SEAT Leon Cupra 300 Drive and Review - A Credible Golf R Alternative for Young Drivers? 

Why do people care about snow, we see it once a year for around 10 minutes.

An FR 150 or 184 is more suited to younger drivers, a 300 30k cupra is a little of a stretch I think, fantastic car though I want one

The numbness to the steering could be due to a control module setting called 'straight line running' which is common to many VWAG cars. This enables the steering motor to automatically compensate for camber changes, cross winds and torque steer, but in doing so takes away the interactivity most enthusiasts enjoy. I don't know if most VWAG cars with dynamic suspension also have this enabled by default which could explain the correlation James has found, but it wouldn't surprise me. It can be switched off using VCDS and in my opinion is one of the best tweaks this software can do. Quite why their sporty cars don't come from the factory like this is beyond me.

Mine arrived today in blue and I absolutely love it

One of these would be my absolute dream obtainable car! Always adored the way these look especially the led running lights. Much more exciting looking car compared to the golf 7 or Audi S3

Great review James, I really enjoy the way you critique a car, that's truly excellent. I've always loved the Cupra's, the stylish alternative to VW and also a performance bargain. I actually own the very first Leon Cupra R 210. Bought it new in 2003, did 290k km with it, still running great, very reliable, cracking car. Kind of barebone compared to modern cars, but I like it.

you can get these with 4wd, it just comes in the form of an estate.

Picked up mine a week ago. Safe to say I’m glad I changed my mind from a Gold GTI to the Cupra 300, it’s an absolute dream to drive and feels a lot nicer than the Golf.

Thanks for having me for the day and filming some stuff with me! We agreed on most things with regards to this car, a lightly used one can be had for less than £20k now so its a good deal for an ‘all rounder’. If you want perfect steering feel though maybe look elsewhere!

I've picked up an FR 1.8 TSI sport and its an absolutely fantastic car. Really good on the insurance as well, if you can find one with the 1.8 tsi engine I'd snap it up!

Love your channel. You are one of the best youtube car reviewers in my opinion! Can you do a mk2 leon cupra review/comparison please?

its actually the Golf R engine and turbo. The gti has a smaller turbo and very slightly different engine. S3, golf R, cupra and Clubsport same engine and turbo (is38) S1, GTI, Octavia VRS same engine and turbo (is20)

Nice car. I'm just weird that 10 years ago when I bought my first car, instead of finance or an old Golf... I bought a mkiv Supra! My recommendation to young petrolheads would be to forget about bhp and get a manual, something interesting (to you), and really learn to drive it. These point and squirt hothatches can be quicker than my current car sometimes, but it's not about how quickly you get somewhere. It's the journey. Just like life. The destination is the same, it's our journeys that are interesting.

Enjoyed that spot on 👍 really fancying one as my next car cause of insurance and cost!

Just sold my 66 reg 290 Cupra. Bloomin lovely and a lot less common than other VAG's. I will miss it and highly recommended.

It has a vaq diff, it is much better than the old xds system u are talking about. This model uses clutches to lock the front wheels. It's like a Haldex for the front wheels

The Seat's, in particular a Leon is one of the my favoured cars amongst Enterprise employees.

Nice review mate 👌

Love the Darts Team shirt

I do like the seat formulae they always seem to get the best version of the vag engine with a fwd sporty spin on things

here in denmark we also get the 300 in 4 wheel drive so amazing.

@JayEmm, I _might_ have the answer to your fuel consumption query. When I first heard this, I double-checked the calendar date. So, my 210bhp car will easily do high 20s around town, but only on cruise control will it do a tad better than 34mpg on a run. Just how dare it drive better than me! The reason being that when you wind up the engine speed, and its attendant heat, you need something to happen to help cooling on over-run. The engine will run a fair way at high revs with throttle closed. What happens is that raw fuel (I understand that as neat, rather than a with-air mix) is drip-fed into the combustion chambers without firing it, and this performs the best heat regulation option - obviously, all the electronics are doing their magic too. It's the main reason that on my R5GTT I can get a lovely, near perfect grey/brown shade, deposit on the exhaust, whereas on the 205GT it remains permanently black and sooty, which grinds my engineering senses to dust! It's probably also the reason why the R5GTT has hot-start issues and needs it carb-cooler to boot. I've come to the conclusion that these days Renault know all there is to know about turbo petrol engines and I doubt much of it is now secret. I have avoided getting a re-map because no-one can seem to answer whether better fuel economy comes because this over-run drip-feed is impacted. That and it reporting itself as a Megane - oh, the shame!

I have a Cupra 290 with DSG and so far love it. Mine also has the very good upgraded Seat Sound System with Sub mounted in the wheel well. Definitely has a mechanical LSD as well as if you look at the SEAT brochure under specifications it states Mechanical for the Cupra where as the FR model has electronic

I have a 2018 manual Cupra 300 and get 46mpg on a long run. In Cupra mode too.

I’d like to see a review of a late model estate 4WD version. Maybe even the the R with the factory 350bhp ABT tune.

