Mercedes-benz C63 AMG Estate Cupra Leon Estate 310

Fresh rubber for our 6.2-litre super-estate brings some highs and woes The Cupra gets on track – but not for very long…

MY RECENTLY ACQUIRED QUAIFE LIMITEDSLIP differential looks set to gather dust for a little bit longer yet, but in the meantime the new set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tyres have already covered a few hundred miles.

Some of these were back before spring had properly sprung, and while torrential rain, single-digit temperatures and almost 500bhp to the rear isn’t a great combination, the feedback and traction boost offered by the Michelins improved my confidence no end. The arrival of summer has since revealed a noticeable jump in straight-line traction over the old Goodyear Eagle F1s on warm, dry tarmac too. The C63’s use of a relatively narrow 255-section rear tyre is unusual, but the 4 S’s compound almost entirely eliminates undesirable traction loss. Impressive.

Another curious improvement from fitting the tyres is a correction to how the car tracks. Ever since I purchased the C63 it had been pulling slightly to one side, but on the fresh rubber it’s now barely noticeable. Whether the pull was caused solely by uneven tyre wear or an alignment issue remains to be seen, but to ensure I don’t cause premature wear to this new set a full geometry overhaul is on the cards.

That said, one of the tyres has already been written off after collecting some nasty pieces of metal. A (literal) razor blade embedded itself firmly into the rear offside, resulting in an irreparable puncture. Thankfully the thick, fresh tread caught the other pieces of debris before they had a chance to cause further punctures.

The saga didn’t end there, mind, with the fitment of a replacement tyre resulting in some damage to the wheel. Though minor, the frustratingly delicate diamond-cut finish makes corrosion highly likely with even the smallest break in the lacquer, so a refurbishment is imminent.

In other news, I spent a couple of weeks in our old Fast Fleet Mégane RS 300 just before it departed. The Renault’s ludicrous four-wheelsteer turn-in and boosty 1.8-litre four-cylinder are highly entertaining, but despite my fears that it would make the AMG feel lazy in comparison, it just confirmed how special it is. It seems that not much compares to rear-drive M156 power…

With the 50,000-mile mark having been and gone, a transmission oil service will be required at the C63’s service later this year, but before then it’s heading to a local Mercedes dealer for a front airbag recall. Let’s hope fitting the new units doesn’t make for any new rattles.

Date acquired May 2021 Total mileage 50,398 Mileage this month 240 Cost this month £200 (tyre) mpg this month 19.0

IDROVE THE CUPRA DOWN TO Goodwood recently for our first evo trackday of the year at the historic racing circuit. These are fabulous days, with a mouth-watering assortment of cars on track, knowledgeable owners to chat to, and a nice lunch thrown in too. Lovely stuff. Alas, the Cupra didn’t exactly attract much in the way of paddock attention, which is sad when you consider it’s a 306bhp, four-wheel-drive junior super-estate. Shouldn’t that at least register somewhere on our petrolhead radars? That power figure and the Leon 310’s 1557kg kerb weight are almost exactly the same as an Audi RS2’S. I know, it made me think too… And it’s even more impressive when you consider how much extra safety kit the Cupra is carrying.

Sadly, there’s something really underwhelming about the Leon that seems to generate an apathy that cloaks it like an autumnal dew. It manages to make its onpaper promise seem a bit ’so what?’ in reality. The strangely anonymous body styling and lack of defined side sills make it look tall and narrow to my eyes, and the wheels are really something else again, their clip-on plastic extensions second only in naffness to our Kodiaq vrs’s weird eco-car additions.

I did venture out onto the circuit at one point, with limited expectations, but must confess I returned to the pitlane before the end of the 15-minute session. Wrung out, there’s no denying the Cupra is quick, as it swallowed up Goodwood’s deceptively curved ‘straights’, but the tyres were clearly giving up after just a couple of laps and the brakes weren’t doing much better, beginning to rumble and judder as the stopping distances got longer. It was a case of either press on and risk some irreversible damage or come in early, and given the Cupra was providing very little in terms of driver feedback or immersive enjoyment I chose the sensible option. The car was making a pretty clear statement: ‘Please don’t do that.’

I drove our Kodiaq VRS away from the track, and can’t say I particularly missed the Cupra. I should do, shouldn’t I, given one is an SUV and the other a rapid performance car, but there’s just so little to latch onto with the fancy SEAT; it gets you to where you’re going quickly, but in an utterly forgettable manner. Given that our time with it is, if not nigh, then at least experiencing a shortening of the days, I fear that may end up being the car’s epitaph when it’s gone, too.

Date acquired February 2022 Total mileage 4366 Mileage this month 1805 Costs this month £0 mpg this month 28.5