This article compares the Cupra Leon ST and the Audi S4 Avant, two sporty estate cars that offer a blend of practicality and performance. The author explores their design, powertrain, handling, and interior features, ultimately celebrating their unique appeal in a market dominated by SUVs.
You'd think the fast wagon (always a niche filler) would be dead and buried in 2025. Well, think again...‘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 wehave 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, 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 anywa
AUTO REVIEW PERFORMANCE COUPE ESTATE WAGONS SEAT CUPRA AUDI S4 LEON ST COMPARISON
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