‘The artist formerly known as…’ Changing your name is a great way to reinvigorate your brand. For better or worse, it gets people talking. Here’s a comparison test that a mere handful of years ago would have borne a different title, a Seat Leon Cupra taking on an Audi S4 Avant. Though I reckon we’d not have even thought to compare the two cars back then – clearly the shift upmarket signified by the tribal Cupra badge has convinced us at least a little.
Not that these are direct rivals, their base price being separated by £20,000 and their length by 20cm. Even if power, and crucially power-to-weight, look more closely aligned. The Leon’s 333hp yields a 202hp/tonne ratio while the S5’s 367hp results in 187hp/tonne. Each claims a 155mph top speed but expect the Audi to get there quicker, its 0-62mph time 0.3sec slicker than that of the Cupra. Mild hybrid assistance also helps the German contestant claim better fuel economy, too.
Cynics might clobber their rebranding or hammer their pricing; a decade ago, an S4 was a forty grand car proving its price hasn’t simply risen with inflation. But let’s celebrate what we do have here: two perky, handsome estate cars with considerable attention paid to their powertrain and chassis. In a sea of fast SUVs, these two cut a more dashing shape that can’t help but turn heads like ours.
‘A sea of SUVs’ is a fair way to describe the current Cupra configurator. There are four of the blighters, only the Leon and dinky Born EV bucking the trend. It’s several years since quick Leons lost their slatted-S badge and I’m still not completely accustomed to a makeover that favours sober and sensible greys over the hedonistic hues of a Stabilo highlighter pack. This mid-life facelift makes the Leon look remarkably like a Formentor crossover at the front – deliberate, of course, but I do worry it’s traded a bit of personality in the process.
For both, some of the design character relies on LED razzmatazz. The Cupra gets an illuminated badge amidst its rear light strip while the Audi lets you cycle through eight (eight!) different lighting patterns, front and back. Both cars’ LEDs perform their own flashmob dance routine as you blip the key. I can’t deny each display punches amusingly through the dank Peak District mist, however.
The hills around Hathersage might seem grandiose to photograph a pair of estate cars, but it’s surely the perfect test of these all-weather, all-wheel-drive devices. Cars that are swift and precise enough when the roads are good while possessing enough panache to park outside a bougie B&B and not look out of place. Which is precisely what me and my better half did with the Cupra the weekend before the shoot.
Naturally it’s what’s underneath that counts and the Spaniard has plenty to shout about. This is essentially a Golf R in a different suit, though Cupra only gives you its halo 333hp, AWD package if you pick the estate, the Leon hatch topping out in 300hp, FWD form. Curious when wagons make up a tiny sliver of the VW’s sales, and you’d expect its PHEV option will swipe a lot of the business buyers flocking to the more practical body style.
Unlike the Golf, every Leon with this powertrain gets standard DCC adaptive damping, a major contributor to a car of terrific breadth. It ramps up notably and usefully through its modes, pottering about without fuss in Comfort, the DSG shifting away with just enough assertion to remind you of the potency beneath. You need its sportier modes to truly spark the Cupra into life, its damping adopting welcome grit and resolve to stymy some slightly languid travel over repeated bumps. Time was you’d notch cars like these into their softest suspension on British roads. I’m pleased to say there’s now credence to tightening things up and the 15-stage scroll bar is fun to keep active on the touchscreen to make on-the-fly adjustments on a road you know well.
Its EA888 2.0-litre demonstrates its typical, hard-edged growl under higher throttle loads yet slips away into the background when you're just mooching. Ubiquitous it may be, but in this state of tune the engine sounds and feels great – a welcome partner that remains free of electrical assistance. Big miles are easily accrued in here, perhaps all the better for the modestly hugging seats of this VZ2 spec. A £3,395 upgrade gets you the carbon-backed buckets and Akebono brakes of VZ3.
This spec still boasts a Drift Mode, but in truth I’m never compelled to try it – the car is nicely interactive without it and the ESC is easily loosened through a physical button right by the gear selector. Everything is laid out neatly enough with all but the most prosaic of surfaces covered in pleasing materials. It’s less extrovert in here than Cupra’s newer, more bespoke models, but I think most of us welcome a touch of convention anyway. There’s a classiness and maturity to it that – before I clamber into the Audi – makes me doubtful the S5 could ever justify its near 50 per cent leap in price.
