Cupra Leon in first test: upgrading - voila! vehicle

2023-03-26T10:56:13.293Z

Copra is also starting to sell the less sporty versions of the Leon. Is it worth the extra price compared to the regular Leon?

Climbs up in positioning, with additional fittings and matte color of a stealth plane.

Cupra Leon (Photo: Walla! system, Audi Etzion)

Price (base/test):

NIS 193,000/NIS 207,000

Competitors:

Honda Civic, Audi A3, BMW 1 Series, Mazda 3

We liked:

design, accessories, performance, usability and value compared to the luxury competitors

We didn't like:

operation The systems using a touch screen.

Not really different from Seat Leon

Zion:

8/10

There are cars that will ask you how much they cost you, what the power is, or what the hell you were thinking.

And there are cars that the conversation will even start with the question "But who is a Cooper?"

There is no doubt that Cupra Leon brings with it, besides a lot of equipment and horse power, also a topic of conversation and explanations about the unknown symbol.

Cupra, you will explain, was an oil of the hot versions of Seat models for which Seat's sports division was responsible, which at the same time competed in races.

A few years ago, the token fell to Seat, or the bosses from Volkswagen, and they decided to build a new brand based on the sports division.

Because it takes time to launch a full model range, Copra has so far only launched one stand-alone model, a crossover called the Formentor, and markets its own versions of existing Seat models, the family Leon and the taller Ateca crossover.

At first, the latter were only versions with 245 hp, but now you can purchase the Copra Leon also with the more popular SEAT engines.

It is also spacious in the back, and the passengers have an air conditioner outlet (photo: Walla! system, Audi Etzion)

What is the difference between the Cupra Leon and the Seat Leon, except for NIS 27,000 in the base price for the 2 liter version we drove?

More sporty bumpers, sportier seats, upgraded finish in the passenger compartment, other rims, and the test vehicle also had the matte paint option (NIS 14,000) that makes it look like a stealthy fighter jet.

The passenger compartment maintains the advantages and disadvantages of the Seat version.

On the side of the former, it is very spacious, also in the back seat, very well equipped, with good seats.

The trunk also has a good volume for a compact, of 380 liters.

The upgraded seats are successful.

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The driver's environment looks excellent, but operating the systems from the touch screen is problematic and requires too much attention from the driver (photo: Walla! system, Audi Etzion)

On the side of the latter, the foolish decision to transfer the operation of as many systems as possible to the multimedia screen that serves as a touch screen, even for the climate control.

It's cumbersome, and changing the temperature while driving requires the driver to take his eyes off the road.

Cupra is not the only manufacturer that has chosen this problematic configuration in recent years, the parent company Volkswagen has already made it clear that it will return to physical buttons, let's hope that the subsidiaries will too, and Vifa one hour before.

380 liters of volume in the trunk.

And under it is a spare wheel, which is no longer taken for granted today even in gasoline models (photo: Walla! system, Audi Etzion)

The equipment list includes a fully digital dashboard, the 10-inch multimedia display, with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, split climate control into 3 zones (driver/passenger/back seat, which gets its own outlet), sunroof, smart key, dashboard Wireless charging, front and rear parking sensors, Beats sound system, four Type C sockets, LED lighting and 18-inch rims.

The active safety package is complete, including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure control and active correction of the deviation, warning of a vehicle in a dead area and cross traffic from behind.

The Copra also gets 10 airbags instead of 6 in the Seat, including a pillow for the driver's knees, and a pillow that inflates in the event of an accident between the driver and the passenger.

Four exhausts, at least on the outside.

modesty?

Not here (photo: Walla! system, Udi Etzion)

The Leon Cupra is equipped with the standard 2-liter engine of the Volkswagen Group: turbo-petrol with 190 hp and a dual-clutch, 7-speed robotic gearbox. After

all the electric cars and hybrids I've driven lately, it was fun to hear an engine purring with a meaty sound, even though today The engine noise is also something that was synthesized in the laboratories. The Copra is not a car that has surrendered to the Green C, nor to the messages of the Green Light Association: it is a very agile car, which easily accelerates to speeds that are not quite legal. The driver has control over the gears from paddles behind the steering wheel, but it is also possible Put the box in Sport mode and it does an excellent job of upshifting and downshifting.

7.2 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h used to be wow, today Chinese electric crossovers that cost tens of thousands of shekels less than the Copra achieve them with effortless ease, but also without all the drama that the Copra know how to produce

Even the fuel consumption was reasonable relative to the performance, we ended the test days with an average of 12 km per liter.

The Copra Leon models, unlike the regular Leon, are also equipped with adaptive shock absorbers, which can be chosen to be harder or softer.

But in the test vehicle, even in the comfortable mode, the calibration was still not comfortable enough.

It does help with the high road grip, the good control of body movement in turns, and the ability to drive very fast anywhere.

It's a shame that the steering wheel doesn't convey enough sensations from the road.

Expensive and still cheap and strong from BMW 1-series and Audi A3 (photo: Walla! system, Audi Etzion)

A 2-liter Cupra Leon (there is also a 1.5-liter) costs NIS 193,000 before extras, and together with the special color, the price jumps to NIS 207,000.

That's a lot of money when you remember that the 1.5 liter Leon costs NIS 135,000 in principle, but has not been available in stock for many months, and the 2 liter version costs NIS 165,000 - and it is not available either.

On the other hand, even the 2-liter version is tens of thousands of shekels cheaper than the BMW 1-series and Audi A3, with which the Cupra tries to compete, is much more equipped and powerful.

It's hard to talk about value for money in cars that cost so much, but at least the Copra tries to mark V in this section as well.

She's definitely dressed up enough for this party, she's obviously been working out at the gym, and even though she's the new girl on the block, she's definitely a worthy contender in the young luxury market.