Cupra Leon KL1 VZe (2022-2026)

A hot hatch that's good on fuel – The Leon is the sporty cousin of the latest generation of Golf, and comes in a few flavours. One of those flavours is a hot hatch with a catch: this is a plug-in hybrid. Is this the future of the hot hatch? Or is it just a slightly more powerful bland hybrid option for those who want an exciting looking car without the fuel bill to match? I actually think it’s a great proof of concept for future hot hatches. Let me explain why.

Aside from the slightly overenthusiastic use of cheaper plastics inside this Cupra, this is a very European-feeling car.

The doors are heavy, the panel gaps are small and it feels surprisingly upmarket. There were slight rattles when traversing some bumpier sections of road, but the Cupra felt like a tightly buttoned up car.

This is a fast hatchback from the Volkswagen family, so it’s not going to be a bargain. You’ll pay $60,490 before on-road costs and some variation of incentives depending on which state you’re in.

Our car has a $1800 sunroof fitted that brought the price up too. It’s $1000 cheaper than its 221kW bonafide hot hatch Leon VZx sibling.

The warranty is 5 years/unlimited kilometres and servicing is complimentary for 3 years if you bought a Cupra before the 31st of March 2023.

You can add an extra 2 years of servicing to extend this service plan to 5 years for $1400 for this PHEV model. Service intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

If you live within 10km of an authorised Cupra Service Partner, your car will be picked up and dropped off too!

The Cupra is fairly isolated from the road, but tyre roar is a bit obvious inside this hatchback.

The petrol motor is another sound that’ll make its way inside the car, but all that goes away if you’re driving on electric power alone.

There is some artificial sound generated in ‘Cupra’ mode to increase excitement, and it didn’t feel that annoying to listen to either.

A fairly large set of brakes have been fitted to this Cupra, adorning a set of bronze Cupra callipers too.

These brakes are meaty in feel, and have excellent bite when driving with a little enthusiasm. Around town, it’s easy to smoothly operate the Leon without upsetting the ride.

Autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian/cyclist detection and rear cross traffic alert all help with ensuring you stop without hitting something or someone crossing your path.

The Cupra comes with a 1.4L turbocharged petrol four-cylinder motor producing a measly 110kW (147hp) and 250Nm. Combined with an electric motor and battery, you’re getting a proper hot hatch combined output of 180kW (241hp) and 400Nm!

Here’s the catch, you only get that full power when the battery is charged. Once depleted, you’re stuck with a lot less power, and suddenly your hot hatch becomes regular traffic. It’s a fast car off the line; you’re hitting 100km/h in just 6.7 seconds. That’s a respectable time that offers plenty of power to have a lot of fun if you’re using this car’s sportier settings.

Even in pure EV mode, the Leon is a quick feeling car, but it’s got nothing on a pure EV’s ability to launch off the line.

Truthfully, the 6-speed dual-clutch was a great pairing for a car like this. It hardly missed shifts or hung onto gears, and was a bit of fun to shift using the paddles on the steering wheel.

I especially loved the shifter design, which is lifted straight out of the VW Golf, which in turn took its design from the Porsche 911.

Despite being just a bit heavier than your average hot hatch at 1631kg,, the Leon can feel fairly nimble in corners.

Those larger 19-inch alloys look great and they don’t upset the ride all that much.

The suspension tune is lofty in Comfort, but tightens right up in Cupra mode to enhance the chassis feel and response.

The claimed fuel efficiency is 1.8L per 100km. You can return 0L per 100km if you can manage to keep that battery topped up and are only driving less than 67 km a day (the claimed EV range from the 12.8kWh battery). I saw an EV range around 60km, which felt like plenty for completing weekend errands.

There’s no fast charging available, so you’ll need to wait 3 hours and 33 minutes at a faster AC charger to charge from 0 to 100%.

Run out of battery on a road trip and you’ll bring that fuel consumption well into the mid 6-7L per 100km range as it needs to charge that battery up, acting as an engine and generator at the same time.

I really liked the interior design of the Leon. The massive windshield, higher up driving position and big side windows made this cabin feel a lot larger than it seemed from the outside.

The Cupra touches include a sporty steering wheel, copper accents and bucket seats. It’s a special feeling cabin, but there are some VW parts bin buttons that feel a bit generic inside this car.

The driver display looks and feels slick and has plenty of customisation. But that centre touch screen feels a little basic in its design, both with software and integration into the dashboard.

The boot space is eaten up by the battery pack in the rear, so you’re missing out on a spare tyre and are only getting 270L of boot space.

It’s an okay amount of space, and you can increase it by folding the second row down in a 60/40 split. Or you can simply sacrifice the middle seat by using the ski passthrough for longer items.

Adults in the back will be comfortable, but taller adults might struggle with ample headroom.

Look, if I could afford the extra, I'd spend more and get the pure petrol Leon VZx over this.

At this price point, I’d either be in a full EV like a Tesla Model 3, or a pure petrol performance car. The proof of concept works well here, and you genuinely have fun driving plug-in hybrids that’ll save you fuel if you can keep that battery charged.

It’s a far cheaper alternative to another sporty PHEV like the XC60 Recharge, and it exists in a bit of a vacuum as it's your only choice as a plug-in hybrid hot hatch. If that sounds good, then go for it. It’s a great all-rounder.

*Disclaimer - I work for ProductReview as their independent car and motorbike expert. I borrow new cars and motorbikes from manufacturers and owners to review. I am not paid or incentivised by these brands to post reviews. I write and create content to provide insight and information about any new or used vehicle I can get my hands on.