Cupra Leon review – ride and handling
Less precise, yet more agile and engaging than a GTI Clubsport
Jump in, hit the starter button and the Leon has a deeper and more resonant sound to the engine than you’ll find in rival VW Group models. Granted, it’s mostly augmented by the car’s speakers, but it’s at least an attempt to give it some distinction from GTIs and S3s. The seating position and support are vastly improved in the facelift thanks to the new carbon-backed bucket seats borrowed from the hottest Audis, double down on what is an essential line of communication between you and the car.
On the move, the default driver mode makes it as benign as any other Leon save for a brittle ride quality on the larger 19-inch wheels. Immediate throttle response is only OK, and the transmission very clearly has the life of its clutches in mind, with more than a small amount of slip when exiting a junction or taking off.
It’s an easy car to drive quickly, though, surfing a wave of torque that’s available right at the bottom end of the rev band. This is no different on a British B-road, where its mix of strong mechanical grip from the 235/35 Hankook Ventus S1 evo3 tyres, plus a sizeable dose of electronic wizardry from its limited-slip diff, combine to make it quite a weapon. In less than grippy mid-December conditions, it can also be quite lively. The chassis rises to the occasion of a fun road more readily than the steering. Where in a Golf you’re almost dragging, coaxing the rear end to involve itself, the Leon’s rear axle is more proactively involved, especially on the wintery Bedfordshire back roads.
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The various driving modes remain the same, with Individual the pick of the bunch. Select your ideal compromise of ride and body control from the 15 different steps within the Adaptive Chassis Control menu, put everything else in angry mode and the Leon comes to life – not as a totally hardcore hatch, but one you can work with across a variety of roads. It’s exciting and active enough to engage but doesn’t rattle the cartilage in your joints to dust.
The suspension’s tolerance of the road beneath you gives you confidence to extend the performance. The steering is not the most expressive in terms of feedback, and takes some tuning into but the Leon turns in well. With an electronically controlled differential lock instead of a true mechanical limited-slip diff, it’ll scrabble its way across low-grip surfaces with less precision than, say, a Civic Type R. (No such issues with the more powerful, 328bhp Cupra Leon estate, which features all-wheel drive.) It also wanders into truck furrows a little too eagerly for my liking when changing lanes on the motorway. Cupra mode notches everything up. The dampers become stiffer and sharper, but even less compromising in their ability to deal with rough road surfaces, so it’s best to forget this mode unless you’re driving across a snooker table or, indeed, a track.
The mapping for the throttle and gearbox also become more aggressive in CUPRA mode, mostly in a good way, although the gearbox does hold on to the lower ratios for too long sometimes. Even the valving for the exhaust gets fruitier, with a nice rasp from the tailpipes (which is great) plus the inevitable digitised crackles on overrun (which is not). As intimated, the gearbox works nicely when up and running, with an immediacy of response to the paddles and subsequent shifts. The brakes also have as much feel and power as you’ll find in any of the more serious hot hatchbacks, with an extra delicacy to the pedal’s response if you tickle them on the way into a corner.
The strength of the enlarged 375mm, six-piston (front) Akebono brakes that come with VZ3-spec cars impresses too. They’re a noteworthy addition, not just for their headline performance, but how you can build up to it and modulate through the pedal. Manage the weight by trailing the brakes in the entry phase of cornering and you can get the tail to pivot around the front axle. There’s a more connected, balanced feel from front to rear than in an equivalent Golf but fundamentally, it’s still front-driven. The Leon is at its best once you play with the Individual settings, allowing you to ramp up everything while managing the damping aggression on the 15-slot DCC slider. It feels less like you have to coerce the Leon to drive quickly down a challenging road than in the Golf and more willing than before.
It’s not right up there with the best of the previous-generation Leons, which is a shame given Cupra is now a brand rather than a trim. But it is on better form than its VW-badged cousins.