Completely agree on the styling point JM. I've always thought the Cupra looks heaps better than the Golf. If they did stick the Haldex system into the hatch rather than just the estate I would have gone for a Cupra rather than Golf R. Good review dude.

I’m picking up my 2019 Cupra 290 7 speed this coming Thursday. I’m personally a fan of FWD but if you want the AWD conversion, a company called TSR in the midlands have done the conversion. I’m already looking at the Revo performance package which will take it to 400ps/400ftlbs. I believe it’s diff is a electronically controlled mechanical diff?!..

Please do a Focus ST review!!!

Aren't these a VAQ diff? which makes it a form of mechanical locking with electronic control. Not a much more basic braking lsd imitation

Might get one of these to replace my R26

I'd get this car in estate form, just because I love fast wagons. Prefer this to the golf r too

If you check specs this car comes with a mechanical lsd as did the original 280 version

May I suggest some research on the product next time 😎

I never realised how much difference living in a nice area makes for insurance, by 23 insurance is so cheap it doesn't matter - and by 19 the first year prices and halved (for scale a Porsche 924 fully comp at 17 is £800 and at 18 fully comp a colt ralliart with declared remap and exhaust is £900

Any performance difference with this VS the new Cupra badged version? Guessing speed and economy pretty much the same but any handling differences?

Hello jay could you get your hand on the new bmw x6 new shape for a real road test many thanks

You don’t need to pay anywhere near that, I just got one a few months ago, £27.5 for the Lux version, leather seats, adaptive cruise etc, all the bells and whistles compared to the Audi it replaced. Loving it. Much bigger boot that S3 or GolfR as well. Good review👍🏻

How would these behave if the non adjustable suspension was swapped for softer springs and less stiff shocks?

I got offered this for 259 up front and 259 a month on lease. Pretty good

I owned à Leon Cupra 290, which is the pre facelift version but technically exactly the same. And, I noticed a few points; 1. It doesn’t has the GTI engine but the R/S3 engine in combination with the GTI drivetrain. 2. The diff is not electronic, it’s an electronically controlled mechanica LSD. -> unless this is different for UK spec cars than the rest of the world. 3. I bought this car at age 22 and it was extremely expensive to insure all risk (just one insurance company didn’t refuse me) because of the power. I wouldn’t actually recommend this car to young drivers. It’s also just to fast for young drivers (it’s in reality as fast as a stage 2 mk7 GTI dsg, and except the launch it’s faster than the R/S3 because they are awd). Speaking about the lack of awd, in 1st gear you can’t do anything without wheelspin. Also in Cupra mode, the sound from the speakers is very annoying. Traded it in for a Alfa Romeo Giulia which is 10000X more (a driver focused) car for about the same money.

You can get AWD. Only on the wagon and only with DSG. 35mpg is the norm even when nursed. It'll run on 95 but sluggish, best on supermarket 99. In black its very understated with few obvious badges and from afar quite discreet.

Theres cupra 290 at the moment for less than 250 a month. Thats tempting....

Hmm not sure on the insurance shout not tried insurance on a cupra r yet but when I was looking around the golf r was anywhere between £400-600 cheaper to insure than the likes of bmw 335d, 530d, astra vxr, focus st, s3's and I'm not in the best postcode aswell. Alot of the safety tech has something to do with it I think

At the risk of being found offensive, which is not my intention, can I make the point that the handling of any car will be affected by the weight of the driver. And a 24+ stone bloke will certainly make the car feel vague in a corner. The seat Leon is an epic car.

I think these do indeed look a lot better than the equivalent Golf GTI. I wouldn't necessarily say that it's designed for young drivers though, £33k and 300bhp does not make it an option for most young drivers!

Very nice in white...!!! 👌

There's are somewhat of a used car bargain. Plenty available in the 13-15k bracket and after a stage 1 remap you are looking at 350+ BHP.

Best front end feal megane rs cup, best brakes 308 gti, best engine léon cupra. The civic type r is a so big and vast car I don't consider it in the same kind of car, it is the size a a Renault scenic

I'm sorry your videos are great but you really remind me off Ricky from trailer park boys in this one 😂

its faster than the r

34mpg and 300bhp I’d be well happy with that A few years ago a 300 bhp Impreza would be doing half that figure

Lol im buying this same car and nearly the exact same number plate. DF67 EZJ

I would buy one in manual just to avoid the dsg farts

James, when are you reviewing your BMW 7?

Can anyone vouch for the reliability? Going to look at one soon and I don't want to get involved with a car I can't rely on. Moving up from my fiesta st

Quarter of the price for half the power sounds like a great deal! I’d still prefer a used 1 series though, if a hatch was necessary

I've got the GTI performance now and am test driving a Golf R today. The main reason is for the all wheel drive to put the power down. Any recommendations on an alternative that is as well equipped, all wheel drive and practical? I regularly do long trips with 4 adults plus luggage so it's not an option currently to go for a coupé.

