Cupra Leon VZ TSI Review: The King Of Leons

Once upon a time, something with the words ‘Cupra’ and ‘Leon’ in its name would be a simple thing to explain: it was the hot version of the SEAT Leon. Since Cupra became its own brand, though, that’s changed. For a start, you can still get a SEAT Leon, and no, we’re not entirely sure why the VW Group is selling the same car, with the same name but slightly different styling, under two different badges.

Ah, but it’s not that complicated, right? Surely the Cupra-badged one is just the fast one? Not so. Sure, ‘Cupra’ used to mean ‘fast SEAT’, but since becoming its own thing, its remit has broadened, and you can get the Cupra Leon with as little as 148bhp.

But hey, you’re a nerd, so you know that in this new era of Cupra, the VZ badge represents the properly fast stuff. But even then, Cupra offers two different powertrains for the Leon VZ – you can get it as a 268bhp PHEV, or the 296bhp pure-petrol TSI version we’ve been driving.

Essentially, then, the Cupra Leon VZ TSI is the sportiest version of the sportier version of the sporty version of the SEAT Leon. And that’s before you even get into the fact that you can get an even hotter powertrain than this, but only in the Estate. Perhaps it’s simpler to forget about the needlessly complicated model hierarchy VW has created for itself and simply call this what it is: a VW Golf GTI Clubsport that looks a bit more like a shark.

Mechanically, it’s identical to the hotter of the two current Golf GTIs. The same 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder sends the same 296bhp and 295lb ft to the same front wheels via the same seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The top speed is a very familiar 155mph, although the Cupra’s quoted 0-62mph time of 5.7 seconds is a tenth down on the Golf’s.

None of this is a bad thing: we reckon the Clubsport is the only Mk8 GTI worth considering, and the Cupra builds nicely on this. This is especially true for the top VZ3 version we’ve been driving, which gets excellent Sabelt bucket seats and Akebono brakes. Cupra’s pointy new corporate nose looks good to our eyes, too.

The EA888 motor is so well-proven now that we don’t really have anything to add to the conversation – it pulls strongly right throughout the rev range, and the raspy noise it makes is pleasant if not exactly awe-inspiring. Then there’s the DSG ’box – yes, it’s very good, but yes, we’d still like a manual. Seems we’re in the minority, though, otherwise, both Cupra and VW would have gone to the bother of offering one.

The steering is quick and well-weighted, if lacking some of the finer feedback we’d like, and point-to-point, it’s an immensely capable car. 296bhp is a lot for the front wheels to cope with, but the Leon never threatens to overwhelm them, just sticking gamely to its line.

Much of this is thanks to the LSD-mimicking electronic VAQ system, which keeps everything tidy in the corners and calm under hard acceleration. It’s only when you boot it out of a tight corner that its slight weakness compared to a proper locking diff becomes apparent – you get the slightest stab of understeer followed by the slightly unnatural sensation of the car juggling power between the wheels to cancel it out.

Largely, though, as one of the last big-power front-wheel drive hatches left, the Leon VZ is a reminder of what we’ll be missing when this breed of car finally dies out. No, you don’t get the look-at-me drift mode heroics of the latest batch of AWD mega-hatches, but what you do get is simply a very well-sorted chassis that feels just as capable, and less artificial, than anything that sends power to both ends.

And like the best hot hatches, the Leon VZ does the normal stuff well, too. Leave the standard-fit Dynamic Chassis Control in its more laid-back modes, and it nicely soaks up bumps, and those Sabelt seats are cossetting on a long drive. It’ll sit on a motorway getting an easy 30+mpg, the adaptive cruise doing all the hard work. The only real interruption to this serenity is the 19-inch wheels and low-profile rubber making a bit of a din on anything less than pool-table smooth surfaces.

The surroundings are nice, too. The interior feels a little more upscale than in the Golf, although the moody, copper-accented ambience won’t necessarily be for everyone. The infotainment – again, shared with the VW – is basically fine these days, far from the disaster it was a few years ago.

And yet, despite having a nicer interior than the German car, the Spanish one is the cheaper of the two. Only just, mind. The cheapest of the three VZ trims available on the Leon, the VZ1, starts at £43,225 with the TSI powertrain, while GTI Clubsport pricing kicks off at £43,905. If you want the Akebono brakes and Sabelt seats in the Cupra, you’ll need the £49,125 VZ3.

But then it’s quite easy to get a GTI Clubsport up to that sort of money too – the one we tested last year was listed at £48,260. What’s more, all versions of the Leon VZ get standard Dynamic Chassis Control, whereas it’s a £735 option on the VW. It really does seem to just come down to which one looks best to you, or how much having a recognisable badge matters to you versus one that looks like a supermarket’s own-brand energy drink logo.

It doesn’t do a whole lot differently from the equivalent Golf, then, but the Leon VZ TSI represents one more excellent option in a slowly withering hot hatch market. Sadly, with the Honda Civic Type R hard to get hold of and the Ford Focus ST dying this year, the toughest decision there’ll soon be to make among new front-drive family-sized hot hatches is which body you prefer atop your MQB chassis, EA888 engine and DSG gearbox. Happily, whichever way you go, you’ll end up with a corking car.