SEAT LEON CUPRA R
Can You Have Too Much Of A Good Thing?
SEAT Obviously Dont Think So. Their Cupra R Takes The Leons Sporting Recipe And Tweaks The Mix A Bit. Andy Enright Reports
When it comes to automotive boasts, "our most powerful front wheel drive car ever" has traditionally been viewed with the same sort of disdain as "the tallest sports car you can buy" or "the markets smallest people carrier", In other words, not that much to shout about. These days however, things are a bit different. With increasingly sophisticated tyres, chassis dynamics and electronic control systems, a powerful front wheel drive car is no longer about as much fun as a thumb in the eye. Thumbing its nose at convention quite wonderfully is SEATs Leon Cupra R, the Spanish companys most powerful.
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well, you know the story.
Anybody who had the misfortune to find themselves behind the wheel of, say, an
MG Montego Turbo or a
Ford Fiesta RS Turbo will be familiar with quite how woeful an ill-sorted front wheel drive sportster can be. Torque steer caused you to grab huge armfuls of steering at every junction and thats only if youd overcome these cars propensity to sit impotently spinning their front tyres into acrid clouds as a Readymix lorry bore down on you. Not fun, then. The
SEAT Leon Cupra R directs a whopping 225bhp through the front wheels which, if youre still in a nostalgic frame of mind, is more than the hairy Ford Sierra Cosworth initially directed to its rear wheels.
Rather than provide a miserable steer, the Cupra R is astonishingly urbane. Theres some bump and thump in the suspension as you clout the worst city centre potholes, but its certainly not uncivilised. Up your speed and the ride seems to level out nicely, the Cupra R making motorway on-ramps a playground for pouring on the power in one long headlong rush, quite capable of dispatching the national speed limit and then some by the time you consider deploying the right indicator. Should you take the opportunity to stretch the Cupra Rs legs and lungs away from the Queens highway, youll find it can zip through 60mph in 6.
8 seconds on the way to 150mph.
"It makes buying a powerful
Volkswagen Golf or
Audi A3 seem an act of frittering extravagance."
Priced at £18,015, this R derivative makes a full 45bhp more than its junior sibling, the R-less Cupra 20VT Cupra, due to a tweak to the engine management software and the addition of an extra intercooler. For a while the Cupra R campaigned with a 210bhp version of this engine, the VW Empire reserving the 225bhp version for premium Audi models such as the TT and the S3. Theyve finally relented and the 225bhp Cupra-R is a genuine ripsnorter. There are other points worth pondering.
Why is the traction control system on the SEAT so much more effective than that used in its sister car, the mkIV VW Golf? Answers on a postcard to the usual address Although the price has taken a hike by over £1,000 to £18,015, the 225bhp car is actually better value than its predecessor not only in terms of horsepower per pound sterling but also in terms of equipment fitted. Perhaps realising that such a swift car will doubtless be a target for the light fingered, every Cupra-R is now fitted with Tracker Retrieve system. This radio beacon is secreted somewhere in the bowels of the car and emits a homing signal that the police can pinpoint. As well as enabling police to track the whereabouts of a stolen vehicle resulting in a high rate of recovery and reunion with its rightful owner, many insurers offer discounted premiums on vehicles fitted with the device.
The Cupra badging has been changed to red in order to subtly distinguish it from the previous car and theres a selection of five colours from which to choose - OVNI yellow, Ebony black, Flash red, Arctic grey and Platinum grey. Its both more powerful and priced below the similarly performing but less covetable
Vauxhall Astra Turbo Coupe, its interior build quality makes a
Subaru Impreza blush and, most worryingly, it makes buying a powerful Volkswagen Golf or Audi A3 seem an act of frittering extravagance. Even Fords Focus RS cant match the SEATs power output. The Cupra R doesnt major on ostentation, however.
The eighteen-inch alloy wheels are the exception to the rule, huge blade-edged designs that wear liquorice strip Pirelli P-Zero Rosso tyres, and through which peer monster red Brembo brake callipers, taking an iron grip on the 323mm front discs. The front air dam isnt too OTT, featuring twin side intakes in the vein of a
Ferrari 360 or
Porsche 911 Turbo, in this instance punctuated by dinky foglamps. The six-speed gearbox continues, as do the excellent sports seats, although a Recaro interior is available as a pricey option for those who want to personalise their Cupra R yet further. Theres a drilled pedal set and white fascia dials with some lairy red stitching throughout the cabin to back up the sporting theme.
From a practical perspective, the reduction in length over the Toledo saloon (the Leon is 220mm shorter) means that you can't expect a huge amount of legroom in the back - though what is on offer is adequate for the class. Even so, you can understand why SEAT decided not to do a three-door version. The rear section is cleverly crafted, with nice touches like a boot handle incorporated into the SEAT logo. Sheer space apart however, that interior should be seen as one of the SEAT's strongest suits. With an intoxicating turbocharged wallop, rock-solid build quality and even a practical five-door body shape backed up with a long equipment list, the Leon Cupra-R seems a lot more car than £18,000 will buy. The power hike will, for many at least, remove any lingering doubts that the standard 180bhp Cupra is a better buy, the 225bhp output establishing the Cupra-R as a distinct and more serious proposition. Wed buy that.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: SEAT Leon 20VT Cupra R
PRICES: £18,015 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 16
CO2 EMISSIONS: 211g/km
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 150mph / 0-60mph 6.8s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [combined] 32 mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Driver, passenger and side airbags, ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4184/1742/1457mm
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