A Leon with a very big roar

A bit of VW expertise has made the Seat Leon a real fun car, especially in Cupra mode, as Alan Douglas was only too pleased to find out

There are some really interesting cars about if you go beyond the bigname showrooms and look at some of the lesser-known brands.

I can tell you the one to watch is Seat, the Spanish arm of the giant VW/Audi/ Skoda group.

Not only has it got some pretty distinctive and stylish machinery, backed up by the technical expertise of the parent company, but it is about to reveal some fantastic new cars in the not-too-distant future.

I’ve actually seen some of them in the metal – at this stage just concept prototypes of what they’re going to be producing and they are pretty sensational.

The most dramatic will be the Formentor, from its sporty brand, Cupra.

It will be its flagship, combining the thrill of a performance car with the ability of an SUV. At its heart will be a high performance plug-in hybrid engine coupled with an intelligent chassis and some of the latest digital technology.

Also coming next year will be the all-electric Seat El-Born, which will have a 200bhp electric motor capable of powering up to 62mph in 7.5 seconds, a range of around 260 miles and comprehensive systems capable of autonomous driverless operation.

There will also be a new all-electric MII city car and the first 100% electric racing touring car, the lowslung e-Racer, which will have a top speed of 170mph.

But that’s for the future. What’s here right now and certainly well worth a look if you like a bit of sportiness in your driving is the Cupra version of the five-door hatchback the Leon.

The name is appropriate because it takes off with quite a roar which emphasises that it is one of the most potent five-doors on the road.

The featured car I’ve been testing is the ST Cupra R version, which has much the same innards as its VW Golf R cousin, but at a slightly lower price and a more affordable alternative to the Honda Civic Type R or the Hyundai i30N.