RSS_Auto_Poster
Well-known member
Written by Ollie Kew
Sometimes in the car world, we can be a bit guilty of being so transfixed on the next big thing a new version of this car, a faster special of that we forget to step back and take stock of just how good we"ve got things right now.This thought crystalized in my head while driving along in the Seat Leon Cupra 290 this week. Because, hot hatch lovers, you"ve never, ever had things as good as they are right now. As long as you live in Europe.The 290 is a Leon Cupra with another 10bhp (which it hardly needed but we"ll happily take), and a louder baritone exhaust (ditto). This particular car has a decent six-speed manual gearbox, strong brakes, a magical limited-slip front differential and three-way adaptive dampers. It"s brilliant. Fast, hugely grippy, but attentive to my inputs (and mistakes) and generally up for a laugh. A bit of a dark horse really. The Cupra"s been honed over the past two years, and it"s ace.But, we agreed in the TG office, and as Stephen Dobie pointed out in his full first drive, it"s not the best hot hatch. A great all-rounder, but not the last word. That"s how high the standard is, and how fast the pace is changing. Because as little as five years ago this thing would"ve been a contender for best all-round car on sale, full stop. Now, in the face of the Focus RS and Golf R, it"s almost an also-ran. Crikey.Just about every carmaker has woken up, smelt the unleaded, and set about building a go-faster/harder/louder version of its regular, practical old hatchback.Some, like Seat, Ford, VW and Renault, have perfected it into a fine art. Others Kia, Mercedes, and BMW have stormed into the market with haymaking first efforts.Video: sideways in the new Ford Focus RSSkoda, Abarth and Vauxhall are still there, under the radar. Meanwhile, at long last, the likes of Peugeot and Honda one-time masters of the genre are getting back into a game they"ve been sat on the sidelines of for far too long.
Date written: 7 May 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 3329
Sometimes in the car world, we can be a bit guilty of being so transfixed on the next big thing a new version of this car, a faster special of that we forget to step back and take stock of just how good we"ve got things right now.This thought crystalized in my head while driving along in the Seat Leon Cupra 290 this week. Because, hot hatch lovers, you"ve never, ever had things as good as they are right now. As long as you live in Europe.The 290 is a Leon Cupra with another 10bhp (which it hardly needed but we"ll happily take), and a louder baritone exhaust (ditto). This particular car has a decent six-speed manual gearbox, strong brakes, a magical limited-slip front differential and three-way adaptive dampers. It"s brilliant. Fast, hugely grippy, but attentive to my inputs (and mistakes) and generally up for a laugh. A bit of a dark horse really. The Cupra"s been honed over the past two years, and it"s ace.But, we agreed in the TG office, and as Stephen Dobie pointed out in his full first drive, it"s not the best hot hatch. A great all-rounder, but not the last word. That"s how high the standard is, and how fast the pace is changing. Because as little as five years ago this thing would"ve been a contender for best all-round car on sale, full stop. Now, in the face of the Focus RS and Golf R, it"s almost an also-ran. Crikey.Just about every carmaker has woken up, smelt the unleaded, and set about building a go-faster/harder/louder version of its regular, practical old hatchback.Some, like Seat, Ford, VW and Renault, have perfected it into a fine art. Others Kia, Mercedes, and BMW have stormed into the market with haymaking first efforts.Video: sideways in the new Ford Focus RSSkoda, Abarth and Vauxhall are still there, under the radar. Meanwhile, at long last, the likes of Peugeot and Honda one-time masters of the genre are getting back into a game they"ve been sat on the sidelines of for far too long.
Date written: 7 May 2016
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 3329