Cupra Leon 2021 Review - International

So the Volkswagen Group will launch its Spanish-based Cupra brand in Australia by the middle of 2022, spearheaded by a pair of sporty mid-size SUVs in the Cupra Ateca and the flagship Cupra Formentor ‘coupe’.

But they will be joined by a serious hot hatch – the 2022 Cupra Leon – aimed at those who find its main competition, the Honda Civic Type R, a bit too lairy in the visuals department.

While hot hatches should have some subtle signifiers as to their potential, it’s always nice when a manufacturer underplays things. Cupra has kept it simple here, making this Spanish newcomer the perfect antithesis to its now-discontinued Japanese rival.

If you afford it only a casual glance, the Cupra Leon 221TSI doesn’t look much different to the standard fourth-gen SEAT source material.

However, the keen-eyed among you will not only spot those distinctive Cupra badges fore and aft, as well as plenty of the marque’s signature copper-coloured detailing, but also the (real) quad exhaust outlets, moderately beefier bumpers and side skirts, attractive 19-inch alloys and gaping air intakes at the front. There’s also a slightly bigger spoiler atop the rear window.

Sure, there are matte-effect paintjobs available for the Cupra Leon that can somewhat offset the modesty of its general styling accoutrements, but overall, this is a smashing looking five-door performance car.

We’re talking about the top-dog 221TSI hatch here, which will be the flagship of the Aussie hot hatch range. As in Europe, the young Iberian marque will also offer 180kW versions of both a 2.0-litre TSI turbo-petrol engine and an electrified 1.4-litre TSI plug-in hybrid powertrain.

Although it’s unlikely for Oz, the Estate wagon version is privy to the most potent drivetrain, employing the 228kW 4Drive-equipped running gear of the ultimate Formentor. The hatch is front-wheel drive only, limiting it to the 221kW motor.

That said, the strongest all-round candidate for sales success in our market is the car we’re testing here. And, as we shall come to see, we’d be happy with the 221TSI hatch alone if that was the only Cupra Leon coming here.

There has been a growing feeling lately that Volkswagen isn’t keeping that a close an eye on its children. Time was when the interior of a Golf would easily eclipse those of both the Leon and the related Skoda Octavia.

In 2021, however, that long-held status quo feels seriously challenged. If not overturned already.

Climb into the plush interior of the 2022 Cupra Leon and you’ll be amazed at the material quality, the wonderful fit and finish, the interesting design of the fascia and the intelligent layout of the major controls.

Sure, like all Cupras and, throwing the net wider, all Volkswagen Group products these days, the hot Leon is too reliant on its 10-inch infotainment touch-screen.

But even this looks nicer and works more intuitively than the system you’ll find in, for example, the VW Golf GTI Clubsport, which is mechanically identical to the Leon 221TSI.

Not only that, but the 10.25-inch Digital Cockpit instrument cluster – which should be standard in all Australian-market Cupra Leons – is presented better in the Spanish car and is easier to deal with, thanks to real buttons on the steering wheel and not those weird haptic items Volkswagen prefers.

The Cupra Leon also features deeply sculpted and fabulously supportive front bucket chairs, while this 221TSI has the neat, supercar-esque touches of putting its drive-mode control and the engine start-stop button to either side of the steering wheel’s central boss.

These are features it shares with cars like the Audi R8 and any Porsche with a GT Sport steering wheel, so it makes the Leon feel special long before you’ve so much as turned a wheel in anger.

As we’ve touched upon before, the drivetrain of the 2022 Cupra Leon is going to hold no surprises if you are familiar with the Volkswagen Group’s product planning – but then, as it’s such a gem of a set-up in the first place, what’s the problem with that?

Yep, installed in the nose of the Cupra Leon is the ‘EA888’ 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol unit you’ll find in umpteen other VW Group performance cars.

However, let not familiarity breed contempt, as the 221kW and 400Nm numbers this robust lump puts out are channelled to the front wheels via a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission and an electronic limited-slip differential arrangement.

