Seat Leon Cupra R
Seat Leon Cupra R £34,995
WE SAY: THE HOT HATCH’S GREATEST ERA CONTINUES. THIS CUPRA IS ANOTHER BELTER...
It’s the most powerful Seat yet. The Leon Cupra has broken through the VW Group hot-hatch glass ceiling and channels Golf R power – 306bhp from a 2.0-litre turbo – through only its front wheels. That’s a 10bhp rise on standard, while there’s nerdy stuf like wider tracks from more negatively cambered wheels, which the slightly tacked-on wheelarch extensions house. The exhaust is a bit louder, the steering a bit quicker and the brakes a bit bigger.
The price for these modest gains? Um, £34,995, making it one of the more pricey Seats we can remember. For that you get any kit you dare name – Beats stereo, 19in wheels, all of the phone connectivity – plus proper rarity. Seat is making 799, and a mere 24 will come to the UK.
So it’s a limited-edition hot hatch, but not in the stripped-out-special vein of Renault. All the seats are intact and nicely upholstered. You don’t have to tie your shopping to a rollcage. But it’s greater than the sum of its tweaks. Leon Cupras are hugely fun cars, but they’ve sometimes felt a touch unhinged, with lots of wheelspin if you’re not thoughtful with the throttle. This – on dry roads, at least – has no slack in any of its controls and not a single horsepower is lost on pull away. Once you get to a corner, turn in is sharp and snappy.
It takes greedy entry speeds to make it understeer, and once you’re hooked into a corner you can get straight back onto the throttle to feel its electronic dif propel you out of the other side. And it’s even better in high-speed corners. A carbon rear spoiler makes proper downforce, and the car is properly stable. It would take yobbishness to make it move around unduly. Which might strike you as a little bit too mature; for all its big wheels and cartoonish arches, this is a Leon that’s unwaveringly focused.
That’s necessary to take on the fantastic Civic Type R, though. I suspect the Honda would ultimately prove more thrilling, but Seat has made a car nearly as quick, nearly as exciting, and with looks that many will prefer. Those 24 are close to being sold out. I’m not really surprised.