Is the Cupra Leon a better hot hatch than a VW Golf GTI? I live with one

Managing editor Ian Eveleigh did the dutiful running-in of the box-fresh Cupra for its initial few hundred miles, only for a spot of Fast Fleet musical chairs to swap him into the BMW Z4 Handschalter just as the kid-gloves phase had been completed.

That’s gifted me the guilt-free enjoyment of using this 296bhp front-drive hatch to its best effect. And there’s a lot to enjoy. Its front end is responsive to the point of feeling almost nervous, but the Leon never does anything untoward: its tail follows the front faithfully, and while it can be made to move around, overall this is a safe, grippy car to drive quickly. A smooth one, too: like its VW Golf GTI and R cousins, there are 15 levels of adjustment for the electronically controlled dampers via the touchscreen, but even in the firmest setting there’s still a degree of suppleness to the Leon’s body control.

> Volkswagen Golf GTI review – the quintessential hot hatch improved but not perfected

If you just want to get from A to B, it can waft along smoothly; if you want to dig in, it responds eagerly, but in a measured, predictable way. The perfect balance for a mainstream hot hatch in my book. There’s a little bit of torque-steer under hard acceleration – you need a firm grip on the wheel while overtaking – but considering there’s 295lb ft for the front wheels to deal with, it’s really quite well behaved. It shares the same torque-vectoring front axle as the regular Golf GTI rather than a true mechanical limited-slip diff but it works well enough for most road scenarios.

It would be nice if the power steering wasn’t quite so overly light and offered more of a real sense of connection to the road, although that’s been a characteristic of the SEAT/Cupra Leon for many years now. It acquires a little more weight in the Sport and Cupra modes but never gains much in the way of feel.

Other drawbacks? Plenty has been written about the touchscreen in the Golf and Leon families, and it’s slightly more user-friendly than it used to be, but for me it still requires too much eyes-off-road time to be truly safe and fit for purpose, particularly when using the climate control functions. The new 12.9-inch screen dominates the cabin at night, too; like when you’ve booked a cinema ticket too late and find yourself having to sit uncomfortably close to the screen in the front row.

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I don’t totally trust the auto high beam function – oncoming traffic has occasionally flashed me when I’ve left it in auto mode, and the system takes a long time to switch back to main beam when turning onto a dark road, so I find it best to do it manually. When there’s no traffic about the lights are fantastic though, daubing swathes of bright daylight across pitch-black countryside.

Their LEDs are embedded in the new-look nose, which, like Ev, I’m not sure about; his ‘Tesla Model 3 meets egg crate’ description hits the nail on the head. Nevertheless, our Leon has had a few ‘nice car’ comments from neighbours and strangers alike.

The pre-facelift Leon scored well in our test of nearly every hot hatch on sale, finishing fifth out of 18 cars. A few of those that finished ahead of it have now gone off sale (RIP Hyundais i20 N and i30 N) and I find it more engaging than the latest Golf GTI and BMW M135. Leaving aside rarer-groove cars such as the GR Yaris and Honda Civic Type R, I reckon the Leon’s one of the best hot hatches available today. Thanks for running it in, Ev.

This story was first featured in evo issue 331.