Back around the turn of the millennium, in the days when Volkswagen was only giving its boring looking and soft to drive Mark IV Golf GTI a mere 148hp (150PS), Skoda and Seat (both established VW group members) were using the higher-spec version of the five-valve per cylinder 1.8-liter turbo they all shared (with the Audi TT); it made 177hp (180PS) and 207hp (210PS) respectively.
Both applications resulted in excellent cars in their day, but surprisingly, different between themselves and to the Golf with which they shared their underpinnings.
The Octavia vRS had a massive boot and a more than decent back seat, whereas the Leon Cupra R came in with stiffer suspension, a snugger-feeling interior and attractive red backlighting for all of the instruments and controls. Naturally, the power of the Spanish car made it the faster accelerating one, but it was not that much faster than the Skoda; Seat also offered a Leon FR at the time, and that had an identical 177 hp output – the Cupra R used the same engine as the period Audi TT Quattro.
Any of the cars mentioned above, even the TT, are excellent buys nowadays, based on regular cars that were very well put together, durable and practical. Today. you can pick one up from around €2,000 in Germany, though the price does dramatically go up inverse-proportionally to the year of manufacturing and mileage, so do spend some time searching and don’t rush out and buy the first/cheapest one you see.
They offer performance that’s on par with modern hot hatches, but are far less sanitized than what you can go out and buy today. Moreover, if driven carefully, one could even hope of matching (or even exceeding) the claimed average efficiency figures that hover around the 8.5 l/100km (or 33 mpg UK) mark.
If, however, none of the models mentioned above are special enough, then we’ll remind you that Seat made an even meaner Leon, based on the same shape car: the Cupra 4. It came with VW’s much-loved 2.8-liter VR6 engine that sent its 201hp to all four wheels, making it a very different animal to the others, more akin to the Golf R32 than anything else. It was a tad slower than the Cupra R past 100 km/h or 62 mph, but these engines are known to be able to make a lot more power with mods – turbo kits are still available.
Used Cupra 4 in a decent shape start at over €3,000 – €3,500 in Germany, and that’s pretty much where the TT Quattro also begins at, but its appeal is nowhere near as strong as that of the other hatchback-based models; you need to like the way it looks, before you buy one and remember that the Skoda is the only one out of all mentioned here that’s available as an estate/wagon model. Plus, it has those cool green-painted calipers…
By Andrei Nedelea
PHOTO GALLERY
