The Seat Leon Cupra 300 ST is a rapid hot estate that demands attention
The hot hatch market is full of excellent options, but few also come as an estate. Darren Cassey tests the fast Seat on UK roads.

What’s new?
The Seat Leon Cupra has always been a bit of an underrated gem – utterly brilliant but rarely talked about in the upper echelons of the hot hatch market.
It recently received a minor update, which saw a 10bhp power increase to 296bhp. Just as newsworthy is the shift from front-wheel drive to all-wheel drive for the estate model we’re driving here.
It’s almost identical under the metal to the much-lauded Volkswagen Golf R, which bodes well.

Looks and image
While the Golf is more understated and classy, the Leon fits into Seat’s youth-orientated image by offering bolder styling. There are plenty of sharp angles in the design and you can even specify bright orange alloy wheels.