The latest generation of the Seat Leon SC Cupra is here. However, in the history of mid-life updates, this is possibly the smallest you’ll ever have seen. No cosmetic revisions here: not even new alloy wheel designs.
The only mechanical difference is a new exhaust system with lower back pressure and a 5.8kg weight saving. Performance-wise, the name is now Cupra 290, and true to form it has 10bhp more than the old one. A tweak in the engine management software delivers the nominal extra go, which comes hand-in-hand with a wider peak torque band. The full 258lb/ft is now put down between 1,700rpm and 5,800rpm, which means 50 and 500rpm improvements at either end.
There’s also full link phone-pairing software, so whatever your phone is, it should hook up to the system with a degree of internet connectivity.
Nothing changes with the appearance because Seat has hit on a winning formula. The Leon is its best-selling car, and it’s the first real international sales barnstormer the company has had this decade. It ain’t broke, so there’s no point fixing it.
The change is the boot badge upgrade, to Cupra 290. From right now you can get the 290 in three-door (and loveliest) SC, do-it-all five-door hatch and more practical ST estate shapes.
Use a bit more of the gas pedal and fast turbo response gives you astonishing overtaking punch
The ST has a couple of hundred litres more boot space than the 380-litre tub shared by the other two. There’s adequate rear legroom for passengers but it’s not the airiest place for them to be. If there was a black mark it would be on the white seat trim, because it’s the sort of thing that will get dirty all too easily.
Seat hasn’t taken the chance to enliven the cabin. But hit the road and that’s forgotten. The free-revving 2.0-litre engine masters everyday driving with barely 20 per cent of its ability. Use a bit more of the gas pedal and fast turbo response gives you astonishing overtaking punch. Keep the throttle pinned on the track and it’ll get to the 155mph limiter with ease.
The new Cupra is a monster. It also sounds better. That new exhaust gives it more of a growl both inside and outside the car. It changes direction like a rogue firework even under power, if you’re skilled enough to handle it that way.
The VAQ slip-limiting system is as good now as it always was: superb. Be aware, though, that it’s much firmer on the track-biased Michelin Pilot Cup 2 tyres that you can add as options. The standard Continentals are much more forgiving.The Leon could be a bit better equipped, as evidenced by the now-huge options list, but everything you really want is on the car already.
Cupra owners are the type who exchange a nod and a wave. It’s like a secret shared between two strangers: it’s a great car, and those people who’ve bought one know exactly why.
The Cupra 290, like the 280 before it, is part of modern hot hatch legend.
At a glance
Engine
2.0-litre turbocharged petrol producing 286bhp and 258lb/ft
Transmission
Six-speed manual driving the front wheels
Performance
Top speed 155mph, 0-62mph in 5.6 seconds (SC)
Economy
40.4mpg combined
Emissions
164g/km