Powering less than 1500kg of car, while its two-wheel drive nature limits traction off the line, the Cupra Leon 221TSI still runs to 100km/h in 5.7 seconds and has to be restricted to 250km/h at the top end.

That places it amongst the fastest front-drive cars on the market right now, but it only tells half the story of just how strong this car is in a straight line.

Once rolling, the midrange is ferocious. You can occasionally catch the DSG and the turbo napping if you’re in Comfort setting, the Cupra’s softest mode, as there’s a momentary hesitation while it hooks everything up.

But then it fires brutally at the horizon, revving keenly right around the dial as it goes.

Slip it into Sport or even ‘Cupra’, or play with the slightly underwhelming paddle shifters on the wheel yourself, and you can bypass any such dithering from the drivetrain and revel in super-sharp throttle response and bonkers pace.

So, it’s quick, and it even proves frugal too. On a cruise, we easily elicited the 7.6L/100km official economy figure from the 2.0 TSI without any effort whatsoever.

About our only bugbear is that oddly synthesised notes play through the speakers in both Sport and Cupra modes, which give this four-cylinder motor almost a five-pot warble.

There’s just no need for it. The EA888, as turbo fours go, sounds decent enough as it is, without resorting to any ‘quattro-esque’ fakery.

If the Formentor laid the groundworks of hope for the dynamics of future Cupras, this Leon builds upon them in the most satisfying manner possible.

The short summation here is that the 2022 Cupra Leon 221TSI is a better car to drive fast than the Golf GTI Clubsport. It’s really that simple.

To expand upon that a little more, though, the Cupra not only enjoys that electronic diff action but also 15-setting Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) dampers plus uprated Brembo brakes. It also has its own tune of power-assisted steering.

All this hardware, plus Cupra’s own specific tuning of all the componentry, adds up to an epic hot hatch.

There’s lift-off oversteer there for the taking if you want it, because if you bunt the front-end of the Leon into a corner and then snap off the throttle, the back slides out wide yet gracefully to adjust your line.

Keep it neat and tidy, and you will be astonished at the sheer levels of grip and traction on offer.

Despite all 221kW coursing through the front Bridgestones, neither of the corrupting forces of torque-steer nor understeer make themselves widely apparent.

Instead, the Cupra Leon just deploys its savage power and barrels off down the road, the DCC dampers in their firmer settings providing exceptional body control and yet allowing the wheels to move with the surface of the road.

That means the tyres’ contact patches do as much as they can to preserve speed through the corners. Front-drive it may be, but the outcome is that this Leon is blisteringly quick across country. And thoroughly rewarding too.

Throttle it back and switch the DCC to Comfort, though, and the Leon 221TSI is every bit as comfortable, accommodating and refined as a Volkswagen Golf.

Again, there’s only one bugbear in this area for us, and that’s the steering. It’s fine enough, as it is accurate and quick, but it lacks weight and feel in all modes. Weirdly, the Formentor’s set-up is better than the Leon’s.

If the Cupra Formentor 228 TSI 4Drive wasn’t enough to convince folk of the merits of SEAT’s new performance arm, the 2022 Cupra Leon 221TSI can surely have no doubters.

This is one of those joyous, energising hot hatches; a riot to drive on your favourite roads and ridiculously quick when you want it to be.

However, the Cupra Leon doesn’t sacrifice all the practicality and refinement requirements of a hot hatch on the altar of outright dynamic thrills.

Used daily, owners will be delighted with the assured, elegant way it deals with rough road surfaces and how it also thoroughly limits exterior noise contributors from permeating the peace of the cabin.

Pricing will be key but, in most markets, where it’s already on sale, the Cupra Leon is less than the Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport with which it shares so much.

And because it’s demonstrably better than its Golf cousin, if the same situation comes to pass here in Australia, we reckon the classily restrained yet oh-so-desirable 2022 Cupra Leon 221TSI will be the best hot hatch on the market.

How much does the 2022 Cupra Leon 221TSI DSG cost?
Price: TNC
Available: By mid-2022
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 221kW/400Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 7.6L/100km (NEDC Combined)
CO2: 171g/km (NEDC Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star Euro NCA (SEAT Leon)