Cupra Leon long-term test

The car Cupra Leon 1.5 e-Hybrid Shadow Edition Run by George Hill, Used Cars Writer

Why it’s here To find out whether the plug-in hybrid Cupra Leon is a fun daily driver

Needs to Deliver a good electric range for commuting, while being economical when the battery runs out of juice. An enjoyable driving experience is a must, too. 

Miles covered 1238 List price £44,635 Target Price £36,595 Price as tested £45,330 Official economy 206.5mpg Test economy 60.1mpg

24 February – Spare room

Not so long ago, the humble hatchback was the default choice for millions of buyers, with family cars like the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf setting the benchmark for everyday usability. Today, family SUVs dominate that space.

Yet after almost two months with my Cupra Leon, it has served as a timely reminder that the traditional hatchback formula still makes a compelling case for itself, particularly when it comes to practicality.

I recently went on a weekend trip away with friends, with one passenger in the front and two in the back. As someone who’s 6ft2in, I’m usually met with a: “sorry George, would you mind moving your seat forward a touch?” whenever I have friends in the back of a car. But in this instance, my 5ft9in passenger had plenty of leg room behind my driving position. To see what it was really like, I sat back there myself and had just enough knee room spare. It’s really quite impressive, but then the Leon is actually a touch longer than the closely related Golf, which pays dividends for the long-legged.

The boot has been good for the most part, too. On the same trip away, we had plenty of room for our four weekend bags to fit below the parcel shelf, while on a separate solo mission to the driving range, I had enough room for my golf bag to fit in there.

Now because my car is the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version of the Leon, it has a slightly smaller boot than the regular petrol versions, at 270 litres as opposed to 380 litres, because of the battery under the boot floor. This means I have no underfloor storage area and nowhere to store the charging cable (I don’t have a tethered home charger so I carry it with me). As such, the cable takes up quite a bit of room in the boot, but so far it hasn’t caused enough of a problem for me to remove it from there entirely. And, frankly, I have nowhere else to put it.

So, while the market may have moved on to family SUVs, living with my Leon day to day has only reinforced what those old benchmarks, like the Golf and Focus, always proved – a well-sorted hatchback still makes a lot of sense as a practical daily driver, even with a small compromise.

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