You Can Now Buy The Cupra And The Seat Leon With The Same 1.5L Or 2.0L Engines

The Cupra Leon is the hot hatch variant of the Seat Leon, and a standalone model starting from this generation. The siblings were initially offered with different powertrain options, but there is now an overlap since you can buy a Cupra Leon in the UK with the same 1.5-liter or 2.0-liter TSI petrol engines also found under the bonnet of the regular Seat Leon.

Setting aside the plug-in hybrid, the Cupra Leon was available with the 2.0 TSI producing 242 hp (180 kW / 245 PS), 296 hp (221 kW / 300 PS) or up to 306 hp (228 kW / 310 PS) in the Sportstourer 4Drive. Now the Cupra range is joined by the entry-level 1.5 TSI producing 148 hp (110 kW / 150 PS) in combination with a six-speed manual or a seven-speed DSG gearbox, as well as a lesser version of the 2.0 TSI producing 187 hp (140 kW / 190 PS), exclusively combined with the DSG.

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The aforementioned powertrains with the exact same output are shared with the Seat Leon and with the closely-related Cupra Formentor, which means that this is not the first time they are used by the sporty brand.

Interestingly, the expansion of the range means that the entry level Cupra Leon – the 1.5 TSI with 148 hp (110 kW / 150 PS) – is less powerful than the flagship Seat Leon eHybrid which produces 201 hp (150 kW / 204 PS). Still there is some level of differentiation in terms of chassis setup, so every Cupra will be more potent than the equivalent Seat in terms of driving dynamics, even if they get matching performance figures.

Cupra will offer both the hatchback and estate bodystyles with the 1.5 TSI and the 2.0 TSI. Furthermore, a new value-focused trim called V1 is added to the range. Standard equipment is pretty generous, including a set of 18-inch alloy wheels, LED lighting units, twin exhaust pipes, the largest 12-inch infotainment, Cupra drive profile selection, plus an array of ADAS such as the predictive and adaptive cruise control.

The entry-level Cupra Leon models will be available in the UK starting from early October. It remains to be seen how much more expensive the Cupra will be compared to a full-spec Seat Leon with the same engine, and which of the two will sell more units in the long run. Despite expanding the Leon range, Cupra has pledged to share fewer models with Seat in the future in a quest to move upmarket.