Verdict: SEAT creates a new hot hatch champ which can also double as an effective, entertaining business car
SEAT Leon Cupra 280
What is it?
SEAT reworks the hot hatch formula to create this fast and sharp new Leon Cupra – think of it as a “fleet car” with a difference….
Heading up the latest Leon range, with a big helping of sporting brio, the Cupra arrives as a new halo car for the fiesty Spanish manufacturer.
Available in two body styles (SC and five-door) and with a choice of 6-speed transmissions (either manual or twin clutch auto DSG), the Cupra packs 2.0-litre petrol power and comes with a choice of outputs – 265 ps or 280 ps.
This latter edition, the Leon Cupra 280, is the headliner. The most powerful series production car SEAT has yet built and the first front-drive production car to crack the 8-minute barrier around Germany’s famed Nordschliefe circuit, the 280 can also dispatch 0-62 mph in a reported 5.7 secs So quick, in any book.
Underneath, this is also the first Cupra to be spun off VW’s state-of-the-art MQB platform, meaning it shares sophisticated underpinnings with the latest Golf and Audi A3.
So a major step up all round for the Cupra whose name – an artful combination of “Cup” and “Racer” – gives you a good insight to the car’s sporting DNA.
So fast and fun, but a viable candidate as a UK business car? Read on…