welcome to the seat Cupra R st 350 by ABT
so at £38k you know we get a lot of carbon we got a lot of technology we get a lot
of stuff that you would normally have to pay extra for in something like a Golf R
and s3 but the real question is what is the Seat on Cupra R 4 dr ST ABT like to
drive. I'm just gonna call it a Cupra R because it is such a long name well
let's find out so obviously this is tuned 350 horsepower 400NM
it should mean that we have a lot of punch and because this is tuned I would
expect that we get a look a dump of talk around two and a half
thousand rpm so we're gonna find out and the way we're gonna do that first is
to do a launch control
that is a solid launch wow that is a serious kick that when the clutch let's
go and we when I had the rs3 it was a lot more of a progressive release in the
clutch this dump that hard that's a really good first impression we like
that we're a fan of that now like I said this is already because this is tuned by
ABT this has got lower front Springs 20mm front 15mm rear this has got
the adaptive suspension as well
it does have some punch and with the minus 2 degree negative camber
you should be able to throw it it does it takes his corners easily he really
really does and I'll tell you what it doesn't hang about it definitely doesn't
hang about sweeping left-hander drop the
gear
yeah I'll tell you what guys this definitely does have its very quick it
definitely is very quick I mean 4.5 seconds in an estate in a Seat Cupra
R estate is something to be proud of that this is seriously
quick I mean there was a lot of serious more expensive performance cars they
can't do a 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds and this thing here I mean I'm really
impressed I mean I've just come out of an Audi rs3 I drove it to Belgium so I
have a very I guess I could compare it to the RS3 though the rs3 is 400
PS and a 2.5 I think this is more of a choice of you even go for maybe a Golf R
at s3 or with one of these and it depends on I guess the real first
question is are you a brand snob? can you get past the fact this is Seat and
actually I think that a lot of people can and more and more people are I mean
Seats sales are up 7.8 percent this year alone almost the earth what's the
kickdown like let's see foot to floor
a little bit lazy I think you know I don't have to think with DSG boxes now I
don't know whether ABT have remapped the gear box as well as the
engine you can feel the dump of power and it feels really good by I'm not sure
whether the gear box has been remapped those who know comment below
engine tone and your tone sounds pretty good it is a 2 liter four cylinder
but I tell you what the camber does make a difference he definitely does I mean
you can really throw this car around and I'm nowhere near the limit at the moment
I mean you forget that this really is a family estate a family estate that's
pretty damn quick
the exhaust as well sound of the turbo whistling and pushing and
pumping air out the back of the exhaust
so this has a top speed of 161 miles an hour it's very quick
second gear
yeah I mean there is no questioning the performance of this car for me
I think Seat have done a cracking job with it well abt you have done a
cracking job by tuning this and I love the fact that this is a it's a stock
package it is a stock package so you get this done for 500 pounds.
from a driver perspective how am I feeling more than anything so like I
said earlier in the video these seats these seats are complete winners I'm
telling you that they all winners the half alcantara seats
really do hug me in and they have such good bolstering one of the things from
the Audi the rs3 great seats the S line support line seats but I don't think
they have as much
as much bolstering so when I'm really throwing this around corners and even
just kind of you know throwing it left to right here I don't feel like I'm moving
at all I feel very snug I fit perfectly in these seats I really like the
design of them I love the fact the Alcantara is all the way at the top the
kind of copper stitching with a little carbon fiber leather look it's really
nice it really is this steering wheel for me feels great promises an
adjustable steering when I feel all cars full Alcantara I think is a winner I
must say I think it's a really really nice touch yes you know we talked
earlier on about the fact that over time the alcantara will wear away but who
cares for now it feels lovely it feels really nice the steering was quite thin
I like that person is doing well you got very nice hand grips so you often in
complete control when you're throwing this around I've been driving this
in cupra mode so if we were to flick to comfort because it does have the
adaptive suspension and just see what kind of how it feel it's more than
anything so because it should soften up the ride because the ride is a little
bit firmer, a lot firmer because of the springs and because we're
in the Cupra mode which is the full all-out attack in comfort mode
you don't get that lovely noise again from the sport mode or the
cupra mode the exhaust quiets down a bit so it must be on a butterfly valve and
you don't feel the bangs as much when you're in comfort
mode and I do like that about this car
come on honestly this thing really does fly around the corners
it's such an immersive Drive I feel like I've got so much control of this car and
obviously it is four-wheel drive which gives you that extra stability when
you're kind of powering out of corners haven't felt any understeer in this
whatsoever the car weighs 1500kgs so for what it is for an estate I think
that's pretty is pretty good going and it does feel sturdy
and with obviously this car we get the massive big Brembo brakes
which means the stopping powers good and you're gonna need it
because of the 350 PS or 345 horsepower is definitely gonna need it
but I tell you what I think this car is probably one of the most understated
underrated cars out there I really do and the thing is as well with this is
rare this is a rare car there's only 150 of these coming to the UK which means
that really they should hold their value pretty well but also what I love what
Cupra have done I really like it from a
styling perspective I love the color I love this kind of dark and a pastel
grey colour but i really like the kind of bronze accents all over I like
the wheels I think they look super
handling is really good really good I mean like really good
sorry I could just do that all day it's just so much fun but like I said I love
the wheels look really good they're very
distinct the kind of copper style rear badges the black abt badge
there's no hint of chrome on this the cupra r and they went with Copper and carbon
fiber all over the place Alcantara these there's a little bit of a I guess a boy
racer edge kind of feel isn't it and I guess that's what cupra is all
about isn't it cupra is kind of the the racing element
of the Seat brand and you can see that there's a lot of race inspired feel to
this and I really do like it I mean interior dash is well even this
is this very similar feel to the the rs3 that there's no real cheap plastics
maybe a little bit here but I think you get a lot from this car I've always been
a fan of the kind of out there kind of cars. stock cars
that are modded out the factory that look a little bit boisterous a little
bit boy racer I mean I used to have an a 45 AMG I love the Aero kit I
think was amazing which means I also love the fact that you've got
carbon-fiber rear spoiler, carbon-fiber accents either side
of the skirt and the front carbon fiber splitter
I love the crystal style gear stick in the BMW 8 series. a lot of
people didn't like that but I think it's different it's out there and I think
it's cool but I just mean
brakes hard those brakes are fantastic I don't have anything but good
things to say about this car though genuinely I really don't is that is the
first Seat that I've driven in years and I remember the old Cupra R like the
225bhp cupra r a friend of mine used to have one and that was wicked at the
time and obviously over the years Seat has evolved and evolved and evolved now I
think now they really hit the nail on the head with this car I don't think
there's much about this car that you can't like I mean brand snobs will say
yeah but it's a Seat.. but you forget instantly that this is a Seat when you
drive it the only thing reminding me now of it being Seat is the nice big bronze
copper logo in front of me but that doesn't matter a car you buy a car based
on how makes you feel this makes me feel flippin great!
really good really enjoyable fantastic drive
so much stability and it's a pretty good value proposition this is the thing is
where you may not pay you know because it is isn't an Audi it's not a golf R
it means that you get a lot more for your money in my opinion I mean
this car £38k comes with so many extras. a base Golf R comes in at £36k
completely base and I went on the configurator the other night and you
have to spend a minimum minimum like £7k to get it feeling a little bit
like this like as in with the extras you get and then you saw to look at
the rs3 is £9k more than this car granted it's an rs3 and I think
I would have the RS3 but only because of the 2.5 liter engine that's the only
reason. The seat cupra R ABT really is a very nice car!