There wasn’t much in the way of sunshine on my showry day trip to Oxfordshire - but at least there was a Spanish scorcher to warm the cockles of my heart.
SEAT is making its name as a sporting marque, and its new flagship is surely the new Leon Cupra, a family-sized hatchback with 240bhp and uprated chassis, brakes and steering for superb handling and stopping.
For many the latest Volkswagen Golf GTi is the current benchmark for ‘hot’ hatchbacks; in my view its newly arrived cousin from Barcelona is more than capable of giving it run for its money.
While the Golf is hard to criticise, the Leon Cupra seems a slightly more focused sporting car, and that means a little more of the fun factor, too.
It’s a car for all seasons. There’s a large, comfortable and well kitted out interior and torquey engine which performs so easily - like a V6 or even a V8 - it can make you lazy. But put you foot down and Mr Hyde takes over from Dr Jekyll as the big bore exhaust growls and you simultaneously feel a smooth surge of acceleration for that rapid ‘A’ road overtake.
It’s hard to believe a car this size gets all this oomph from a mere 2.0 litre engine, but it is the Audi race developed FSI unit, which also helps to explain its almost surprising 34mpg average. That’s about 20 per cent better than a similarly powered and priced rival I drove recently.
The extra torque provided by the turbocharger not only contributes to overall performance, it can make it seem almost effortless: I can hardly imagine a situation where you’d get the rev counter in the red zone.
The new Leon’s excellent chassis has been considerably improved and upgraded for the Cupra, noticeably in terms of suspension and weight distribution, for excellent roadholding.
It’s so good that SEAT’s engineers were able to use a slightly ’softer’ differential so that both front wheels maintain traction through the bends without being compromised by the hideous torque steer which is so often the downside of a powerful front wheel drive car.
The Cupra’s lowered, stiffer sports suspension provides roll-free, confidence-inspiring cornering ability while rattling your teeth over country lanes.
In tests it’s proved the current chassis and suspension have produced a significant increase in stability and cornering ability over the previous, very competent, Cupra R.
The steering is electronic rather than hydraulic, yet has the very positive, direct feel of a rear wheel drive car. The electronics gave SEAT the opportunity to add a new gizmo, too, an extension of the well-proven stability programmes.
The ‘driver steering recommendation’, as its called, will actually give the driver’s hands a little nudge in the right direction if, for example, the car is becoming unstable through oversteer.
In other words, it helps you to correct a potential skid before it gets out of control.
The brakes, too, are uprated and actually feel rather sharp until you get used to them. the system naturally includes ABS and an emergency brake assistance system - adding extra braking power if you really need it.
At £19,595 the Leon Cupra is competitively priced against its rivals, particularly bearing in mind its interior space and equipment levels.
It will seat five adults comfortably, the front pair esconed in superbly shaped, race-style bucket seats. The rear seats split and fold to allow you to juggle between passenger and cargo - the boot has a useful 341 litres of space which can be increased in this way to an estate-like 1,166 litres.
The interior is mainly black, in sports coupé tradition, a theme which continues with chrome features, white-backed instrument dials and a simply laid out centre console with climate control and stereo controls.
Outside, the Cupra is distinguished by the large honeycomb front grilles, which also have the practical function of providing extra cooling air for the engine and brakes.
The car is clearly lower on its sports suspension, too, a fact which emphasises the size of its 18-inch alloy wheels with low profile tyres.
Inside, you get dual zone climate control, a CD player, electric windows, cruise control and six airbags. ABS brakes, electronic stability system, central locking with security system and a tyre pressure monitoring system are also fitted.
Bumper to bumper:
- SEAT Leon Cupra, engine: 2.0 litre FSI turbo petrol engine with 240bhp and 221lbs ft of torque driving the front wheels through a six speed manual gearbox.
- Performance: 0 to 62mph in 6.4 secs
- Economy: Urban 24.8mpg; country 43.5mpg; average 34mpg. CO2 emissions 199g/km.
- Warranty: Three years or 60,000 miles plus 12 years body protection and three years warranty on the paintwork.
- Price: £19,595
By John Griffiths
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