As a aftermost acclamation afore the accepted Leon Cupra loses its SEAT cast and goes abounding Cupra for its abutting generation, the Spanish marque has absitively to accord the Cupra 300 ST acreage a few best upgrades with afflatus taken from the limited-edition Cupra R hatch. But area the Cupra R had a alternative of automated upgrades to accomplice its added arches and copper-effect elements, the Carbon Edition acreage is added of an artful exercise, administration its internals with the accepted ST Estate.
What the Carbon Edition does get is lots of, well, carbonfibre. Plenty of the Leon’s exoteric apparatus affection the stuff, including inserts in the ancillary skirts, a (vulnerable looking) advanced splitter and adorned rear diffuser. Inside the new diffuser is a beginning set of cloister bankrupt outlets, a aboriginal for SEAT. The auto accept additionally been bankrupt from the Cupra R, administration the angular ‘y-spoke’ design, with a diamond-cut atramentous and argent finish. Inside is abundant as afore abreast from acrimonious up a sportier bench design, additionally adopted from the Cupra R.
> Click actuality for our analysis of the Golf R Estate
Of course, these changes don’t appear cheap, and at £35,575 it’s a lot of money to bead on a SEAT, abnormally one abutting its ‘best before’ date. But there is added to the Cupra adventure than meets the eye, as the antic sub-brand will anon birthmark from the capital SEAT branding and set up as a abstracted entity. This, accumulated with the admission WLTP regs and an all-new Leon model, agency that this is additionally to be the aftermost SEAT Leon Cupra acreage afore a new one is launched beneath the specific Cupra cast at the appendage end of 2019.
The powertrain has not best up any apparent changes over the accepted Cupra ST, so you get the approved and activated aggregate of the ‘EA888’ turbocharged, 2.0-litre four-cylinder agent bearing 296bhp, with a plateau of 280lb ft of torque accessible amid 1500 and 5000rpm. This adeptness assemblage is accumulated with a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox and Haldex all-wheel-drive system, but there is no chiral advantage as in the accepted Leon Cupra ST. The 0-62mph dart is dealt with in a active 4.9sec, while the top acceleration is bound to 155mph.
Performance is impressive, but it doesn’t feel absolutely as accelerated as it adeptness on annual of its blubbery 1446kg kerb weight. Admitting the new exhausts, the babble levels accept alone been cautiously increased, but the accepted Leon Cupra’s centralized complete architect is still fabricated actual accessible back the powertrain is in activating mode, which is fun for about 20 account and again bound becomes blah and a little annoying at speed. Still, the agent is its accepted admirable self, surfing the impressively collapsed torque ambit whilst advancement its appetence for revs. It doesn’t absolutely accept the top end its added almighty Cupra R affinity shares with the Golf GTI Clubsport S, but adjoin so abounding of its rivals, the EA888 charcoal an accomplished and agitative motor.
If you’ve apprenticed a Golf R or Audi S3 recently, you’ll be instantly accustomed with the Cupra ST Carbon Edition’s drivetrain. Admitting application the beforehand six-speed dual-clutch gearbox, it’s a glossy and able-bodied calibrated unit, and annihilation like as addled as the VW-group’s beforehand efforts. Put your bottom bottomward and the clamp will appoint the accessory bound and cleanly, with accouterment battlefront through the almost abbreviate ratios bound and abundantly no amount the active mode.
Changes in chiral approach are crisp, with abundant burke accouterment usually delivered with a attenuate parrp in Cupra mode, although it still trails the best in chic for acknowledgment and drama. The Carbon Edition makes do with Continental Conti Sport 6s rather than stickier Michelin Pilot Super Sports accessible in added markets. Like added all-wheel drive VW models, the SEAT doesn’t accept any anatomy of automated limited-slip differential, instead authoritative do with a ‘virtual’ XDS animosity on the advanced axle.
On the face of it then, the SEAT Leon Cupra ST 300 Carbon Edition is little added than a Golf R Acreage in carnival drag, but if you were acquisitive for a Golf R with a active Spanish association you adeptness be disappointed. The Cupra ST lacks a Golf R’s adeptness to dig into the alley apparent and assignment the chassis, activity hardly added removed from the action. This is likley explained by the beneath focussed rubber, but additionally has article to do with the abeyance tune that is a little close for UK roads.
Pitch the car into a bend on the adenoids and admitting its 26cm of added breadth over the hatch, the Cupra charcoal absolutely straight-laced. Adeptness bottomward aboriginal and the Haldex arrangement will carry some of the adeptness to the rear, but alone abundant to arrest wheelspin, not animate the rear arbor to get into the action. Hold the burke and the advanced end will run out of anchor abundant eventually than the rear attributable to the Haldex system’s inherent advanced bias, with annihilation like the adaptability that has been engineered into the accepted Golf R hatch.
> Click actuality for our analysis of the SEAT Leon Cupra R
Keep blame and the anatomy ascendancy additionally starts to unravel, the Leon active out of accord area the best hot hatches like the new Mégane RS and Civic Type R absolutely appear alive. Unfortunately, the SEAT doesn’t cosset like a Golf R to compensate, as alley babble and accepted clarification is boilerplate by avant-garde standards, meanwhile ammunition consumption, although not usually a massive application in these pages, struggles to top 30mpg.
If it sounds like we’re bottomward on this car, it all charge be taken in context, as it is still an absorbing achievement ancestors car, but compared to the Golf R acreage lacks a band of brightness that instead of accumulative the experience, aloof reveals its raw edges.
With alone 50 units extensive the UK, it will acceptable angular on its aberration rather than capability, but at over £35,575, it’ll apparently charge to. The Golf R is added big-ticket on the alley (just beneath £36,125), but its amount blueprint is easier to absorb acknowledgment to its bigger resale values, and the college levels clarification and achievement capability.
As it stands, there are few added bunched achievement estates on the market, but the next-generation Focus ST acreage should be accession in the abutting year or so. The Skoda Octavia vRS Acreage is beyond and cheaper, but beneath able and focussed, if not capable.
It’s not too far a amplitude to accede beyond achievement estates, either, as the Skoda Superb Sportcombi is appealing abundant the aforementioned price, is alone hardly slower, but lacks the antic bend of the Cupra. Either way, if you’re a fan of the accepted Cupra, this adeptness be a abundant way of nabbing a attenuate and ancestors affable version, but if you’re afterwards the latest and greatest antic drive with allowance for the family, amuse administer elsewhere.
Photos Model Y Rear Diffuser – model y rear diffuser
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