Seat's new Cupra is a beauty, writes Michael McAleer, Motoring editor,and it's the big breakthrough Seat needed in the hot-hatch arena.
IT HAS taken several years, but Seat finally has a car that fits its advertising campaign. When the brand opted for its current marketing tagline "auto emocion" the fiery Spanish temperament and racy concept cars were clearly at the forefront of the marketing minds.
However, it was one not ideally suited to a collection of good value, practical family hatchbacks. Few owners of Alhambras or Alteas could argue that their purchasing decisions were driven by a burning desire to connect with a passionate car. Think about motoring emotion, and it's unlikely that the Seat Cordoba immediately comes to mind.
Yet there is no escaping the fact that the Spanish brand has long harboured ambitions to be the passionate, sporty player in the mainstream market.
Unfortunately, its utilitarian owners at Volkswagen have seemed hell-bent on limiting its ability to challenge their own range of models.
While a line of beautiful concept cars caused motor show visitors to drool, production was strictly focused on practical motoring. It seemed hard to marry the motors with the marketing.
Then along came the Leon, a gorgeous hatchback that could finally catch the eye of buyers in an already crowded market.
Now, several years after its introduction, we finally get a car that fits the marketing brief. The Cupra epitomises Seat's "auto emocion".
This car is a beauty to drive. In the admittedly short time we spent behind the wheel, we fell for its smooth Spanish performance.
We need not spend too long on the exterior: suffice to say that the Leon bodyshell is the best-looking hatchback on the market. It takes little to dress it up and even the regular version can turn heads. Compare it to some of its duller counterparts and you start to see why the man who penned the original design direction for this car, Walter de'Silva, is held in such high esteem.
Currently boss of design for the entire Volkswagen Group, his work includes the original Alfa Romeo 156, the new Audi A5 and the concept cars that led to the Leon.
Ironically, the Cupra suffers a little from the Leon's smart design. While the moniker is spelled out across the rear bootlid, the rest of the package lacks the sort of differentiation you get with other performance hatches. It would be nice to have a little more individual appeal on the Cupra. After all, few hot hatch owners are shy, retiring types.
While the interior does get the benefit of special figure-hugging sports seats and a few specific touches like the brushed steel gear knob, it suffers the same fate as its regular counterpart. The plastics are fine, but the digital screens look extremely dated when compared to modern rivals.
Our other qualm about the Leon is a feature here as well: rear passenger comfort. With the rising windowline towards the rear of the car, back-seat passengers can feel rather poorly catered for. They say that good rear visibility overcomes car sickness, but in the Cupra you've got ever-decreasing windows and a rather choppy ride, which can add up to a few upset stomachs.
All these issues are overcome, however, once you get moving. The Cupra has a wonderful engine. The 2-litre turbocharged block delivers its 240bhp in an ultra-professional way that rivals its iconic German sibling, the Golf GTi.
The large turbo offers up a little lag, but overall the power comes into play in a fantastically linear delivery. From about 2,000rpm to redline, the forward momentum is fantastic.
One strong feature is the sweet short-throw six-speed manual gearbox. While there is no dual-clutch DSG transmission on offer with the Cupra, the changes with this manual are crisp and precise, while the ratios seem ideally suited to this lovely engine. The two worked perfectly in harmony in tight, twisting bends where you want power on tap immediately on the exit.
Of course, all this doesn't matter a jot if the car can't properly transfer all that power on to the tarmac.
Most hot hatches are front-wheel-drive, and that means mixing incredible levels of power with steering controls. The end result is usually torque steer, where a car jumps and lurches about, leaving the driver to fight the engine for control of the front wheels.
Remarkably, for all the power on offer, the Seat suffers no such fate. While you will get a certain degree of front wheel slippage on wet roads, the balance of power and control is very impressive. The downside is that while the steering always feels sharp and accurate, it's also a little numb and its ability to damp out torque steer comes at the price of more driver information. Part of its ability to overcome this erratic steering trait is also down to the levels of torque available.
While the Cupra may have 40bhp extra over rivals like the GTI and Civic Type R, or 20bhp more than the ST, its torque is the same as the Golf's, and less than the Focus ST. That means the official acceleration times may be better than most rivals, but it doesn't pack the same forward punch of power as some others. And in this case that's a benefit to the car's handling, particularly on Irish roads.
Being a hot hatch, you can always expect the ride to be a little choppy, but the Cupra coped well with our challenging potholed routes, if tending a little towards understeer in corners.
One notable feature is a set of brakes that are incredibly grippy and anything more than the slightest tickle on the pedal anchors the car to the road. They are incredibly reassuring when you consider the performance on offer.
Overall, the Cupra offers the sort of driving experience that makes you long for the open road, or a good country run with plenty of hairpin bends.
So is the Cupra is king of the hot hatches for Irish roads? Not quite. It's a beautiful engine in a gorgeous bodyshell with decent ride qualities and impressive performance credentials.
However, it's hard to look past the VW Golf GTi, even with the Cupra's extra power punch.
In fact, the reason has little to do with performance and more to do with price.
While there may be a slight saving in the price of the Cupra right now over its rivals, the emissions-based tax changes due in July mean the Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) on the Seat rises by 2 per cent. Along with this, the annual road tax rises from the current level of €590 to €1,000 for Cupras registered after June 30th.
The Golf, on the other hand, drops 2 per cent in its VRT while its annual road tax rises by just €10. Combine these annual price differences with the fact that the Golf is likely to have a better resale value, and you start to see a significant cost of ownership difference.
The Cupra is Seat's star performer. It's a worthy rival to the likes of the VW Golf and is certainly more enjoyable to drive - and live with - than rivals such as the Opel Astra OPC. Buying before July 1st seems to be the most sensible move for Seat fans who have longed for the brand to live up to its emotional billing.
After the changes, it's going to be harder to justify.
Factfile Seat Leon Cupra
Engine:1984cc four-cylinder inline turbocharged petrol engine putting out 238bhp @ 5,100rpm and 280rpm @ 1,750rpm. Features a six-speed manual gearbox.
Specification:Dual front airbags; side airbag; roof airbags; ABS braking system with traction control; Isofix; rear fog lamps and spoiler; bifocal drivers mirror; electric heated mirrors; tinted glass radio/CD; speed related variable steering; tyre pressure indicator; pollen filte; 18" alloys.
L/100km (mpg): Urban: 11.4 (24.8); Extra-urban: 6.5 (43.5); Combined: 8.3 (34)
CO2 emissions:199 g/km Tax band from July 1st: VRT: 32 per cent; annual road tax: €1,000
Current price:€36,100