Cupra Leon - Should You Buy This Hot Hatch in 2022?

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Market and Model

From launch, four trim levels were on offer - 'VZ1', 'VZ2', 'First Edition' and 'VZ3'. All models get, amongst other things, full-LED headlights, sports suspension, a reversing camera and the SEAT Digital cockpit with an interactive driver display screen and a 10-inch central infotainment monitor. All that comes with base 'VZ1' trim, priced from around £31,500, but with that spec level, you're restricted to the hatch body style and the conventional 2.0 TSI 245PS engine, so you'll probably want to upgrade yourself at least as far as 'VZ2'-spec, which gives you the option of both body shapes and the e-HYBRID powertrain if you want it (priced from around £34,500). 'VZ2' models add DCC dynamic chassis control, speed-sensitive steering, larger 19-inch alloy wheels and (on the Estate) roof rails too. The flagship 'VZ3' model is priced from just over £36,000 and adds petrol blue Nappa leather bucket seats, a heated steering wheel and a wireless smartphone charging pad. If you want the 300PS 2.0 TSI model, you'll need from around £36,000 and there are two trim levels - 'VZ2' and 'VZ3'.

Depending on the spec level chosen, there's plenty of autonomous driving tech and safety equipment too fitted across the range. Predictive Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) uses feeds from GPS data delivered from the navigation system and input from the front-mounted camera and Traffic Sign Recognition, allowing it to proactively adjust the cruise speed depending on the road layout ahead. When the road becomes more congested Traffic Jam Assist takes the stress out of driving, maintaining a safe distance to the vehicle in front. There's also an 'Emergency Assist' system that can bring the Leon to a controlled stop if you're taken ill at the wheel. And a 'Blind Spot Detection' system that alerts the driver to another vehicle in their blind spot.

Cost of Ownership

Owners of previous generation Leon CUPRAs will look incredulously at the WLTP efficiency stats of the e-HYBRID version of this current model - up to 217.3mpg on the combined cycle and up to 30g/km of CO2 for the hatch version which. For the CUPRA Leon e-HYBRID Estate, it's up to 201.8mpg and up to 31g/km. Insurance is group 30E or 31E.

Powering a PHEV CUPRA Leon up from a domestic socket would take around five hours, but most owners will want to find an extra few hundred pounds to install a wallbox charger in their garages. Use such a wallbox - or indeed plug in to one of the many public charging points springing up around the country - and you'll be able to reduce your charging time period from empty to around four hours. Once that's been done, a PHEV CUPRA Leon can travel up to 32 miles on a single charge. Which means that if the vehicle is only used for short commutes and re-charged regularly overnight, it's conceivable that this electrified Spanish hot hatch could be run almost entirely on off-peak electricity, costing pennies rather than pounds to consume.

Summary

There's never been a CUPRA-badged Leon quite like this one. For some hot hatch customers, the idea of being able to combine storming performance with the all-electric drive capability of the e-HYBRID variant will be novel. Others will want to stick to the familiar 2.0-litre petrol turbo formula of the more conventional derivatives.

It's true that most of what's on offer here can also be had in differently packaged form with either a Skoda Octavia vRS, a Golf GTI, a Golf R or an Audi S3. But the CUPRA Leon has a slightly more dynamic look and feel than any of those cars - closer to an old-school hot hatch if you like. If that kind of twist on the usual Volkswagen Group shopping rocket confection appeals, we think you'll bond quickly with this Iberian road burner.

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