CUPRA Leon 1.5 TSI 150PS UK Order Books Open – Starts at £29,515

CUPRA changes its mind and is now offering a manual gear box after originally saying CUPRA models would always be automatics.

Syphon

Oct 13, 2022 at 10:41

Updated on Oct 13, 2022 at 11:41

CUPRA Press release follows

CUPRA UK has opened the order books for the new CUPRA Leon 1.5-litre TSI 150PS, priced from just £29,515 OTR.

The new engine option introduces greater affordability and choice to the brand’s iconic sporty hatchback. The 150PS turbo petrol direct injection TSI units are available with either a six-speed manual gearbox – a first for the CUPRA Leon range – or a seven-speed DSG-auto gearbox which is priced from £31,655 OTR.

Peak power of 150PS is produced between 5,000-6,000 rpm, with peak torque of 250Nm arriving between 1,500-3,500 rpm. Both gearbox options deliver 44.8-47.9mpg on the combined WLTP cycle and a top speed of 133mph. The DSG-auto delivers a marginally quicker 0-62mph time of 8.7 seconds compared to the manual’s time of 8.9 seconds.

Initially, the 150PS engine is available to order on just the Leon 5dr Hatch, with pricing for the Leon Estate to follow in due course. The CUPRA Leon 190PS TSI DSG-auto will also be available to order later this year.

The new 150PS engine options are available exclusively with CUPRA’s entry-level V1 trim level. As standard this generously equipped trim level benefits from:

18” Machined sport black and silver alloy wheels
Tinted rear windows
Rear diffuser with twin exhaust pipes
Electrically adjustable, heated and folding door mirrors
LED headlights with dynamic turn signals and LED taillights with coast-to-coast lighting
Rain sensing wipers
12” Media System Plus with Navigation, Full Link smartphone integration (Mirror Link, wireless Apple CarPlay, Google Android Auto) and CUPRA Connect
Digital driver cockpit
Four USB-C charging ports
Sport seats with copper stitching, leather flat-bottomed steering wheel with gearshift paddles (DSG-auto only) and chrome and copper interior detailing
CUPRA Drive Profile selection (Comfort, Sport, CUPRA, Individual)
Front and rear parking sensors
Three-zone climate control
KESSY Advanced Keyless entry and start
Lane Assist
Safety and Driving Pack (M) comprising of Predictive and Adaptive Cruise Control, High Beam Assist and Dynamic Road sign display

In addition, customers can specify a space saving spare wheel (£120 RRP) and a panoramic sunroof (£1,035 RRP).

CUPRA Leon is available with a choice of eight exterior paint options: non-metallic White; metallic Magnetic Tech Grey, Midnight Black and Nevada White; special metallic Desire Red and Graphene Grey; matte Magnetic Tech Grey and Petrol Blue.

For more information on the CUPRA Leon and the rest of the CUPRA range, visit https://www.cupraofficial.co.uk/

CUPRA Leon Hatch TSI 150PS manual

Model	CO₂ (g/km, WLTP)	Combined fuel consumption (mpg, WLTP)	BiK (2020/21)	Price (OTR RRP)
V1	134	44.8-47.9	31%	£29,515

CUPRA Leon Hatch eTSI 150PS DSG-auto

Model	CO₂ (g/km, WLTP)	Combined fuel consumption (mpg, WLTP)	BiK (2020/21)	Price (OTR RRP)
V1	135	44.8-47.9	32%	£31,655

Syphon

View all 363 articles

View thread (28 replies)

Seastormer

Cupra Leon VZ2 300/CBF1000

Oct 13, 2022

To me CUPRA has got it all wrong, we should be seeing more power in the cars, not bringing out slow, low bhp motors and charging high prices when a SEAT FR would suffice. CUPRA used to be the top of the model run not warm hatches etc, don't think I will be buying another one unless they start producing some quicker motors in the future.

Reactions: Kingskullz, martin j. and Syphon

Bear

Active Member

Oct 13, 2022

Syphon said:
Continue reading...

Available for delivery in 2027.

Reactions: Jazzjames and Syphon

martin j.

Active Member

Oct 13, 2022

Herself had a quick look, no nice colours! End of discussion. It does seem just like a higher? spec FR though

BigJase88

Jase

Oct 13, 2022

So how much is it more than the comparable FR with same spec

Its only a couple hundred more than an fr sport.

However the fr sports paint options are all free. Cupra paint costs money.

