Cupra Leon review

There's a lot of powertrains to choose from, but let's start with the most interesting. The 'EA888' 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo is familiar from elsewhere in the VW Group. In the fastest Leon hatch it makes 295lb ft of torque to go along with the 296bhp, which means that – provided you can get the power down through the front wheels – it’ll hit 62mph from a standstill in 5.7 seconds and will run on to a top speed of 155mph.

The engine is super punchy, but traction does seem to be a bit of an issue. On anything less than bone dry tarmac, the hot Leon will spin its front wheels if you try to set off in a hurry. Bit of character though, isn’t it? 

Needless to say the more powerful Leon Estate - and its four-wheel-drive system - fixes that issue and it's a fast and fabulous thing to hustle cross-country; a Smartprice Audi RS Avant, if you will. But one that'll still behave like a hot hatch in corners if you're boisterous enough. Mind you, it's nudging fifty grand with options.

In either application, the seven-speed DSG 'box is as smooth and seamless with its shifts as ever, and there are paddles mounted behind the steering wheel for when you feel the need to take over. It’s a familiar but supremely strong powertrain, although be warned that you’ll immediately want to switch off the ludicrous augmented engine sound in the sportier modes. Thankfully the Leon also gets an Individual mode with good customisation options.

Can it do corners?

It really can. Yes, it tends to favour understeer initially, but get your corner entry right and the trick electronic front diff will pull the nose into a corner, and when the rear does let go there’s plenty of warning. Plus, you get an ESC Sport setting to wind off some of the interference from the traction control.

That said, it isn’t as aggressively raw as a Honda Civic Type R, nor does it offer the wheel-cocking antics of a Hyundai i30N. But then neither of those are still on sale. It’ll offer you decent countryside thrills, but it’s a bit more serious than its lairier rivals.

A job for the new Leon VZ and TCR to fill, perhaps: early signs on smooth Spanish tarmac are strong. Again, these will be pricey things, but in the absence of rivals, what choice do you have?

Everything from VZ1 trim upwards comes with the VW Group’s multi-stage DCC adaptive dampers. That means you can soften up the suspension – helpful given the state of the UK’s back roads where this car shines. It rides bumps remarkably well in its more forgiving modes. With the lowlier powertrains, their spec levels starting with a 'V' rather than a 'VZ', DCC is saved for the highest V3 trim.

So what about those other powertrains?

It'll be no surprise to learn they're a lot less interesting. The base 1.5-litre doesn't hustle the Leon along especially quickly; it's not slow, per se, but its experience is a long way from that of a bona fide hot hatch. No surprise, when its peak power is half the headline 2.0-litre car.

If you love the looks and have little interest in the dark art of handling, then it's a pleasant enough way to move around. But it's a long way from the lairy, day-glo Cupra hatches of the late nineties and early noughties.

The hybrid doesn't crank the thrills up much further, though it's powerful enough for erratic wheelspin to make a triumphant return when you're clogging it out of junctions. While evidently heavier than Leons without a battery to haul around, it still brakes, steers and goes with the inherent sharpness that VW MQB hatches always tend to.

It's a no-brainer on a company car scheme - but again, it's a tangibly different car to those 300bhp-ish models atop the Leon range. You're buying or leasing it for the premium feel, not the scintillating performance.

Do they guzzle fuel?

Official fuel consumption in the 2.0-litre hatch is between 36.2 and 37.2mpg, which you’ll likely only see if you’ve got helium in your shoes. We averaged around 28mpg, although that did include some, erm… spirited driving.

The hybrids will do much better of course, with the two PHEVs rated at a frankly ridiculous 744.4mpg for the 201bhp version and 684.2mpg for the 268bhp. These are unicorn figures unless you happen to drive strictly within the car’s range and charge at home, although the claimed electric range of between 70 and 80 miles depending on spec is really quite impressive. That’s up from just over 30 miles on the pre-facelift PHEVs. Could be a game changer. You can now fast charge them at up to 50kW, too.