - Sound Navigation and Ranging.”
House style
Most newspapers write Nato and Nasa. What about Alfa Romeo? No-one would write ALFA Romeo.
beechie wrote:
I don't know, most of the time I see NATO and NASA, along with many other acronyms that use all caps most of the time. SEAT call/spell themselves as such, and given the potential confusion with the word 'seat', it makes far more sense that caps should be used in its case. As previously mentioned however, there are no rules, people can do as they want.
Alfa Romeo is actually called that, they don't use caps. The company was founded as A.L.F.A but later changed, so that's not a good example as it's no longer considered an acronym even by them.
A better name for a car with 90's styling
The "SEAT LEON Halfords R Special". That and the price (same as a 4WD S3) explains why they only expect to sell 24.