It immediately confounds my expectations. This is a properly lovely place to be, Audi nailing perceived quality and interior lusciousness much like it has for decades now. Its huge, curved screen looks overkill when it’s blank, but illuminated and from the driver’s POV it’s all very intoxicating. I’ll bet most passengers will coo over their own individual screen, too, one which might just prove useful if they’re a co-pilot on a lengthy trip.
Since we booked this car in, Audi has made yet another announcement about its naming structure. One which might flick this back to an S4 further down the line, but in truth it’s the ‘S’ that’s most prominent in its name. The subtle aesthetic long demonstrated by Audi’s softer performance cars looks even more appealing when the RS models have gone so wackadoodle in their detailing. Its proportions are neat, too, its silhouette more like an extended hatch than a pragmatic wagon – a sensation betrayed by stingier luggage capacity than the smaller Cupra. Perhaps I’m just delirious it’s got silver wheels and has been painted anything other than grey.
The price hike feels most justified by its powertrain. Its 3.0-litre V6 not only offers another pair of cylinders, but a mild-hybrid setup that offers real depth. Its power-to-weight deficit against the Cupra is more than compensated for by the lag-fill of its electrification, its near-instant torque then supplemented by a subtly sonorous six-cylinder sound as you charge towards the redline.
There are further benefits to its bonus 24hp. Slinking around silently in traffic is extra satisfying when it’s only a mild hybrid, while there’s regen as you ease off the throttle. Coloured arrows in the HUD and instruments warn when you’re too close to the car in front (deposit your ‘Audi driver’ jokes here) and simply lifting off slows the car assertively with up to 25kW of recuperation. It’s only with firmer prods of the brake pedal that the physical discs and pads step in – sounds complex, but it’s all very smooth in reality.
It drives damn well too. It’s not a paragon of feel or feedback, proving neat, tidy and predictable without inundating its driver with communication. Over a regular A5, the S5 boasts a quattro sport differential with torque vectoring and its overall demeanour is a lot more rear-led than the Leon. You’ll get a nice bit of tyre squeal on a more boisterous corner exit and its balance is delightfully neutral – while not one for showboating, it’s a very stable and satisfying way to scurry across the Peaks when the weather is grisly.
Much like the Leon, you’ll ramp up the damping; an adaptive setup is standard and feels happiest with a little tension coursing through it. Like most quick Audis (indeed, quick VW Group stuff altogether) you’ll soon mix ’n’ match an Individual setup to your liking. Pleasingly the S5 reverts to it each time you start up, saving a few more fingerprints from the gloss black trim surrounding the Drive Select switch.
Mind, most of the materials in here are top-notch and accompanying the sheer class of its vanadium door pulls and Dinamica faux-suede is offbeat stuff like ‘carbon micro twill’ trim and a curiously hexagonal wheel. It’s Audi being playful, and I kinda like it. Especially when the style is sprinkled atop some very convincing substance. Hybrid tech and fancy trim do not a light car make, of course, and an S4-in-all-but-name that tops two tonnes with a driver on board does seem a lot. The fact it still feels boundlessly brisk, corners neatly and appears to sip less fuel than the Leon proves the engineers predicted a lot of our inevitable queries.
Yet the lighter Leon is more rousing with fresh context. Its simpler powertrain is easier to comprehend, its wheel and pedals brim with more feel and I’m braking later into corners to more aggressively provoke its rear axle, indulging the livelier character beneath. It’s the Cupra I’d take home because I know I’d have more fun in it. It is, in short, a hot hatch with a big boot and a freshly premium sheen. Both cars may wear new (ish) names, but their spirit and swagger feel very much ‘as you were’. And that’s the best conclusion possible.
SPECIFICATION | CUPRA LEON ESTATE TSI 333PS 4Drive VZ2
Engine: 1,984cc, turbocharged 4cyl
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch DSG auto, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 333@5,600-6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 310@2,100-5,500rpm
0-62mph: 4.8sec
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
Weight: 1,651kg
MPG: 32.5-34.0
CO2: 188g/km
Length: 4659mm
Luggage capacity: 620-1,541 litres
Price: £48,410 (from, as standard)
AUDI S5 AVANT TFSI 367PS LAUNCH EDITION
Engine: 2,995cc, turbocharged V6 with 1.7kWh battery/24hp mild hybrid
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch S-tronic auto, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 367@5,500-6,300rpm
Torque (lb ft): 406@1,700-4,000rpm
0-62mph: 4.5sec
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
Weight: 1,965kg
MPG: 35.3-35.8
CO2: 178-181g/km
Length: 4835mm
Luggage capacity: 448-1,396 litres
Price: £68,425 (from, as standard)
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