Cupra Leon VZ review – is this now the best hot hatch you can buy?

Quiet has been the Cupra Leon’s rise to the top of the hot hatch hierarchy and no, it’s not just based on the fact that the number of its old rivals still on sale dwindles by the week. Here is a car that holds its position in our affections based on merit. Now there’s a new, more powerful version, called the Cupra Leon VZ. With the Honda Civic Type R disappearing from sale, is the new Cupra now our front-driven hot hatch of choice? Quite possibly, though you’ll struggle to get hold of one – just 50 are coming to the UK.

You’ll be forgiven for giving the new Leon VZ a double take, wondering what exactly is new. The ‘VZ’ badge on the boot doesn’t mean anything either, as Leon 300s will have this too. Top of the cheat sheet? Check the exhausts. On the new VZ, the four pipes protruding from the sporty rear bumper will be that distinctively Cupra shade of copper, rather than grey as they were on the Leon 300. Inside is the guaranteed presence of the fantastic Sabelt ‘Cup’ bucket seats that let you find a proper driving position, though these come standard too on the £50,135 Leon VZ3. Inside there really isn’t much to mark what will be a rare car out from ‘lesser’ models.

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All that’s really changed is the power output. The EA888 2-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine is as it was albeit with tickled software, to produce 321bhp and 310lb ft – a dead ringer for the outputs of the new Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50. Like the Golf this still goes through the front wheels alone though it doesn’t receive the array of geometry changes that the Golf gets – maybe a revision we’ll see on the TCR? Performance is potent, with the 0-62mph sprint taking just 5.4sec, on the way to a de-restricted 168mph top speed.

The Leon VZ avoiding adopting the driven rear axle and torque-splitter diff of the top-billing Leon 333 Estate to harness its potency is a good thing. One of the things we really enjoyed about the Leon 300 was this sense of barely-contained fury and so that remains in the new VZ. It’s not stupid, like an old Ford Focus RS or Vauxhall Astra VXR, the nose diving towards the nearest hedgerow at the first sign of meaningful boost pressure. Rather it’s scrappy, alive, engaging. You do need to exercise a bit of control and on occasion meter out its performance in aid of maintaining precision but do so effectively and the nose obeys, the limited-slip VAQ differential tucking the Leon onto your chosen line, asking a little more of the drive but rewarding in turn.

You’ve the confidence to press on thanks to its largely talented damping, the 15-way DCC system rarely allowing the road surface to distract the Leon. Set it just a few clicks back from the most aggressive setting and you’ll have a Leon that’s controlled without being annoyingly bouncy or unproductively harsh. Sure, the Cupra’s c1420kg weight would trouble a set of scales used to weigh hot hatches of old but rarely does that stain the Leon’s sense of togetherness. Just have it in mind when you let off over a fast crest. Such is the neutral balance of this chassis, its rump isn’t shy about carving a wider line.

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The controls are as they were in the Cupra Leon 300 which is to say, surprisingly positive at least by comparison to its Volkswagen-badged cousins, the GTI and GTI Clubsport. There’s a positivity and responsiveness just off centre and a nice build of weight through the rack. The brakes have good initial bite without being snappy and build in strength through the pedal’s travel. There’s just a logic to everything, nothing you need to acclimate to or adapt your inputs for – you just drive the thing.

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Where it falls slightly afoul of the dearly departed Civic Type R is what that drive is like and the extent to which it excels in all these areas. The chassis isn’t quite as keyed into the road, or as resistant to the most disruptive of bumps, rutts or camber changes. The steering doesn’t load with the same depth, the nose doesn’t dart in with the same response and the chassis doesn’t respond with the same eagerness. 

The Cupra does all of what the Type R does well, notched back those last few clicks that make the Civic so remarkable and thrilling. That doesn’t make the Cupra bad. On the contrary, it’s a great thing to drive and as of the Civic’s withdrawal from Honda’s UK configurator, is probably now the best medium-sized hot (not hyper) hatch you can buy. And were the Civic and indeed the Focus ST still around, for my money, the Cupra would still get second step.

Price and rivals

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No confirmed figures yet as to the price of the Cupra Leon VZ but given a Leon 300 VZ3 is over £50,000, be sure it’ll be more than that again. Venture too close to the £60,000 mark and suddenly cars like the Mercedes-AMG A45 S and Audi RS3 start coming within budget – not direct rivals to the Cupra but amazing things and thus, probably worth the added outlay. The Toyota GR Yaris, while an entirely different sort of beast, is also in the mix at this price – certainly, it's a more focused, specialised object. The Cupra will have rarity on its side at least. 

Just 1500 are being made with indications that just 50 are coming to the UK. The pricey Spaniard withstands comparison on merit with an Audi S3 and indeed, Volkswagen’s Golf GTI and Golf R, even being appreciably more expensive than the VWs. The extra fun factor and quality feel will just make every journey in the Cupra that bit more satisfying.

Specs