I was surprised by the number of people who seemed puzzled about the car I was test driving recently.
I told them that the previous model used to be known as the SEAT Leon Cupra. But it has been ‘redesigned and enhanced’ to become a standalone CUPRA model. That is part of the plan by owners, Volkswagen, which means new SEAT models will be made under the Cupra brand. Forgive me if I am telling you something you already know but I do so because so many didn’t appear to.
By the time I had blurted all that out I sensed some of my ‘audiences’ were not fully certain they got it.
It was a bit like the way some people were confused for a while, back in the days, over the difference between a normal hybrid, plug-in hybrid and mild-hybrid. I think most people are okay with that now but it did take a while.
Cupra, meanwhile, are working away in letting as many people as possible know about their cars and one of the better ways to do that is to get vehicles out on the road where people can see them and are reminded of them every day. The reaction to my car would seem to bear that out.
It also helps that you need to be able to stand out from the crowd in some way or other. And I think that can be said in the case of this week’s review model too.
So, say hello to the much-revised Cupra Leon hatchback which I’ve just been driving (I hope to drive more Cupras over the summer).
There was a lot of interest in it because it looks that bit different, but whether or not that translates into people buying one is another thing entirely of course.
I would say that if the enquiries were to be any gauge then the Leon will tempt a good few to explore further.
Very much in its favour is that this is now a much more striking looking car, with an eye-catching front while copper-coloured design inlays (a signature of the brand) lifting it from former fairly hum-drum hatch to something quite different and far more appealing.
The Volkswagen Golf obviously (same stable) would be a big rival to the Leon – at 150bhp for the entry level 1.5-litre TSi petrol the Cupra costs a competitive €38,005.
But the version I had was the plug-in 272hp model which develops more output than your basic 2-litre Volkswagen GTi, would you believe?
Price-wise my basic plug-in easily beats the entry GTi price (€52,210 v around €60,000) but when the €8,929 in options on the test car was added on, the total price came in at €61,139. That is a close shave on price against the mighty pull of a modern motoring icon and doesn’t, on the face of it, leave you with much room to argue that you are saving a lot of money.
You do get a lot of stuff for that extra spend, but you’d still wonder if that would be enough to swing it the Leon’s way to any appreciable extent. Anyway, the extra spec includes: 19ins hailstorm Copper forged machined alloys in Sport Black/Copper, performance Matrix LED lights, Enceladus grey (matt paint), Intelligent Drive (Side/Exit Assist, Pre-Crash Assist, Lane Keeping System Plus, Traffic Jam Assist, Navigation System, IPA) – and a panoramic sun roof.
But there are green-flag benefits that accrue from this being a plug-in hybrid that lets it compete on a different level with the GTi. They claim you can (and I pass this on with a good pinch of salt) travel up to 124kms, depending on model, on the battery (20kWh net) power alone.
If you get 90kms or even half of it is claimed capability it would represent a fair old saving on fossil fuel if you re-charge regularly so that the petrol tank is largely untouched (except on longer journeys). And road tax is just €140. So there are advantages over the GTi. Unfortunately, however, the larger battery pushes under the rear seat/boot floor and robs the car of a decent luggage compartment. It is cramped.
As you’d expect with such a powerful base, the Leon is no slouch: it can rush quietly to 100kms in 7.1 seconds but I have to say I never got the sense of dynamic speed that you’d get from a GTi.
The Leon is more smooth than show-off on the road. It had great feel and feedback through steering wheel and chassis from the various surfaces and contours, swinging easily around bends and tight corners. It was supple and steady, holding a true line around long, sloping bends especially. Really well-balanced car.
The cabin is worth a good, long look and more than a few minutes of a sit-in. It’s spacious, well equipped and well thought out while the Dinamica bucket seats (standard) were not just large and sturdy but extremely comfortable into the bargain.
It is a really low-slung car, a nice change from the thin-oxygen heights of so many SUVs I’ve driven over the past year. That said, I still had to work to get me my optimum driving position which ushered me from nearly rubbing my bum off the road to normal sit-down height.
Depending on what you charge the Leon plug-in with it will take you 2 hrs 30 mins with AC 11kW or only 26 minutes with a DC 120kW.
Entry-level spec has a 12.9ins infotainment system and a 10.25ins digital cockpit as well as front full LEDs, rear 3D LED lights, heated front seats, dynamic chassis control, keyless entry, black roof rails, rear view camera and of course wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
It was an interesting car to drive on several fronts: design, engineering, technology and a nice touch of the feelgood factor.
It’s a car that turns heads but can it change hearts as well?
