You will be surprised when you step on the gas. This is a quiet sports car for the family

If I were to compare this car to any tool, it would be the popular pocket multitool. It’s invisible, has the right dimensions, and can do wonders and is often useful. This is what the Cupra Leon is, especially in the 310-horsepower version with four-wheel drive. On the one hand, this car is pleasing to the eye, but on the other hand it does not stand out from the crowd. It has a spacious interior, a large trunk, good equipment and can put a smile on the driver’s face. And that’s what counts the most here.

Two faces of the same car. Cupra Leon can have very different characters

By choosing the base variant with a 150-horsepower engine, we get a more impressive look. Let’s be honest – the Cupra looks better than the Seat Leon. The changes are not big, and only the upcoming facelift will make a big difference between these cars. However, this does not change the fact that the Cupra has more character and that is what the Seat has failed to be for years.

The same applies to the interior. They are distinguished only by brass inserts and a filter with hollow trap areas. Here, bucket seats also attract attention Sable armchair, providing great lateral support and high comfort. They reveal that this replica may have more horsepower under the hood than the average street-going Cupra.

And this is not a lie. The flagship version with four-wheel drive is the best version of this model

Various variations on the sporty Leon body have passed through my hands. I drove a plug-in hybrid version with a 245-horsepower engine and front-wheel drive VZ Cup. I quickly forgot about the first model because there is nothing interesting about it. The VZ Cup, on the other hand, provided perfect accuracy, but lacked more dirt.

I expected more or less the same, albeit in a smoother version, in a 310-horsepower version with four-wheel drive. And this is the first surprise, because surprisingly, this version attracted me the most. Why? The answer is simple – we get the best features of the Leon here, we have a power reserve under our right foot, and the four-wheel drive works wonders – especially with the “spare” on the front axle.

This is not a car that will make you fall in love with its sound. On the contrary – in the case of Cupra, speakers come into action and want to pretend to have a good exhaust. Every now and then something comes out of the exhaust pipe, but there is nothing interesting about it. What it lacks in sound, however, it makes up for in its driving qualities. Correct painfully.

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First of all, we are getting a lot of traction here. It is very difficult to throw this car on a dry road. The larger Bridgestone Potenza S005 tires add their two cents here, which, according to my knowledge, is used for the first meeting. The ball is always half the battle, and this model performs well in many situations and deserves recognition.

So you can go crazy in the corners, looking for the grip limit. With a little preparation, you can cause a slight slip of the rear axle When you brake hard, you will be helped by the brake system developed by Brembo (option PLN 10,498). The operating system, although synthetic and digital, has the appropriate precision. Once you get used to it, you will definitely love how it works. It’s universal, you don’t need to fight the car. And that’s how it should be Cupra.

Performance leaves nothing to be desired

The first hundred appears on the clock in 4.9 seconds, and the counter reaches 250 km / h in the blink of an eye. Fuel consumption, considering the power, also does not disappoint. About 7.5-9 liters on the road at highway speed is a good result and deserves recognition. The 55 liter tank is quite enough for long journeys. In the city, however, you should expect results from 11-14 liters, depending on traffic and driving speed.

What are the weaknesses of the Cupra Leon?

In fact, there are two: finishing the selected interior and multimedia. I have the opinion that the Spanish brand sometimes lacks good quality control. Broken door handles or cracking dashboard plastic is something you don’t expect from a car for this money. Furthermore, since the premiere, the weakest link has been the aforementioned infotainment system.

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First of all – it works very slowly. Second, it is very unintuitive. Finding specific options takes a lot of time and patience. Moreover, all of these are compatible with the amazingly configured digital clocks.

Why does turning off assistance systems, eg active lane keeping, automatically change the watch face to the one responsible for the electronic assistants? I don’t think anyone will understand this – and I still don’t know why it wasn’t patched with one of the updates. So, every time you turn off Lane Assist, you have to click through several views to get back to your favorite.

Is the 310-horsepower all-wheel drive Cupra Leon a good choice?

Yes – especially if we are not overly demanding. This is not a car for people looking for exciting adventures behind the wheel. Leon can surprise well, but he is very sophisticated in his approach. The multitool mentioned at the beginning perfectly describes this car. Correction comes with a price and compromise. However, this is something we can agree on – after all, we also get a lot of space in the back seat and a large trunk, 620 liters. So it’s a good choice for people who need the space and don’t want to give up power.

The price of dessert. PLN 199,200 – this is the initial cost of the Cupra Leon in the AWD version with a 310-horsepower engine under the hood. This article, with several options, was valued at around PLN 243,000. In practice, this is a very reasonable amount for today’s times, especially for such a powerful and capable car.