CUPRA Leon Sportstourer 1.4 e-HYRBID, CUPRA-worthy?
CUPRA, the name alone … you want to shout it out! The name inhales power, just like the logo and now they made a hybrid version. Only a 1.4-liter with some electric help. Can you call it a real CUPRA?
1.4 e-HYBRID
1.4-liter doesn’t sound like much, because it ain’t. It’s less than the water an adult human being has to drink in one day, each and every day. The 1.4-liter TSI gives the CUPRA Leon Sportstourer 150 hp and with the help of the electric motor that amount gets up to 245 hp. The Leon’s power is sent through a 6-speed DSG to the front wheels. A 12,8 kWh battery provides us with 40 kilometers of pure electric fun (CUPRA is speaking of 52 km). All these numbers add up to a “0-100 km/h”-time of 6,7 seconds and a top speed of 225 km/h with a tested average consumption of 3,6L/100km. Charging times can fluctuate between 6 hours (at home) and 4 hours at a charging station from zero to 100%.
So, how does the Hyrbid CUPRA drive? In full-electric mode surprising fun and alive. You can buzz around town, on the highway and shortcuts between the fields at a speed that is just a little bit too high and you will have a blast. But even better, the hikers and cyclist will never throw you an angry face because you drive electric and it’s impossible to do something naughty in a car that doesn’t hurt the planet. Believe me, I’ve been miscalled many things in a Jaguar F-Type convertible at a speed below the permitted speed. Strange world. The CUPRA eats the corners for breakfast and the only thing you could want is a little bit more steering feel at the edge. But still, pure electric = a lot of fun and pretty fast.
The CUPRA Leon ST e-HYBRID didn’t convince when the two powertrains had to work together. Driving along in the normal mode and the car performs well, but out of nowhere another hot hatch appears. That’s the moment you cry. Put it into Sport or CUPRA and the car makes a lot of noise -all coming from the speakers and it really does sound horrible, you put the pedal to the metal and the car really needs to think for 2 whole seconds (and that’s a lot) before you go anywhere fast. You can feel the car thinking: “Would I use electric power or pure petrol? Or maybe a combination of the two? Mmmmm, what to do?” And launching it from standstill you can only pray the car can put down its power without a bunch of wheelspin. What we had hoped CUPRA had done a better job.
Matte Magnetic Gray
That color, so amazing! It accentuates the lines and youthfulness of the car even more. The CUPRA Leon ST e-HYBRID has a fresh and powerful appearance at the front with full LED-headlights and extra grey details. And don’t forget: the tribal-logo! Moving to the side a few things really stand out. The ride height of the car which is a little bit higher than one would expect, space the car could offer as Sportstourer and those awesome looking 19-inch Aero-rims in black and copper. Yes, it’s an option, but an option you need to choose!
At the back, the CUPRA looks a little bit softer than SEAT Leon Cupra’s from the past. The lower lines give a sporty feel and wider hips while the rear light continues over the back and makes the car look narrower again. the last details are the copper “wannabe” exhaust tips. No real sound, no real exhaust. The final resolution of the CUPRA’s exterior: it could use some more aggression.
Too little, too much
While we were entering the CUPRA Leon for the first time, we had a thought we couldn’t lose throughout the week. The heated steering wheel feels great in your hands but a button-overload (too much) while the rest of the car -the center console- could use some more buttons. Simple actions such as finding the rear window defroster become a real quest where your eyes leave the road for just too long. That said, the interior of the CUPRA is a pleasant place to be. A clear 10.25-inch digital screen in front of you, great-looking headed seats that give you the comfort and support you need, a BeatsAudio-system with 9 premium speakers, a “pixel dense” 10-inch touchscreen center console and an ambiance lighting strip with integrated blind spot assist. Some cool details if you ask me.
Our CUPRA Leon was the ST-version, Sportstourer, the one with the big booth. The Sportstourer swallows 470 liters and that number is at the bottom of the ladder between its competitors. In itself, we did not need any more space.
The price of a sporty family plug-in hybrid
A bold CUPRA Leon Sportstourer e-HYBRID is yours for 44.110 euro (BE). The color, rims, panoramic open roof, electric tailgate and the supersport steering wheel adds up to 52.974,76 euro. And you can compare it with … not much really. So there is little to say about the price. To return to our first question: CUPRA-worthy? For us, this cars fits better in the line-up at Seat.
