After being teased by the Spanish manufacturer last week, the 2020 Cupra Leon has been revealed ahead of its debut at the Geneva Motor Show. They haven’t just revealed one car, though. No – there’s a whole range of them and they come in hatchback and estate form.
Based on the same chassis as the Seat, the Cupra Leon sits lower on the front and rear axles by 25mm and 20mm respectively. As you would expect, it also wears larger wheels and tyres. It has a slightly widened track and the power assisted steering and adaptive suspension have been tweaked to add stability in the corners.
There are four different powertrain options and the headline act is the ‘eHybrid’. It’s a 148bhp 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol paired with a 113bhp electric motor. Combined output of the two is 242bhp and 295lb ft of torque. You will find the same powertrain in the Mk8 Golf GTE.
The eHybrid’s 13kWh battery has a claimed electric driving range of 37 miles. It also brings the Leon’s CO2 emissions below 50g/km making it an excellent choice for a company car, especially with the practicality of the estate.
Whilst the Mk7 Golf GTE had the potential to revolutionise hot-hatches, the extfa weight of the hybrid setup really took away from its stability and handling. This ultimately took away from the excitement of driving it. It was just far too sensible. If Cupra have got weight distribution, balance and overall enjoyment of this right, it could be the future not only of the hot-hatch but the fast wagon, too. Fingers crossed!
If hybrid power isn’t for you, there are three other options. The ‘entry level’ option for regular combustion engines is a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol producing 242bhp and 272lb ft or torque.
Whilst torque output is slightly down compared to the hybrid, it will be substantially lighter meaning it will probably still be quicker. It’ll also give us a decent idea of what we can expect from the upcoming Golf GTI.
If you want more power, your mid-range ICE Leon uses the same 2.0-litre TSI but power is pumped up to 296bhp. At the top of the range you will find the Leon ST. Again, it uses a 2.0-litre TSI but this one puts out 306bhp and unlike its inferior FWD siblings, it utilises the same AWD system as the Golf R. It is also only available in estate form.
The ST is the only model we have official performance figures for at this point. 0-62mph will take 4.8 seconds – that’s 0.1 quicker than the current model. It’ll max out at an electronically limited top speed of 155mph.
Unfortunately, none of the 2020 Cupra Leon models come with the option of a manual transmission. Instead, they all come with a 7-speed DSG gearbox which might make the Leon faster but may also take something away from the enjoyment of driving it.
What is exciting is the Cupra’s appearance – it’s aggressive across the range. It gets angry looking bumpers and grilles as well as bespoke colour options. Both 242bhp models come with 18-inch alloys – the two more powerful models wear 19s.
You’ll find some very smart copper accents and trims inside and out. The alloys, calipers and exhaust tips are coloured to match the Cupra badging. Inside, there is copper detailing and stitching to accompany the alcantara trim on the seats and door cards.
You’ll also find an excellent bespoke steering wheel that houses the engine start button and the toggle to switch through the driving modes.
It basically looks like a cheaper version of the Audi RS4 Bronze Edition I showed you earlier this week and that is most certainly not a bad thing,
If the road cars don’t quite cut it for you, check these racers out.
The navy and copper car will be raced in the WTCR series alongside high-performance, wide-bodied A3s and Golfs amongst others. The blue and white car is an all-electric racer that will compete with similarly wide-bodied EVs in the eTCR series starting in 2021. Both look absolutely insane.
No official pricing has been announced just yet but the pre-order books have opened. The Cupra Leon is expected to hit Uk showrooms later this year.
Does the 2020 Cupra Leon interest you or would you rather wait for the Mk8 Golf in either GTE, GTI or R form? Let us know what you think in the comments section below or via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
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