Seat’s sporty Leon Cupra 300 seems to have it all

By Reporter

December 26 2016, 12:03 pm

Looking for something fast, practical and which won’t send you to the wall financially?

The mighty Seat Leon Cupra 300 could be the answer. It can get to 62mph in well under six seconds, return around 45mpg, seat five and leave you decent change from £30,000.

The previous Leon Cupra 280 was an absolute belter of a car and makes a great used buy. This latest Cupra, though, takes things a stage further – and gets four-wheel drive if you order it in ST estate guise. It’s got more torque from its more powerful engine and an interior that no longer feels so ruthlessly built down to a price.

But it needs it for there are some fierce rivals clustered around the £30,000 price point.

This is the Leon upping its game. You’re going to like it.

The Leon Cupra has some track record. There’s never been a duff one and this latest Cupra 300 gives Seat’s hatch real giant-killing ability. That 295bhp power output will catapult it to 62mph in around five and a half seconds, or a fraction quicker if you choose the DSG twin-clutch gearbox.

Top speed is limited to 155mph, although it would be interesting to see how fast it would go before physics intervened.

The uprated 280lb/ft maximum torque of both versions spreads from just 1,750rpm all the way up to 5,300rpm, guaranteeing impressive pulling power and overtaking flexibility.

Go for the ST estate version and you also get Seat’s 4Drive all-wheel drive system, which has to be mated to DSG auto transmission.

The chassis has more tricks up its sleeve than David Blaine and features DCC dynamic chassis control, a front-axle differential lock and progressive steering all as standard, as well as a Cupra-specific, high-performance brake system, recognisable by its red callipers.

The ESC handling system has been developed specifically for the Cupra and can be deactivated in two stages – the first stage deactivates the traction control and puts the ESC into sport mode, permitting greater yaw angles.

The second stage deactivates the ESC completely. The Cupra Drive Profile allows the driver to set the car into one of three modes, Comfort, Sport and Cupra. This raciest setting gives you a hair trigger throttle response and most aggressive DSG shifts, while the sound actuator turns the volume up to eleven.

The DCC dynamic chassis control, progressive steering and the front-axle differential lock are also dialled to their most focused settings.

Any Leon that wears a Cupra badge has to dose up the attitude a degree, but the Cupra 300 looks really gym-toned, whether you order it in three-door SC form, as a five-door hatch or in the ST estate bodystyle. The front end features big air intakes and beady-eyed all-LED headlamps.

Inside, you get trim elements finished in a gloss black and a smart Cupra sports steering wheel, complete with shifting paddles for the optional DSG transmission. The sports seats, in dark grey Alcantara finished with white stitching, are another interior highlight.

Black full-leather upholstery, likewise with white stitching, is also available. The pedals and entry sills are made from aluminium to add a bit of eye candy to a fundamentally low-key cabin.

There’s a 380-litre luggage bay and the quality feels up to the mark, with a dashboard that no longer looks so obviously built down to a price.

You won’t want for standard equipment in the Cupra 300. In the UK, this car gets full-LED headlights, a DAB digital radio, rain-sensing wipers and automatic headlights. That’s on top of 19in alloy wheels, gloss black mirror caps, black exterior mouldings and frames, a black rear roof spoiler, red brake callipers with Cupra logos and black interior trim inserts. Satellite navigation is also fitted as standard.

Among its other features are driver assistance systems such as Traffic Jam Assist, Lane Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control and Pedestrian Protection, plus there’s an Electric Parking Brake and KESSY (Keyless Entry and Start).

The integrated Media System Plus infotainment system with its eight-inch screen is the highlight of this revised model.

Plus for the very first time, the Leon Cupra has a Connectivity Hub that comprises a smartphone wireless charger and a GSM antenna amplifier for areas with low signal coverage.

Not too long ago, 295bhp was the convergence point for some very serious performance cars. It marked the power limit of the Japanese ‘gentleman’s agreement’ and cars like the Japanese domestic market Supra twin turbo, the Nissan Skyline GT-R and the Honda NSX all rolled out of the factories at this output. Roughly. Yet you had to put up with fuel economy in the very low twenties for that sort of power.

These days, the Leon Cupra 300 manages nearly 45mpg on the combined cycle, although this dips somewhat if you choose the DSG transmission.

Carbon dioxide emissions are also kept well in check. These models record figures at around the 150g/km mark, which isn’t bad at all.

Otherwise, it’s as you’d expect. Seat has come good in recent years with the Leon, a car that many felt had peaked early in Cupra guise. The Cupra 300 is without doubt the fastest and most exciting Cupra to date and if you can negotiate a discount on the asking price, it could work out to be an amazing bargain.

Even at the stated sticker price, it’s good value, offering a balance between power and economy that most class competitors will find impossible to approach, let alone match.

Yes, some may find the cabin sound actuator a bit artificial but like most things, you grow to get used to it.

If you felt that cars like the Volkswagen Golf R have had it too easy for too long, here’s something that will certainly give it some pause for thought.