Auto Driven (UK): Seat Leon Cupra
Price as tested: £19,595 Range price: £11,695 - £19,595 Insurance group as tested: 17E Insurance group range: 4E 17E Date tested: February 2007 Road tester: Stuart Milne Seat's Cupra brand has become a byword for polished performance; and the Leon Cupra is the hottest yet as we found out on its European launch in Madrid. Indeed its the most powerful car Seat has ever built. Of all the brands in the Volkswagen Group, Seat is the one which has kept its own identity. And while other fast VWs, Audis and Skodas using similar engines, the 2-litre turbocharged powerplant is exclusive to Seat. That means the Cupra is considerably faster than its main rival, the Golf GTi. While the Golf will reach 62mph from rest in 7.2 seconds, the Cupra can manage it in just 6.4, while its top speed is 153mph 7mph faster than the GTi. This performance is due to the Cupra's 240bhp engine, which is lifted from the medium-heat 200bhp FR model. But in the Cupe, it's been fitted with a new engine computer, larger turbocharger and reinforced pistons and engine block. With all this extra power, the gearbox has been revised to ensure it can get the power down to the tarmac without breaking. As the old adage goes, power is nothing without control, so Seat has changed the FR's suspension setup, making it slightly softer and lighter, so it's more compliant over Britain's battle-scarred tarmac. So how did the Spanish charger handle itself during its first official UK outing on the winding roads around Oxford?
But even in these nasty conditions, the Cupra was able to get the majority of its power on the ground with minimal wheelspin and torque steer (the feeling of the steering pulling from side to side under heavy acceleration). There's real sparkle from the Cupra's chassis, which pulls off the holy grail of a perfect balance between ride comfort and razor-sharp handling. The steering is nicely weighted and there's a real sense of communication between the driving wheels and the steering wheel. Naturally this has a lot to do with the traction control system preventing all the power being spun away in a cloud of smoke. The traction control can be switched off, however. But that decision should be reserved for the track or for certifiable lunatics only. The engine makes a pleasant noise, thanks to the Seat Sound exhaust system, which employs some clever thinking to give the Cupra a nice burble at low speeds. This gives way to a very nice raspy note when the rev counter starts to bend around to the red line. This attention-seeking noise is backed up by the canary-yellow paintwork which has become the Cupra's trademark colour. We chose it because its the stand-out colour for our pictures; but it still looks good in red, black, silver or Zenith Grey, which turns slightly purple in the right light. But despite its good looks, the range-topping Cupra doesn't differentiate itself from the rest of the range. Its bodykit looks remarkably similar to the Golf GTi-alike FR model, apart from some extra badging, bigger wheels and bright red Cupra-liveried brake calipers. Because the standard Cupra is a pretty machine, which looks unlike any other car on the road, we can forgive this.
Sitting behind the wheel means you can't see the Cupra's best interior feature the seats. They're sporty looking, with a race car-style slot for racing harnesses (although they're visual rather than practical), and huge Cupra logos; but best of all, they proved to be very comfortable, and hold the driver firm during hard cornering. Safety-wise, the Cupra lives up to its four-star rating for adult protection in the EuroNCAP crash tests. It comes with skid preventing electronic stability programme with brake assist, ABS, traction control and a tyre pressure monitoring system. It's also worth remembering the Leon picked up the first EuroNCAP four star award for pedestrian protection too. So how much will all this set you back? At a shade under £20,000, it's not cheap; but it's less than the slower Golf GTi in fact only the Mazda 3 MPS gives more power for your pound. Insurance is about average at Group 17, while 199g/km of CO2 place it in the fairly costly tax Band F. If you're serious about performance, the Leon Cupra offers more of it than any other VW Group hot hatch (save for the expensive Golf R32 and Audi S3).
Rivals You might also want to consider: Ford Focus ST Auto Trader Links Auto Driven (Europe): Seat Leon Cupra
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It wasn't looking good the roads were damp and slippery, and here was a car with lots of power travelling through the front wheels.
Its a similar story inside, with only a steering wheel which proudly displays the Cupra moniker and a chequered flag logo'd gearstick to make the driver realise they're piloting something special.
But its more than a straight line performer, and is more than capable of worrying the best opponents in its class.Page 1
