Cupra Leon eHybrid VZ3 | long-term test review

For someone who grew in the early days of the hot hatch era when my heart was very much set on a Peugeot 205 GTi, I was really looking forward to spending time with a modern, fleet-friendly alternative.

And I haven’t been disappointed. During its time on our long-term test fleet, the Cupra Leon VZ3 e-Hybrid has impressed with the way in combines just the right level of sportiness (for me), with the efficiency and CO2 emissions that would appeal to a company car driver.

It doesn’t offer the outright performance or thrills of more hardcore hot hatches such as the Honda Civic Type-R, Hyundai i30 N and Cupra Leon TSI 300, but then none of those are likely to get within a country mile of a company car choice list.

However, as a plug-in hybrid with CO2 emissions of 29g/km and a WLTP electric-only range of up to 34 miles, the Leon VZ3 e-Hybrid is much more likely to be available – and affordable - to user-choosers.

Performance from its 245PS powertrain is smooth rather than a pinning-you-to-the-back-of-your-seat experience, but a 0-62mph time of 6.7 seconds shows it has plenty of pace.

Typically, I found I could squeeze just under 30-miles of electric-only driving out of the battery, while if the battery was fully depleted my miles per gallon from the 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine was low- to mid-40s.

However, the powertrain was at its best when the two separate units were working together, with the power delivered smoothly through the DSG gearbox.

The driving experience was also impressive. As a sporty model, the ride was always going to be on the firm side but always settled and rarely uncomfortable.

Body roll was minimal and there was a satisfying directness and weight from the steering, making it fun to drive.

The rest of the ownership experience also impressed. The Leon looks great with the copper Cupra trim, and the interior is packed with quality and equipment: the design, fit and finish would be at home in a car from a traditional premium manufacturer.

Space is competitive with class rivals, and overall the package has plenty of appeal user-choosers who want to move to an electrified powertrain, but still want the excitement offered by a performance model.

Since we took delivery of our long-termer, Cupra has updated its trim level structure, meaning the specific equipment grade we had is now not available.

Instead it has replaced it with VZ3 Design Edition, which – on top of the equipment included in VZ3 – adds 19-inch Performance Black Satin & Copper alloy wheels.

In addition, the VZ3 Design Edition is now optionally available with Brembo brakes to offer even greater stopping power.

The updates mean the full Leon hatch and estate trim line-up comprises V1, V1 Design Edition, VZ2 Edition, and VZ3 Design Edition. Powertrain options remain unchanged.

Hot-hatch looks, premium feel

Aside from its hot hatch looks, one aspect of our long-term Cupra Leon which is really striking is just how premium it feels.

The interior quality is a cut above many of its C-sector rivals, with the premium credentials enhanced by its leather bucket seats, use of copper-coloured stitching, the “rightness” of its sports steering wheel, its digital cockpit instrument panel and mix of materials inside the cabin.

Other premium touches become apparent only when it’s dark. Puddle lights from its door mirrors are not a new idea, but the Cupra logos projected from the Leon are crisp and bright.

Other nice touches are the way the ‘Cupra’ on the aluminium kickplates are illuminated when the front doors are opened, while the interior features a thin wraparound amber LED lighting strip which stretches around the top of the dashboard from front door handle to front door handle.

The matrix LED headlights are also great, especially in automatic full beam mode where they constantly adapt to give you the best vision without dazzling oncoming drivers.

While some of these may seem small and largely unimportant features, they all enhance the overall experience of operating the car.

A key part of this is the infotainment system. In our Leon, it is operated through a 12-inch touchscreen, with touch controls for air-conditioning temperature and volume directly underneath it.

As with its Seat sibling, the Cupra’s display is bold and colourful, while the graphics are sharp. Creating a profile allows you to customise the infotainment system’s dashboard, enabling you to access the functions you use easily, and removing the ones you don’t.

On my set-up, the first to go was the built-in sat-nav icon, with the ‘mirror link’ function taking pride of place.

This enables you to connect your phone to the system so you can use either Apple CarPlay (wireless) or Android Auto (wired), and I’m a big fan of the latter for all my navigation and entertainment needs. It’s proved easy to connect, with the link proving reliable.

Setting up a profile has also allowed me to use the Cupra Connect app on my phone. It needs both sets of car keys to set-up, but through it I can access a wide range of information about the car, such as its location, whether the doors, boot and windows are closed, how many miles it has travelled and when the next service is due.

As our long-termer is a plug-in hybrid, it also means I can see the charging status of the car, level of charge and set the air conditioning remotely so the car is the right temperature when I get in.

The connectivity and configurability of the Leon has been a real boon, while the driving experience has continued to impress.

I’d like a faster on-board charger than the 3.6kW one fitted – having to wait three-and-a-half hours to charge the 13kW battery for an electric-only range of 30 miles seems too long – but other than that I’m thoroughly enjoying running the Cupra.

Cupra Leon eHybrid VZ3 joins our fleet

It seems like it’s been a long time since I ran a long-term test car that wasn’t an SUV, and initially it was a bit strange that I sort of slid in and down into a driver’s seat instead of going upwards.

But once snuggled into the bucket seat of our Cupra Leon VZ3 e-hybrid, I was as happy as a sandboy: I’m a fan of hot hatches, and there I was, sitting in a fleet-friendly one which I’m running for six months.

The hot-hatch as a company car has been a dying breed as the benefit-in-kind tax regime penalises performance petrol cars, while their usually high CO2 emissions also prevent them from being on many organisations’ choice lists.

However, as our it is a plug-in hybrid, our test car expertly straddles the line between low CO2 and the performance and driving characteristics of a hot hatch.

Its CO2 emissions of 29g/km and a WLTP electric-only range of up to 34 miles put the Leon in the 12% BIK band, while its peak power output of 245PS and 400Nm of torque give it a 0-62mph time of 6.7 seconds.

It looks and feels every inch a hot hatch as well. The Cupra sits 25mm lower at the front axle and 20mm at the rear axle than its Seat Leon sibling, and styling cues such as 19-inch alloy wheels, sports bumpers and a rear diffuser reinforce add to the sporty appeal

Cupra’s copper detailing adds a touch of class, and this colour is also prominent in the interior, mainly through stitching on the dashboard.

The previously-mentioned bucket seats are great, while there are plenty of other reminders that this is a performance-oriented hatch, including the Cupra button on the steering wheel.

This cycles through the different driving modes. The first three are comfort, individual and sport. And if one sport mode was not enough, there is also Cupra, which ramps up all the changes made in sport mode, such as sharper inputs, but also adds a synthesised exhaust note as the icing on the cake.

On the road, the Leon also impresses. Its ride is obviously much firmer than the SUVs I’ve been used to, but it’s never felt uncomfortable, more composed and reflective of the road surface. The directness and weight of the steering is pleasing

The Leon e-hybrid does lack the rawness and outright performance of more extreme hot hatches – for example, the fully-petrol Leon 2.0 TSI 300 offers (unsurprisingly) 300PS and a 0-62mph time of 5.5 seconds - but as a mix of fleet-friendly CO2 emissions and performance, the Cupra e-hybrid is so far hitting the spot.