For all you 40 year old boring sods saying "not safe for a young driver as they will kill themselves with it" NO WE WON'T. I'm fast approaching 2 years no claims and It still costs me 3k a year to Insure my 2.0 tdi golf so one of these is out of the question for anyone under 21. So calm down no 18 year olds are going to blow past you with a DSG fart in one of these while you're in your superb estate going to golf on a Sunday. (edit: this isn't aimed at everyone who's older just the people that have the mentality of "I don't have a nice car why should a young person have one"

I'm sat at my desk watching this and i just tried to press my brakes at 3:30 for that oncoming car lol

Hmm this or a golf GTI or a i30n? Hard choices. Keep up the great content and the great videos

I have the 2019 cupra 290 with the 7 speed dsg and i regularly get 40+mpg on a run. Can get 45 mpg if I try.

Most young drivers cant afford this unless they finance it for four years. Also the Insurance would be crazy

For young drivers? Why? First of all is quitte expensive to buy and to run and it s a very quick car so better for rather experimented drivers

Think you’ve been a bit harsh these cars especially when the newer 290 7 speed dsg spanks majority of its competitors on everyday driving and even the track these are a real real drivers car. However no much can be said about the new 2020 cupra it’s a bloody hybrid with a about 50 bhp less

Great Work on The 5F Jay! He's a Real Beauty Whip all right! I Love My 5F Projects AsF! Keep up the good work AsF!👍🏿Remember Jay, He's a Keep AsF!🇩🇪🇪🇸🎶Spanish Guiatar Sound🎶Ole😎and I'm Your 27th👍🏿up, Plus White Cars, Better than Black Cars, I'm not a Fan of Black Things. ;)

It’s golf R power without an AWD system, and I’d personally go for a manual gearbox

Not sure why you say you can only get them as fwd. Also available in AWD.

I used to work for seat about 28 years ago go and believe me me they were crap seat Malaga seat Crapper ECT come a long way now

What you dont get, is the build quality. I had one on a weekend test drive about 6 months ago. I put my hand in the door pocket, took it out and about 3 layers of skin were removed by the razor sharp unfinished plastics. Other than that its is essentially a 2WD version of the Golf R.

Huh?! When did Leon Cupra stop having a mechanical limited slip diff?

I wish tbe cupras had AWD

That car is 3 years out of date. The MY19 Leon Cupra hatchback has: 287bhp, 7 speed DSG, just under £30k UK base price, haldex type diff on the front not brake orientated Ediff, less pops due to the GPF filter. Get with the times and show an updated model. And as @S.S. Gill mentioned in the form of the ST a 4wd has 297bhp. Not to mention a superb virtual cockpit as standard and whole heap of standard options. And it does share the same engine EA888 although in different tune as the Golf R, Octavia Petrol vRS, S3, Golf GTi.

34 mpg not good for a hothatch 😂? My st I'm getting 29mpg

just gives it a little added edge lol

Did you say Skodia?

When can we have a butchers at your Sim rig ?

Nice looking car, but those awesome looking wing mirrors are just going to generate a lot of wind noise (though the same could be said for the entire SEAT range).

i really hate dsg farts

You get VW quality and reliability, well that's reassuring lol

Your logo would look so much better if your tire was black instead of green.. Maybe a little idea.

Fabulous darling

A Cupra is always the better Golf R/Audi S3. Same interior quality, quicker on the track and cheaper. BUT, I'd always recommend the 1M (2003-2006) or the 1P (2008-2012) Leon Cupra/Cupra R. They are way cheaper, manual tran., reliable, lightweight, very easy to modify and hella fast.

We've got a Cupra 300 ST 4Drive. Basically a Golf R.....wayyy better looking.....

No definitely not for young drivers with barely any experience. With all the safety tech on these they get to a point where the "tech" cant save you and then crash as the driver doesn't know what to do or panics

Sorry but you're wrong about it not having a mechanical LSD because it does

Why am I getting notifications on a channel I don’t follow?

"A slightly odd appetite for coolant" - in a near-new car? I've had Toyotas for 23 years, ranging 2 to 15 years old, and never had any issue as "serious" as that. I want some sort of European car, but just can't get over the Continent's low standards of reliability.

Cupra has the Golf R engine not GTi

Can't fault the economy. My Panda isn't any better.

I WOULD BUY THE SEAT ITS STILL VW ANYWAY

I do feel that this would be extortionate to run for a young driver... maybe those above 23 - not so young any more

Easy to lease at £250 per month.

I’m really not a fan of modern hot hatch noise with the instant gear change. Just sounds so dull. Nice car I guess I just couldn’t imagine desiring one That budget opens up so many other cars

21 years old, insurance is 5000 pounds for me. No alternative that!

For young drivers 🤨............ good luck withthe insurance!

They look a lot cheaper inside and outside compared to the golf though - you can see where they saved the money

Cheaper at a price because build quality is definitely not at VW gti level. Got to admit though, I wish my Audi A6 3.0 TFSI with slow shifting tiptronic had this Cupras super fast DSG transmission.😒

Young drivers? I dont think so, Just because cars are cheap to finance it doesnt mean its cheap to insure, Especially for young drivers

Jesus, I thought James was going to say 23k! 33K! That’s huge money! Who actually pays these prices? I wouldn’t give 20k for it seriously.

I wouldn't recommend a young driver to buy a fast hatchback