Having spent the last year or so in a Vauxhall Astra VXR, it seems fitting that the key to our new SEAT Leon Cupra has come my way. You see, on paper at least, a more closely matched pair of competitors you’d struggle to find: the Cupra offers an identical 237bhp to the VXR, 175bhp/ton to the Astra’s 173, a similarly brisk low-sixes 0-60 time and a price removed by little more than 500 quid (£19,695 plays the Vauxhall’s £19,185). Chances are that if you’ve got one on your shortlist, you’re considering the other, but – and here’s what I want to find out – can the Leon dish up enough excitement to rival the Astra?
Taking a first look at our Emocion Red Cupra upon its arrival, I can’t help but think that it’s lagging behind in terms of visual impact. I’ve got nothing against the Leon’s distinctive pebble-like form per se, but surely the most powerful production SEAT to date ought to stand out from the crowd a bit more? Perhaps the BTCC-alike body kit as fitted to Richard Porter’s old 2.0 TDI long-termer would do the trick. Then again, maybe just specifying SEAT’s look-at-me Crono Yellow paint would be a cheaper option.
Still, there are a few subtle differences that will at least make drivers of the 197bhp FR Leon jealous: the black front spoiler and high-gloss black mirrors (who’d have thought black mirrors would ever be cool?), the word ‘CUPRA’ writ wide across the tailgate instead of ‘LEON’, and, most obviously, grey 18in alloys and a more purposeful, lower stance – 7mm lower than the FR to be precise.
Once you get past the bare-minimum quality of some of the plastics, there’s plenty of good stuff to be found inside, too. All the essentials are right: a chunky, leather-trimmed steering wheel, supportive seats, a pleasingly low driving position and that delightfully heel-n-toeable floor-hinged VAG accelerator. Added to this, our Cupra is also blessed with a couple of nice-to-have options, namely satnav with Bluetooth (£1595) and the all-important iPod connection (£90).
So far, so promising. Then, driving KR07 NZM out of the evo car park for the first time, I get a real surprise. Having driven the FR before, I’d expected the Cupra’s ride to be pretty similar, i.e. nicely sporty but not a dominating characteristic. Boy, was I wrong. This Leon is stiff, jiggling its way along on anything but perfect tarmac, almost knocking an involuntary breath out of you when the surface drops away suddenly at speed. It’s not what you expect from a four-door hatchback, but it leaves you in no doubt that the Cupra means business. And the payback is fantastic: each wheel feels like it will never, ever get out of sync with the road, while body-roll through the corners is kept to an absolute minimum. Add the sticky P Zero Rosso rubber to the equation and the result is cornering speeds I could only dream of in the VXR. Hmm… I get the feeling there’s going to be no shortage of excitement behind the wheel of the Cupra.
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