Im a bit confused. I don't really get it

whats the point in the leon fr 1.5 tsi AND the cupra 1.5 tsi

‍

Last edited: Oct 13, 2022

Reactions: Seriously?

Seriously?

Active Member

Oct 13, 2022

It's all down to personal taste, but I actually prefer the SEAT version. Nicer wheels, nicer seat material.
And factoring in the paint costs, a reasonable chunk of change to tuck in the back pocket compared with the Cupra.

Reactions: '& Son' managed

adrianator

Active Member

Oct 14, 2022

So my Seat Leon FR e-Hybrid is faster than a Cupra...

Reactions: Kingskullz and C_ED_99

jcbmally

Started with nowt and still have most of it left.

Oct 14, 2022

I think the pricing is high for the car. A family member has just bought a brand new Merc A-Class AMG 140bhp and it is better spec’d. I know Cupra is trying to be a premium brand but IMO it’s got a big thorn it’s side called the Leon FR.

Reactions: C_ED_99 and Seastormer

Railwayman

Active Member

Oct 15, 2022

Looking at from a different angle, would it be fair to say that VAG feel that some customers just will not consider a SEAT and the CUPRA brand is much more likely to draw them in? I would never have considered a SEAT even five years ago and had it not been for my daughter buying an Ibiza, I would have continued to think of the brand as a cheap Fiat as it was in my early driving days (more fool me) Members like Seastormer who have been loyal to the brand for years clearly feel that CUPRA and what the badge has stood for in the past is disappearing. I think that it is possible that the SEAT brand could eventually be replaced by CUPRA in markets around the world and potentially altogether one day?

Reactions: KoenG, jcbmally and Seastormer

adrianator

Active Member

Oct 15, 2022

Railwayman said:
Looking at from a different angle, would it be fair to say that VAG feel that some customers just will not consider a SEAT and the CUPRA brand is much more likely to draw them in? I would never have considered a SEAT even five years ago and had it not been for my daughter buying an Ibiza, I would have continued to think of the brand as a cheap Fiat as it was in my early driving days (more fool me) Members like Seastormer who have been loyal to the brand for years clearly feel that CUPRA and what the badge has stood for in the past is disappearing. I think that it is possible that the SEAT brand could eventually be replaced by CUPRA in markets around the world and potentially altogether one day?

I believe the plan is to have Cupra as a separate brand and stop depending on Seat. If you look at the future models you'll see that they're not Seat cars with different badges.

BigJase88

Jase

Oct 15, 2022

I understand the move as i believe the 1.5 tsi will be the best selling cupra leon as the 1.5 tsi is most likely the best selling formentor. People want the look of the performance models.

This however in turn upsets the purists. The main purchasers of the cupra brand are likely to be those in their 20's to which not all may be able to afford the running costs of the high performance motors / insurance

Reactions: KoenG, jcbmally and adrianator

Seastormer

Cupra Leon VZ2 300/CBF1000

Oct 15, 2022

BigJase88 said:
I understand the move as i believe the 1.5 tsi will be the best selling cupra leon as the 1.5 tsi is most likely the best selling formentor. People want the look of the performance models.

This however in turn upsets the purists. The main purchasers of the cupra brand are likely to be those in their 20's to which not all may be able to afford the running costs of the high performance motors / insurance

How many 20 year olds can afford this sort of money, I had my first SEAT back when I was 41 (1996) and have stuck with the brand since then. My first was a Biza GTI, then a few Cupras, before my Leon Cupra 280 in 2014, which I had for nearly 8 years with no faults at all till it went for the VZ2 300 I now have.

Reactions: jcbmally

SRGTD

Active Member

Oct 15, 2022

BigJase88 said:
The main purchasers of the cupra brand are likely to be those in their 20's to which not all may be able to afford the running costs of the high performance motors / insurance

Seastormer said:
How many 20 year olds can afford this sort of money.

Maybe not too many 20 year olds if the only option was to buy the car outright. However, someone in the age range 20-29 may well be able to afford the monthly PCP or lease payments on a new 1.5 tsi Cupra Leon.

On the face of it, introducing a 1.5 tsi Cupra Leon does seem to be an out and out marketing strategy to attract more buyers and grow the Cupra brand. There will always be those buyers who’ll be attracted to a more premium brand and be prepared to pay a premium price for a more upmarket badge, even if the product gives them nothing extra (sometimes it‘ll give them less) compared to equivalent products with less premium badges - e.g. someone who pays a price premium for buying an Audi when they could’ve bought an equivalent mechanically identical Seat or VW model with more equipment for less money.

