Cupra Leon Sportstourer VZe 2026 Review

Brace yourself – it’s a hefty figure. Coming in at $69,990 excluding on-road costs, the 2026 Cupra Leon Sportstourer is a mid-sized five-door, five-seat station wagon (like the Skoda Octavia wagon for size) with 200kW/400Nm and more than 1000km of theoretical range (121km for pure electric) on offer from its new-gen hybrid powertrain.

The equipment list is, to be fair, comprehensive. It includes a 10.2-inch dash, a 12.9-inch infotainment screen, new-gen software with wireless phone mirroring, wireless charging with cooling function, heated 12-way powered front bucket seats, three-zone air conditioning and a fancy 12-speaker Sennheiser sound system.

Adaptive shocks, 19-inch wheels, a powered tailgate with kick function, plus a comprehensive ADAS suite with adaptive cruise and sign recognition, park assist and more are also included in the Spanish wagon.

Mechanically, the Leon Sportstourer packs a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine mated to a gearbox-mounted electric motor. Speaking of gears, a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox can be left to its own devices or controlled via steering wheel column-mounted paddles.

There’s almost nothing to option into the Leon Sportstourer, save for a $2000 panoramic sunroof, premium paint for $620 or matte paint for $2650. Warranty is five years/unlimited kilometres, and Cupra is offering a five-year service pack until December for $1990 (or about $398 a service).

In terms of direct competitors, the Cupra goes up against its group rival, the Skoda Octavia RS, which is priced at $59,990 excluding on-roads.

Cupra doesn’t shy away from bold styling, yet it stops short of being over the top. The bronze highlights on the rims are echoed on the front and rear badges and continues into the well-appointed interior.

Joining the well-bolstered bucket seats is a race-inspired steering wheel and well laid-out screens that just make sense, especially if you’ve ever driven a Volkswagen. With an engine start button on the wheel and a stubby gear shifter in the console, it’s effortless to start moving.

There’s a quiet air of confidence and quality in the Leon’s design and layout, making the everyday drive feel more like a getaway rather than a grind.

The new Cupra Leon Sportstourer debuts Volkswagen Group Australia’s (VGA) latest plug-in hybrid tech. It claims 121km of electric range from the 20kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery under the boot floor, paired with a gearbox-integrated electric motor.

Charging is handled via an 11kW AC or 50kW DC outlet on the front passenger-side guard, and Cupra includes two cables in the boot.

At low speeds, the electric motor can feel a bit unsettled — with noticeable hesitation and gear-hunting that disrupts smooth progress – but once the motor speeds up the new hybrid system is seriously impressive. With 200kW and 400Nm on tap, the Cupra Leon Sportstourer blends electrons and petrol seamlessly.

Cupra claims an exceedingly optimistic 0.4-litre/100km combined fuel economy figure, but it’s hard to argue with a figure of 2.5 litres per 100km we achieved over a test drive distance of 330km.

Handling is perfectly fine, and endlessly adjustable via the 12-point damper curve in the Individual drive map setting located on the central touchscreen. A couple of clicks up from the middle setting is the perfect compromise – a supportive platform that will satisfy enthusiasts while soft enough to keep the ride comfortable.

As with other hybrid-equipped VGA’s cars, the brake feel is unusually soft on initial application and requires a bit of brain training to apply sufficient pressure when stopped to prevent creep.

The Leon Sportstourer VZe offers two levels of regenerative braking, but it can only be accessed via a setting tab three screens into the menu system. Although the large centre screen is bright and responsive, there’s still a lot of menus to wade through to access some commonly used functions… including no way to the map function from a shortcut button, which is a bit irritating.

The wagon’s cargo space is compromised by the electric gubbins stashed under the boot floor – meaning there’s no room for a spare wheel. In fact, the Sportswagon’s 470-litre seats-up/1045-litre seats-down volume is paltry when compared to the similarly sized Skoda Octavia RS Wagon (640-litre seats-up/1700-litre seats-down).

This takes away a sizable chunk of the Sportwagon’s appeal. It’s a wagon, after all – yet it offers only 157-litres more luggage space than the non-hybrid Leon hatch.

As a big fan of the wagon shape, I’m disappointed to see so much room lost in the Cupra Leon Sportstourer.

However, it is still more useful than a hatch – and many equivalent-sized SUVs for that matter – but it’s a surprising shortfall to a stock wagon.

That said, the Leon’s new plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain is truly something special.

While the claimed economy figure is pie in the sky, its decent electric range and reasonably fast charging mean it’ll likely go a long time between fills — as long as you keep the battery topped up.

2026 Cupra Leon Sportstourer VZe at a glance:
Price: $69,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol
Output: 130kW/250Nm (electric motor: 85kW/330Nm)
Combined output: 200kW/400Nm
Transmission: six-speed dual clutch
Battery: 20kW lithium iron phosphate (LFP)
Range: 121km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 16.9kWh/km
Fuel: 0.4-litres/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 11g/km
Safety rating: Five-star

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