Badge Engineering Gone Wrong?

Volkswagen has an odd situation on its hands thanks to its subsidiary Seat, who has priced its new Leon Cupra hot hatch below that of the Golf GTI on which it shares the same platform. Seat has tweaked its Leon hatch using knowledge it gained from participating in World Touring Car Championships, and has managed to squeeze a little more juice from the familar 2.0L turbo that it shares with the Golf GTI. Now with 237bhp, the Leon has 30bhp more than a GTI, but the starting price tag of £19,595 undercuts its VW Group sibling by £400.

The Cupra is Seat’s most powerful car ever and the performance numbers are testament to that. Top speed is 153mph, and the 0-62mph time is 6.4 seconds. Nice additions include the standard 18? alloy wheels, red brake callipers and a single oval exhaust tailpipe as well as an optional DSG transmission.



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BMW_DRVR - 11/10/2006 1:05:15 PM

+1 Boost

I would still buy the GTI instead of this, on looks alone.

Rupert - 11/10/2006 7:09:31 PM

+1 Boost

i love this car.
so much better looking than a golf, but it's interior is made cheaper.

S4cabriofox - 11/10/2006 11:47:34 PM

+1 Boost

Wow! VW can be so oblivious!

They BETTER be using this 240hp 2.0T four-cylinder as the standard engine in the new A4! If they stay with the 200hp, or only increase it marginally, I'll cringe...

I actually think it's cool-looking, but the GTI is better. Like Rupert said, SEAT has cheap interiors compared to others in VW AG.