The power of marketing and brand strength………..

Reactions: '& Son' managed

BigJase88

Jase

Oct 15, 2022

Seastormer said:
How many 20 year olds can afford this sort of money, I had my first SEAT back when I was 41 (1996) and have stuck with the brand since then. My first was a Biza GTI, then a few Cupras, before my Leon Cupra 280 in 2014, which I had for nearly 8 years with no faults at all till it went for the VZ2 300 I now have.

Yeah PCP or lease deals are the route.

The amount of 20 something's i see with a brand spanker on their mothers drive is astounding. Easy to pay £4-500 a month when living at home and have lots of fun tokens to spend with no mortgage

Reactions: KoenG and jcbmally

Philk

Active Member

Oct 21, 2022

Last week's Autocar highlighted that VW Group may be planning to kill off the SEAT brand and to focus on CUPRA where higher margins are present. I would see the inclusion of a 1.5 150PS version as clear evidence of this given this would normally be the FR model in the SEAT range.

Reactions: KoenG and C_ED_99

JoseKaLeL

ARONA Beats Audio Edition (2019-Facelift)

Oct 23, 2022

Wait... for real front dynamic turning signals? Can’t wait to see them how they’ll be. So hope that gearbox could eventually came to my Mexico

Kingskullz

Active Member

Oct 23, 2022

Seastormer said:
To me CUPRA has got it all wrong, we should be seeing more power in the cars, not bringing out slow, low bhp motors and charging high prices when a SEAT FR would suffice. CUPRA used to be the top of the model run not warm hatches etc, don't think I will be buying another one unless they start producing some quicker motors in the future.

Very sad... Cupra was meant to be a sports brand. Now they are just trying to attract as much audience as possible with the smaller lower powered engines....

Reactions: C_ED_99 and JoseKaLeL

SRGTD

Active Member

Oct 23, 2022

Philk said:
Last week's Autocar highlighted that VW Group may be planning to kill off the SEAT brand and to focus on CUPRA where higher margins are present. I would see the inclusion of a 1.5 150PS version as clear evidence of this given this would normally be the FR model in the SEAT range.

So if killing off the Seat brand does happen and non performance models are added to the Cupra vehicle range, the cynical side of me would say the initial creation of Cupra as a separate brand could be viewed as just a Seat rebranding exercise. I suppose it does present an opportunity to charge more for non-performance Cupra branded vehicles to reflect VAG’s aspiration of Cupra being a premium performance car brand (even if not all Cupra’s are performance models) and if profit margins are higher, the opportunity to generate additional profit too.

There’s a key dependency of customers recognising and accepting Cupra as a premium brand and being willing to pay the higher (than Seat) premium prices rather than defect to lower priced alternative options from outside of VAG.

BigJase88

Jase

Oct 23, 2022

SRGTD said:
So if killing off the Seat brand does happen and non performance models are added to the Cupra vehicle range, the cynical side of me would say the initial creation of Cupra as a separate brand could be viewed as just a Seat rebranding exercise. I suppose it does present an opportunity to charge more for non-performance Cupra branded vehicles to reflect VAG’s aspiration of Cupra being a premium performance car brand (even if not all Cupra’s are performance models) and if profit margins are higher, the opportunity to generate additional profit too.

There’s a key dependency of customers recognising and accepting Cupra as a premium brand and being willing to pay the higher (than Seat) premium prices rather than defect to lower priced alternative options from outside of VAG.

But then where does the new premium brand sit?

Is a rebranded Seat as Cupra going to be on par with say a VW badge? Or are they aiming higher than that? Surely that's then Audi.

I think they are confused with their identity. I suppose it is 2022 and thats not an uncommon thing

Seastormer

Cupra Leon VZ2 300/CBF1000

Oct 23, 2022

SRGTD said:
So if killing off the Seat brand does happen and non performance models are added to the Cupra vehicle range, the cynical side of me would say the initial creation of Cupra as a separate brand could be viewed as just a Seat rebranding exercise. I suppose it does present an opportunity to charge more for non-performance Cupra branded vehicles to reflect VAG’s aspiration of Cupra being a premium performance car brand (even if not all Cupra’s are performance models) and if profit margins are higher, the opportunity to generate additional profit too.

There’s a key dependency of customers recognising and accepting Cupra as a premium brand and being willing to pay the higher (than Seat) premium prices rather than defect to lower priced alternative options from outside of VAG.

That's what will happen, I looked hard at a Hyundai i30 N Perf and Toyota GR Yaris before I got the CUPRA.