We review the Seat Leon Cupra from price to economy and all its features

IT’S Seat’s hot hatch against their hottest ever hatch.

This week we gave the new Seat Leon Cupra the acid test — taking on the Cup Racer.

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Hottest hatch ... Seat Leon Cupra

The Cup Racer will deliver 330bhp and over 155mph but the hot hatch Leon Cupra lived with it thanks to its own 276bhp and 0-62mph in 5.7 seconds — which is quicker than a VW Golf GTi.

The top speed is a licence-losing 155mph, but the figure that will give you a pleasant shock is excellent fuel economy of just over 40mpg. I don’t know what dog’s danglies translates into Spanish — but it definitely looks it.

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Prices start at £25,690 for the three-door Leon SC Cupra and rise to £28,525 for the five-door, compared to £26,125 and £26,780 for the Golf GTi.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Hot hatch owners like their cars to stand out and this fluorescent yellow paint job guarantees that.

But the Seat Leon Cupra doesn’t really need a flashy colour to make it desirable. The standard Leon is one of the best-looking hatchbacks on the road and the Cupra version adds a dash of the devil that’s impossible to ignore, whatever the colour.

The lights add more drama thanks to LED headlights and large air intakes each side of the grille that highlight the extra power under the bonnet.

A rear skirt with a diffuser and two fat oval tailpipes and 18in or 19in alloys confirm this is the king of the Leon range.

The Cupra version adds a dash of the devil that’s impossible to ignore.

It is the fastest and most powerful car Seat has ever built and there is another bonus — it shares a large part of its mechanicals with the iconic Golf GTI.

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Stunning Seat ... poster-pin up of the hatchback world

DRIVE TIME

In many ways, the Cupra is such a practical and realistic everyday car and that adds to its appeal.

Drive it fast and it’s instantly responsive, but, let’s face it, the daily drive to work is usually in stop/start traffic.

And that’s the beauty of the Cupra because it’s just as happy in traffic or cruising on a motorway.

INSIDE STORY

You enjoy all that performance even more because Seat has stepped up its game on the inside, where all the materials have a much more premium feel to them.

Plus you get full black leather/alcantara upholstery with white stitching, and lots of aluminium trim, including drilled aluminium pedals and a chunky steering wheel.

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Premium feel ... leather interior