Skip advert
Advertisement

Cupra Leon Estate 310 Fast Fleet test – six months in the 300bhp wagon

Capable but not compelling, our Cupra from the ICE age has departed the evo Fast Fleet

Evo rating

What can we say about evo’s departing Cupra Fast Fleeter? No, that’s not a rhetorical question – I mean it: what can we actually say that we haven’t already said? I knew the day was approaching when I would have to write this end-of-term report, and I can’t say I’ve been particularly looking forward to it. The Cupra Leon Estate has been a fast and fairly practical means of transport, but I’m afraid I just didn’t gel with it in the end, and I can’t say I miss it now it’s gone. 

Advertisement - Article continues below

For me, the trouble with cars like the Leon is that it feels rather obvious the game has moved on – both for manufacturers and for driving enthusiasts. With the former, the obvious lack of real joy in the Leon gives a strong hint that the brand – as with the rest of the VW Group – has already turned its attention to EVs, and both financially and intellectually is simply going through the motions with its remaining ICE cars. We’d say much the same about the Golf Mk8, for example, although the Skoda Octavia manages to avoid much of this criticism. For drivers, meanwhile, the Leon lacks the sparkle that used to mark out fast SEATs as an interesting alternative. Sure, they were rarely class leaders, but there was always a place for them as a cheaper, often more feisty relation to other members of the parent group, let alone the market as a whole. Yet all of us struggled to really pinpoint what the Cupra brand and this car really stood for. 

Skip advert
Advertisement
Advertisement - Article continues below

> Cupra Leon Estate VZ3 2024 review – Cupra’s rival to the Mercedes-AMG CLA35 Shooting Brake

That isn’t to say the Leon Estate 310 is a bad car. It can cover ground at an astonishing rate, in all weathers, and this must be made clear. It offers all the usual infotainment trinkets buyers expect, and is never what you could call ugly to look at – although our car’s Graphene Grey paint looked dowdy in anything bar spotlessly clean condition and bright sunlight. In many ways our Leon did everything that was asked of it, and you might say, ‘Well, what’s the problem then?’ But often I felt I could have done the same journey with the same level of reward in a smaller-engined – and more practical – Octavia Estate, for example, and for a 306bhp fast estate at over £40,000 that shouldn’t be a thought that’s anywhere near the mind. 

Dislikes? Standouts were the operating system, which it shares with all the VW Group cars of this generation and gets no more satisfying to use over time. The twin-clutch ’box could be irritating if left to its own devices, but the paddles were the usual tiny items. It also lacked refinement at times, with a surprising amount of road and wind noise, perhaps exacerbated by the open volume of an estate and the large, panoramic glass roof. Quite a few passengers commented on this, so it wasn’t just over-sensitive road-tester ears in play. 

And so the final feeling is one of ambivalence. A decent car, but one lacking purpose and definition. Our new Born, meanwhile, is already garnering some praise, so it seems the world moves on, and in some cases the old ways should be left behind.

Date acquiredFebruary 2022
Duration of test6 months
Total test mileage5901
Overall mpg32.2
Costs£0
Purchase price£43,525
Value todayc£27,000

This story was first featured in evo issue 303.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

The V8-powered Audi RS6 isn’t dead after all
Audi RS6 jump
News

The V8-powered Audi RS6 isn’t dead after all

Audi has reverted its decision to turn the A6 range all-electric, ensuring the next RS6 receives a V8
4 Feb 2025
Alpine A290 GTS 2025 review – is the Renault 5 relative a true hot hatch?
Alpine A290 – front
Reviews

Alpine A290 GTS 2025 review – is the Renault 5 relative a true hot hatch?

Alpine’s all-electric future starts with the Renault 5-based A290. Does it have enough edge to warrant the Alpine badge?
5 Feb 2025
Alpine A110 R Ultime is faster than a 991 Turbo S at the Nürburgring
Alpine A110 Ultime
News

Alpine A110 R Ultime is faster than a 991 Turbo S at the Nürburgring

The most focussed A110 yet lowers the Nordschleife time of the A110 R by 20 seconds, going some way to justifying its expected £180,000 price tag
7 Feb 2025