VW's Seat division stuffs the Golf R's turbo four in an all-wheel drive wagon

By Ronan Glon Published December 5, 2016

Volkswagen’s Spain-based Seat division has updated the Leon Cupra, a factory-built hot rod closely related to the Golf R and the Audi S3.

The Cupra was designed for speed aficionados, so it makes sense that the most important updates for 2017 are found under the hood. It receives a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that generates 300 horsepower at 280 pound-feet of torque, increases of 10 horses and 22 pound-feet of twist over the outgoing model. The revised turbo four makes the Leon Cupra the most powerful series-produced car Seat has ever built.

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The ST-badged wagon variant of the Leon Cupra is now available with all-wheel drive. The system is exclusively paired with a quick-shifting dual-clutch automatic transmission. Additional technical details about the Leon hatchback haven’t been published yet, though it presumably carries on with front-wheel drive and a standard six-speed manual gearbox. Both body styles are now available with the Golf R’s dynamic chassis control (DCC) system.

SEAT is out to prove that it no longer builds de-contented Volkswagens, and it has added a long list of tech features to the Cupra to prove it. These include traffic jam assist, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, and pedestrian protection. The cabin gets a wireless phone charger — a feature that’s still relatively rare in Europe — and a brand-new infotainment system displayed on an eight-inch touchscreen. Keyless entry and an electronic parking brake also come standard.

2017 SEAT Leon Cupra — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The 2017 Seat Leon Cupra is on sale now on the other side of the pond, and the first deliveries are scheduled for February. Seat has never sold a car in the United States and the Cupra is no exception, but the arrival of a 300-horsepower model likely indicates that an updated Golf R with a few extra horses under the hood is right around the corner.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…

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Waymo and Toyota explore personally owned self-driving cars

Front three quarter view of the 2023 Toyota bZ4X.

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But shifting to personally owned self-driving cars is a much more complex challenge.
While safety regulations are expected to loosen under the Trump administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has so far taken a cautious approach to the deployment of fully autonomous vehicles. General Motors-backed Cruise robotaxi was forced to suspend operations in 2023 following a fatal collision.
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Aston Martin DBX S

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