Seat Leon Cupra R (2009) CAR review

And how does the Seat Leon Cupra R drive?

Very well. The engine starts with a cough and sounds a little rough at idle, but after that you´ll love it. There’s a faint wheeze from the blower under power, a whistle when you lift off, and the sound of a grunty four-pot is always resonating happily inside the cabin.
 
The turbo means this 2.0-litre lump does its best work in the mid-range. Third is pretty much ideal for any tight, twisty road, so you use the torque between 2500 and 5500rpm to overtake with ease. You needn´t go any higher in the rev range to make decent progress, though you inevitably will only because the engine is so smooth and the power delivery so linear - more than once we hit the soft rev limiter. Beyond that there’s lots of grip from the Pirelli P-Zeros and the brakes are strong.
 
However, a dead helm and sloping A-pillars that rob you of a little visibility going into corners spoil an otherwise fine drive. And there’s also the worry that the stiffer springs fitted to the R might prove too hard for Britain’s road – the ride is fine on super-smooth Spanish asphalt, but potholes and the occasionally craggy surface reveal a pretty firm set-up.  

Verdict

The R is Seat’s halo car, an attempt to inject some excitement into the Spanish brand. Green paint and white wheels can only do that so far, but now the driving experience also adds up.
 
The grunty engine is great, but the best bit is that the new Leon Cupra R is expected to cost just £23k when sales start in November. Up against the £27k Scirocco R (with essentially the same motor) it’ll leave you £4000 better off. Only Renaultsport’s new Megane might spoil the celebrations in Spain.