The racing truck
You are family man? However, you do not want an SUV or van for transporting child and cone? But still need space and performance, because they are usually too late to sell their own brood in time for kindergarten or school? Seat has something for you, the Leon ST Cupra. What is that? A five-door station wagon with mighty lard under the hood. But performance alone is well known today, not everything. Because the compact load master also driving pleasure? To find out, we have traveled exactly where German families in summer are like this: to Mallorca.
ST makes the Leon spacious, Cupra fast
Oh yes, station wagons, a little melancholy arises. Because earlier, when everything felt better, this type of vehicle brought generations of families on vacation, to their grandparents or on weekends. Mercedes-Benz then made the station wagon classy at some point and Audi made it pretty with the Avants. And today? The combination car is mainly a European phenomenon. Americans now find cars with an almost vertical tailgate and cargo area in the interior stuffy and the Chinese, who are keen to buy, prefer a limousine with legroom in the rear instead of a cargo space in the rear. What all peoples have in common at the moment is their love for the sport utility vehicle. So you have to be thankful to the Spaniards that they not only launched a really appealing station wagon with the Seat Leon ST at the end of 2013, but also pushed a real racing truck with the ST Cupra in early 2015.
Good mix: 1.470l load volume and 280 Iberian horsepower
But to be able to race really heartily with the Cupra station wagon, you have to look more closely at the price list, because between just-being-speedy and I-am-a-sleeper-with-1.470-liter luggage space are a few key technical details and at least 5.000 Euro, which must first be released by the Chief Financial Officer of the Family Council. But in turn. The fun starts with the Seat Leon ST Cupra 265 with 32.950 Euro. As the name suggests, (mostly) man and (more rarely) wife are then available to 265 PS. However, we do not want to go into this variant, because their sales share is below 10%. The rest goes straight to the 280 PS version. But beware, this is exactly where the first mistake can now be made, which noticeably diminishes the driving pleasure. Our tip: save 1.700 Euro, do without the six-speed direct shift gearbox and choose the hand-torn long-tail Spaniard for 34.250 Euro. Why? Yes, the DSG shifts finely, saves up to four-tenths of fuel on the paper, emits less CO2 and accelerates 0,1 seconds faster to 100 km / h, but in sports use the DSG does just what it does in manual mode just before the rev limiter especially the right racing fathers do not want: it turns up. For one of the fastest vehicles of the brand, which derives the name "Cupra" from "Cup Racer", an unfortunate programming of the transmission control. Only one thing can help: be yourself in touch and always be master of the switching position. And you can do that in the up to 250 km / h fast Spaniard wonderful. The six gears can be precisely inserted in any wild driving situation and are wonderfully graded. Too bad that the ESP, despite the promise of the press department, can not be completely disable and sometimes a bit unwirsch prevents the motivated driving on the steering wheel.
Golden ratio: manual transmission and performance package
How do we know? Well, there is a race track on the Balearic Island. Didn't you know? The 15 km long Circuito Mallorca is less than 3,2 minutes away from Ballermann. Of course, this is not an FIA circuit for international motorsport, but the angled circuit is exactly the right choice for testing the Cupra. There we “found out” the next tip for Racer Mum & Dad: It is imperative to invest the money saved by choosing the gearbox in the performance package. For 2.530 euros you not only get a little look and color accents, but also a powerful Brembo 4-piston brake system at the front with internally ventilated and perforated 370 mm brake discs. This means that the braking point is still at an outside temperature of 30 ° C and a tire temperature of 70 ° C. What is standard in all engine-gearbox combinations and works surprisingly well is the electronically controlled front axle differential lock. This filters out the slip on the wheel on the inside of the bend without braking intervention when accelerating out and converts it into traction. This is supported by the adaptive chassis control DCC located on board. You can choose between Comfort, Sport, Individual and Cupra using the touchscreen in the center console. With the latter mode there is no excessive hardness in the 4,54m long sports truck. Only the coordinated progressive steering always remains a bit callous and should provide a little more precision and feedback.
Michelin semi-slicks: the stomach says yes, the mind no.
And something else bothers: the engine sound. Yes, we know a four-cylinder turbo gasoline engine will never sound like a naturally aspirated V8. But despite the powerful 350 Newton meters, the 2,0l engine always sounds a bit oily and when the Cupra button is pressed - thanks to the sound actuator - actually just silly. But regardless of that, the manual Seat Leon ST Cupra 280 is a boon in the current SUV craze. Thanks to the VW Group's genes, this station wagon is not only practical, it is also so much fun from a lateral dynamic point of view that you simply have to order the optional bucket seats. This is also our last tip for driving fun, because for 1.350 euros you get a seat in the first row that significantly increases lateral support without reducing everyday usability. We only remain undecided with one driving dynamics option: the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 530 semi-slicks, which cost 2 euros. These wonderfully sticky tires in the size 235 / 35-19 are quickly up to operating temperature in summer temperatures on the Spanish island and then work splendidly, but in the gray everyday German life this tire choice may not always be the last word for parents in a hurry.
And finally ...
With the Leon ST Cupra 280, Seat has found a gap for families who want a practical station wagon, but not strong enough for a Skoda Octavia Combi RS (220 hp, 31.150 euros) or Ford Focus ST tournament (250 hp, 30.050 euros) and a VW Golf R Variant (300 PS, 42.925 euros) is simply too expensive. This calculation seems to work, because the ST share of cupras sold in Germany (three-door, five-door, station wagon) is now around 50%.