Cupra Leon review

The previous plug-in hybrid iteration of the Cupra Leon was a car which we thought was a bit confused; its engine didn't really belong in a car with such sporting intentions and its efficiency was quickly losing competitiveness. This meant that it only felt right to find out what the new-engined PHEV is all about.

The 1.5-litre turbo four-pot, working in tandem with a 19kWh battery and electric motor, produces 268bhp, 310lb ft of torque and gets from 0-62mph in 7.1sec. Top speed is pegged at 155mph.

Those are all reasonably convincing numbers, but are they enough for a hot hatchback whose competition is the Golf GTI and Civic Type R? We’re not so sure. 

But if you look at it as a lukewarm hatch which will allow you to reap the benefits of long-term fuel savings, the engine makes a bit more sense. It also helps that when you're on the move, the powertrain makes very good use of its electric motor, being as strong in the mid-range as many hot hatchbacks.

Its six-speed DSG no doubt helps the Leon achieve its acceleration figures, and the ’box shifts quickly, too, responding well to the (disappointingly small and plasticky) paddles. And while it will upshift automatically at the redline, it leaves it late enough for it to rarely be an issue. Apart from some slight hesitancy during hurried three-point turns, it is impeccably behaved on the daily grind, too.

When you engage ‘Cupra’ mode, there is piped-in engine noise accompanied by a slight burble from the exhaust. The EA888 isn’t the most tuneful unit, and at higher revs the intake noise and valve thrash take over. In all of its applications this engine sounds ruthlessly efficient, getting on with the business of pulling you from one corner to the next with an admirable hunger for revs.

But all of this is perhaps to overlook the Leon line-up’s star performer: the VZ2 estate. Golf-based performance cars have traditionally been fast, athletic and generally extremely competent, but lacking that final tenth of tactility, being just a hint too inert and clinical in character to totally win your heart. But this most fiery of Leons, with a punchy 329bhp and unflappable four-wheel drive, is a resounding (and reassuring) anomaly, with its distinct dynamic character, stop-and-stare styling and hilarious turn of pace making it at once extremely engaging to drive and easy to love.

Not many family-sized cars will tempt you out of bed at 6am on a Sunday, but the prospect of razzing around your local country lanes with the gearbox in manual mode and the exhaust turned all the way up (yes it’s synthesised, but it sounds convincingly like a rally-honed five-pot) could be only too inviting in this wild wagon.

However, it's still easy to settle in for a big ol’ motorway schlep, with the sports exhaust fading into the background once up to speed and the front seats comfortable enough to support you for a couple of hours without stopping, at least. Cruising economy isn’t bad, either: if you find a really interesting podcast and can stomach a monotonous couple of hundred miles on the cruise control at 70mph, the MPG readout will nudge the mid-30s - though you'd probably be so bored by the time yu got off the motorway and on to a B-road that you'd undo all those savings by about the third corner. 

Despite its angry styling, burbling exhaust note, figure-hugging seats and dazzling 0-62mph time (quicker than a Ferrari 355 if you can stand a slightly tenuous comparison), this top-drawer hot hatch never feels especially frenzied or uncomfortable in everyday environments. 

So, too, is it commendably fuss-free in slower-speed situations. Even during maddening commuting missions through clogged suburban rat runs, the Leon proves to be no less relaxing or manoeuvrable than the common-or-garden Golf on which it’s based: the steering is light, the turning circle fine, the DSG gearbox smooth and sensibly ratio’d and the seating position nicely judged.