SEAT LEON CUPRA R
With 306bhp and a chassis retuned for sharper responses, can the latest Leon prove that the Cupra brand still has its mojo?
SEAT’S HIGH-PERFORMANCE CUPRA arm has become something of a conundrum. A decade ago, the sporting Spanish sub-brand was a byword for fast and affordable fun. Fast-forward to the present day and it’s all, well, a bit of a muddle. The rot set in with 2017’s Leon Cupra 300, which had 296bhp (up 10bhp) but lost the option of the hardcore Sub8 pack. Then we were told there would be no go-faster version of the new Ibiza. Yet against this backdrop was the revelation that SEAT was allowing Cupra to go it alone as a dedicated performance brand. This was good news, until we learnt the first model to be born under the new regime would be based on the Ateca SUV.
With this in mind, what do we make of the new Leon Cupra R? On paper, it appears
to answer many of the criticisms levelled at the standard Cupra, which has lost its edge in the face of hugely talented rivals such as the Honda Civic Type R and Hyundai i30 N. There’s more power, revised suspension and an aerodynamically tuned bodykit. You can even spec Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, which is always a sure sign a car means business.
So far so good, but there is a catch – SEAT is building just 799 examples, of which only 24 will come to the UK, and most of those are already sold. Oh, and even if you can get your hands on one, you’ll have to fork out an eyewatering £34,995. So is there anything we can learn from a car that you can’t really buy?
One thing’s for certain – the R looks the part. There’s a deeper front bumper, complete with a more functional carbonfibre splitter, a large tailgate spoiler and extended wheelarches that cover a 20mm wider track. There are also plenty of copper-coloured trim inserts, which you’ll either love or loathe.
There’s more copper inside, plus a pair of high-backed bucket seats and some new dials. As with many high-performance limited-run specials, there’s Alcantara for the wheel and gearlever, but this Leon is no stripped-out track special, as wireless phone charging, heated seats and the latest infotainment system all feature – luxury rather than lap times is the emphasis here. It’s practical too, curiously only being offered as a five-door.
There are further promising signs under the skin. At the front, the strut suspension gets more negative camber (2 degrees rather than 1.3), while the electrically assisted steering has been recalibrated for faster response. Also treated to a remap are the adaptive dampers, which now work across a wider bandwidth, while 370mm front discs (up from 340mm) are clamped by four-pot Brembo calipers. Finally, the only transmission option on right-handdrive cars is a six-speed manual, although Rs sold in other markets can also be ordered with the six-speed paddleshift DSG.
Thumb the starter button and you’re immediately aware of the new exhaust system, which has been tuned for a more natural note. There’s a deeper burble at idle and a more purposeful rasp when you extend the engine, plus some subtle pops and bangs on the overrun. A mere 10bhp power boost to 306bhp means the R doesn’t feel much faster than the regular Cupra – a feeling that’s backed up by the fact SEAT claims the same 5.8sec for the 0-62mph sprint as for the manual, five-door 300. There’s a slightly fiercer delivery over the last few hundred rpm before the red line, but in other respects the R gets the same torquerich, big-chested delivery as the standard car. Also unchanged is the gearshift, which has short and precise throws, but can feel notchy.
It’s in the corners that the R scores over the base model. The revised steering benefits from a more natural weighting, particularly in Normal mode (there are also Sport, Cupra and Individual, where you can pick and mix your diff, throttle and damper settings), and it also responds more quickly. On the dry and smooth Spanish tarmac of our test route, the SEAT’S nose clung on gamely during turn-in, helping to boost confidence, while its electronically controlled differential delivered impressive traction – although on the few bumpy surfaces we encountered there was some subtle tugging from the front wheels when accelerating hard. As you’d expect, the Michelins’ hold on the warm tarmac was stupendous – in the dry, in most corners your bravery will run out before the grip.
The revised dampers deliver decent comfort at low speed, yet go faster and there’s far better body control: where the standard car gets a bit discombobulated, the R feels tieddown and precise. In fact, the only thing that interrupts your flow is the brakes, which suffer from an overservoed action, meaning smooth stopping requires delicate footwork.
Overall, the R is a big improvement on the regular Cupra, and if SEAT could make these changes to the standard car without raising its price, the gap between it and the Civic Type R would become much narrower. However, SEAT bosses say that this won’t happen. So instead we’ll have to take some solace in the fact that, despite the apparently rudderless direction of the Cupra brand, given the opportunity its engineers haven’t lost their touch for making engaging and entertaining cars.
‘You can even spec Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres – a sure sign a car means business’