Long-term report: The Cupra Leon is settling in very nicely

It’s always exciting when you grab the keys to a new long-termer, and two months ago, I had the joy of taking delivery of this very fast Cupra Leon in hot ‘VZ’ trim.

When you drive a car on a daily basis, you get to learn how it behaves on the road, how practical it is and how much it costs to run. Without a doubt, every time I’ve jumped into this car, it always puts a smile on my face, but why? Well, I’ll explain.

In a world of rather dreary SUVs, driving around in a hot hatchback is a rarity, but that only adds to the Cupra’s character.

I’ve been driving the Leon up and down the country for the past month, and in that time, I have bonded with it very well. On the motorway, its excellent levels of refinement mean that miles just fly by, while the ride isn’t too bad, despite the firm setup.

What impresses me the most is its capability on the open road. The level of grip you get is superb – despite it being front-wheel-drive – and you never get tired of the neck-snapping acceleration, which can embarrass a lot of sports cars.

There are plenty of driving modes, but to be honest, I hardly use them as the normal setup is more than capable of impressing you on a day-to-day basis. If that isn’t enough, you have Track and Cupra mode, which sharpen the throttle response, add weight to the steering, stiffen the suspension and open a valve in the exhaust to make it sound a lot more aggressive.

Practicality hasn’t been an issue either, with the Leon more than capable of carrying adults in the back. The boot space swallows up my rather large rucksack, which is handy for travelling.

So, what’s not been so good? Well, as you can expect for a 296bhp hot hatchback, fuel consumption hasn’t been brilliant. Around town, expect to achieve anything between 22 to 25 mpg, or worse, 18 mpg. On a longer stint, the car isn’t as thirsty, achieving nearer 44 mpg, but if you want to use your Cupra Leon as a city runabout, you’ll need deep pockets when it comes to fuel bills.

Another irritation is the lack of physical buttons for the climate control. I’m still struggling to come to terms with it, with all of the functions buried within the touchscreen, which is a pain to use on the move. I often find myself not bothering to adjust the fan speed or the position of where the air blows, simply to avoid the hassle. While we’re talking about negatives, you get paddle shifts located on the steering wheel, allowing you to take control of the automatic gearbox, but unless you’re driving the car on track, they are a little slow to respond when changing gear, which spoils your engagement.

Can we talk about the position of the boot release button, too? Instead of integrating it as the Cupra badge, the button is located awkwardly towards the right-hand side of the rear light bar, which confuses a lot of people, even down to the local hand car wash team. Why try and make something more complicated than it needs to be?

Anyway, apart from those foibles, the Leon has proved to be a reliable, enjoyable and practical daily hot hatchback.

I’ve really come to terms with it and it makes me excited to think that my time with the car is still not even halfway, meaning I’ve still got many more trips and adventures in it.

If you want a fast and practical hot hatchback that slips under the radar when it comes to looks, the Cupra Leon is stacking up to be a pretty strong contender.