Not too long ago, I first drove this Cupra Leon plug-in, and it was much better than I initially thought.
That was a very good thing, but it wasn't to be called perfect. That's why we're putting it up to the standard today: the Ford Focus ST.
A great car, and it has been for years. Right, let's talk performance figures first. The Ford has a turbocharged 2.3-litre...
4-cylinder producing 280 horsepower. All of those horses are sent to the front wheels, and you can choose between a manual and an automatic gearbox.
Today, we're driving the latter. It's a 7-speed double-clutch automatic.
In the Cupra, it's all a tad more complicated. First of all, it's got a 1.4-litre TSI producing 150 horsepower,
then there's an additional electric motor producing 116 horsepower. That brings the total system output to 245 horsepower.
It always comes with the 6-speed DSG-gearbox and there's an additional 13 kWh-battery pack aboard. That enables you to drive around...
50 kilometres fully electrically. However, it does make the car heavier, around 250 kg heavier than the Ford to be precise.
Let's start with the Ford. They've known for years exactly how to play the Hot Hatch-game.
All of the ST- and RS-versions built of the Focus were world class cars. The Fiesta ST's are always amazing as well, usually the best in...
their class. The Focus has known very good competitors, but it would usually beat them. Great cars, they really are.
The steering is nice and light, very direct and very communicative. Especially in times like these, where electronic power steering is taking over.
The nose dives to the inside when I want to, and when you speed up, you'll notice the rear is very willing to break out.
If you steer sharply and lift in a corner, the rear comes round nicely. It's very easy to catch it again.
With that, you can easily position the nose and prevent understeer. And that's a good thing.
The engine then. It's 2.3-litre and it's very smooth. It revs nicely and there's a nice rumble to it. Of course, 280 horsepower...
is more than enough for this car. I think TSI's with 300 horsepower are even smoother, but in here, it's a very good engine.
And it's got an automatic gearbox for the first time. A 7-speed automatic gearbox with a double clutch. And for a first try,
it's better than I thought. Changing up is fast enough, whilst changing down could've been a tad faster.
If you start pushing hard, I would've liked if the gearbox was more communicative. Harder blows when changing gear, so I'd know which...
gear I'm in. But this is high-level complaining, because it doesn't ruin my day in any way.
And that's a good thing. If you're still not convinced, just go for the manual gearbox.
When it comes to the drive, it's a moveable car. It's quite sturdy as well. Despite the dynamic dampers, it can be pretty tiring at long distances.
And we already have good roads in the Netherlands. However, that's very fitting to Ford. They never underdeliver. They'll say that you...
shouldn't have bought a hot hatch then. That it's made for driving pleasure, so it's allowed to compromise comfort.
Then, the Cupra. It's a tad more complicated, like I said earlier. First, the drive. The chassis of this Leon really surprised me.
I mentioned it before, but Volkswagen described their previous GTE as a GTI with an electrical drivetrain.
When I drove it however, it turned out to be not that. It was an electrical Golf with a sports chassis and a lot of power. Not a GTI.
So I was little bit afraid this Cupra would turn out the same. When I first drove it however, I was really surprised how good it was.
I drove it when it was cold and when the tires were too, the rear would break out nicely.
Also, I really liked the sharp steering. I might even go as far as saying that it handles better than the Ford.
It's tight, and at higher speeds there's less understeer. You'll surprise several sports cars with that, I can tell.
At lower speeds, there are a few traction problems because of the electrical power kicking in.
But at high speeds, the handling was really surprising. Also, it's much more comfortable than the Focus. Whilst having better handling.
That means it's a much nicer car for longer distances, and that's quite the achievement.
But then, the drivetrain. And now we've arrived at the complicated part. It produces 245 horsepower, which makes it just as quick as the Focus...
with 280 horsepower, because the electric power is available from the start. That means you've got more power available more often than...
the Ford, which needs to rev. That makes the Cupra faster on the inbetween sprints and from 0 to 100 km/h. All good.
However, to get that amount of power, I really have to fiddle a lot. I have to change down, but I don't know if the engine is actually running.
You can hear a rumble, but that's artificial and you'll also hear that when it's only using electric power.
That means I've got to look at my rev counter instead of the road, only to find my engine kicking in when I put my foot down.
In a Cupra in Sport-mode, I always want all of my power under my right foot. I don't want to have to lightly press the throttle to see if the engine...
is running. Small nuisances which you don't want in a hot hatch, especially if you want to throw it around.
All of the power should be available, but instead, I'm fiddling constantly. And that ruins the experience.
However, I really appreciate that Cupra has tried this. It reminds me of the BMW i8 and the Lexus LC500h.
The hybrid LC500, and I put them next to each other as well. Both cars have their imperfections, but I preferred the i8.
That really was a cool car. The Lexus looks great and all, but the drivetrain just didn't work. A waste of a beautiful design, really.
Just get the V8, because the plug-in sucks. If you ask me, this Cupra is right inbetween the LC500 and the i8.
When it comes ot power, it all works, but you really have to look for it. However, if I'm looking at the future, this is going to be the future.
Because of the added taxes, the Focus as I've driven it today costs you €62.000. That's right. Where are the days you could buy...
an ST for €37.000? But this Cupra, with all of the options selected, only costs €46.000.
And a little change. Don't get me wrong, the Focus is the better hot hatch here today, but does it justify an additional €15.000? That's a good question.