Photo: Cupra
Do you know that meme "no, no, no, yes" where things look like they're going horribly wrong and end well at the last second? Well, that's the 2021 Cupra Leon in a nutshell.
Immediately after the first prototypes were sighted, the new Cupra Leon began looking like a huge downgrade. It had smaller exhaust tips, watered-down styling and culminated when the powertrain was confirmed. The hot hatch is still powered by a plug-in hybrid system with only 245 horsepower, but that's somehow not a terrible thing.
This system consists of a 150 hp 1.4-liter TSI and a 115 hp electric motor, matched to a 6-speed DSG and a 13 kWh battery. Their combined 245 hp and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque are a lot more than you got on the old Golf GTE and on par with the new one. We still can't call this a 'hot hatch', but it's still a car that we'd buy. You see, the wheels they've chosen look amazing, like the best aftermarket offerings from BBS or Rotiform, and the copper accents work well with cement-colored paint.
The PHEV version will be available in both hatchback and wagon forms, with its battery lasting for a 60-kilometer pure-EV commute. Fortunately, some hardcore alternatives remain, one of which is completely unexpected.
Both the wagon and the hatch will also have a 245 hp, 370 Nm (273 lb-ft) version of the 2.0 TSI turbo, the same one that powers the Golf GTI. This is a downgrade but could make the cars more affordable, which is no bad thing. On top of this, there's a 300 horsepower setup that's still front-wheel-drive, just like on the old model.
The true monster of the range is the Cupra Leon ST 4Drive, which makes 310 Hp, 400 Nm of torque and rockets to 100 kph (62 mph) in a somewhat vague "less than 5 seconds." There's no manual gearbox on any of these models, but a posh, racy interior partially makes up for this.
This system consists of a 150 hp 1.4-liter TSI and a 115 hp electric motor, matched to a 6-speed DSG and a 13 kWh battery. Their combined 245 hp and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of torque are a lot more than you got on the old Golf GTE and on par with the new one. We still can't call this a 'hot hatch', but it's still a car that we'd buy. You see, the wheels they've chosen look amazing, like the best aftermarket offerings from BBS or Rotiform, and the copper accents work well with cement-colored paint.
The PHEV version will be available in both hatchback and wagon forms, with its battery lasting for a 60-kilometer pure-EV commute. Fortunately, some hardcore alternatives remain, one of which is completely unexpected.
Both the wagon and the hatch will also have a 245 hp, 370 Nm (273 lb-ft) version of the 2.0 TSI turbo, the same one that powers the Golf GTI. This is a downgrade but could make the cars more affordable, which is no bad thing. On top of this, there's a 300 horsepower setup that's still front-wheel-drive, just like on the old model.
The true monster of the range is the Cupra Leon ST 4Drive, which makes 310 Hp, 400 Nm of torque and rockets to 100 kph (62 mph) in a somewhat vague "less than 5 seconds." There's no manual gearbox on any of these models, but a posh, racy interior partially makes up for this.
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