Test drive: Latest Leon is one of the hottest hot hatches ever

Cupra has already proven it can produce fast crossovers and SUVs, but this new Leon also shows it knows how to master a hot hatch to the highest possible standard

The Cupra Leon 300 could become the hot hatch market leader. Picture: Arnaud Taquet

Seat’s decision to spin Cupra off as a separate brand has been going for three years now, but this Leon is the performance marque’s first product that is not an SUV or crossover of some kind.

Following on from high-performance versions of the Ateca, which is also sold as a Seat, and the Formentor, which is not sold as anything other than a Cupra, the high-powered Leon is based on the fourth generation of the ...