What's the news?
SEAT's rather left-field hot hatch, the competent Leon Cupra, is about to receive some tweaks aimed at keeping it competitive in the cut-throat performance hatch segment, and it will be the most powerful car produced by the Spanish manufacturer to date. Let's run through those changes.
Exterior
There's some minor visual updates which align with the scheduled facelift to the regular Leon, including a refreshed front bumper, headlights and new wheels.
Interior
Inside, there's a larger eight-inch touchscreen and a 'Connectivity Hub' which includes features like wireless smartphone charging and coverage signal amplification, while keyless entry and start also features. The car will be available in three-door SC, five-door and estate ST variants.
Mechanicals
As the name suggests, the 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine now pushes out 300hp, an increase of 10hp over the outgoing model. Torque from the EA888 motor (utilised across Volkswagen's performance range among others) is also up, standing at a Golf R-matching 380Nm and usefully available between 1,800-5,500rpm. Dynamic chassis control featuring the familiar electronically-controlled front differential is standard, and there's a host of safety aids including adaptive cruise control, traffic jam and lane assist and pedestrian protection. The ST will only be available with all-wheel drive and a DSG gearbox, but it should make for one seriously potent and grippy estate.
Anything else?
The fitment of the '4Drive' all-wheel drive system harks back to the original Cupra 4 of nearly two decades ago, although transmission technology has moved on somewhat since the advent of that V6-powered model. There's no word on an official Irish launch date or pricing just yet, but expect details to follow soon in line with the planned UK introduction date of March 2017.