The lad in the Fiesta Zetec S would have been clueless. He'd just been following a Leon diesel or similarly limp petrol model towards the dual carriageway (far too closely I might add). 120hp and a dollop of youthful over exuberance would see to the SEAT down the slip road, no worries. Poor, ignorant youth...
SEAT needs a new wheel designer pronto
The gap put between said juvenile in his fast Fiesta and the red Leon Cupra 265 you see here was laughable. Genuinely. Even by Leon Cupra standards it's exceptionally discreet, not great for hot hatch extroverts but an ideal (and really quick) Q car. Should a hot hatch be that way? That's a discussion for another day...
Anyway, the cosmetic differences between the 265 and 280 Cupras are: 18-inch wheels rather than 19, body coloured mirrors instead of black ones and a missing rear spoiler. Without that Cupra badge on the back it really could pass for a 1.4 TSI. Perhaps the Fiesta driver didn't see that.
Mechanically the only difference is 15hp. The adaptive dampers and VAQ 'diff' are still present, as is the 258lb ft torque peak from the Cupra 280. According to the stats, the torque band is marginally smaller in the 265 (1,750-5,300rpm) than in the 280 (1,700-5,600rpm). The performance difference is so minute you would need a side-by-side comparison to tell them apart. There's only a tenth in the 0-62 times and, unsurprisingly, the characters are identical; torquey but revvy too and very, very fast.
Cupra badge is the key; both are very fast
But it's the wheels and tyres that make a bigger difference, other than just making the Cupra appear more anonymous. The 280 runs 235/35 R19 Bridgestone Potenzas and the 265 uses 225/40 R18 Continental SportContact5s. The smaller wheels give the red car just that tiny bit more compliance and flow along a bumpy road. The 280 isn't crashy by any stretch but the 265 is just preferable in Britain. A direct comparison on the same roads at the same time would be interesting to assess how different the two tyres really are but it would take something extraordinary from the 280 to change my mind. The lower powered car is nicer to drive. And at £25,960 before options it's £1,250 cheaper compared against the base price of the 280.
So why isn't SEAT raving about the Cupra 265, the car fast Leon that everyone really should be buying? Well for a start that's not the model surrounded in the Nurburgring lap time saga and simple marketing wouldn't have you promote the cheaper, less powerful car. Moreover, it's only available as a three-door manual; once the hot hatch dream, now just a bit impractical as pocket rockets have become fast family cars and everyone apparently needs a five-door auto.
However, if that isn't you and you are after a hot hatch that isn't as shouty as an Astra VXR or as uncompromising as the Megane, you could do a whole lot worse than the Cupra 265. It may not look much but it's something of a hidden hot hatch gem. Next month: a comparison that our 280 actually wins.
FACT SHEET
Car: SEAT Leon Cupra 280
Run by: Matt
On fleet since: July 2014
Mileage: 2,815
List price new: £26,945 before options (£29,650 as tested, comprising Leather Pack with Winter Pack £755, Driver Assist Pack including high beam and lane assist £295, Safety Pack £115, SEAT Sound System £250, Adaptive Cruise Control and front assist £500, space saver £95 and Dynamic custom paint £695).
Last month at a glance: Cupra battles Cupra and the result is not what you may expect