The CUPRA Leon’s performance, dynamics and solidity is delivered thanks to its MQB Evo architecture, a system that allowed engineers to easily integrate a variety of technologies to offer the most dynamic, involving, uncompromised ride possible.
Progressive steering gives the CUPRA Leon maximum agility even on the most challenging of tarmac and connects the driver with optimised feedback through the steering wheel. The CUPRA Leon can react to changes in driving style and the road thanks to its Adaptive Chassis Control (DCC) system, changing the setup in milliseconds to exploit the conditions and deliver a genuinely engaging drive.
The driver can change and adapt the CUPRA Leon’s dynamics to suit the tastes of whoever is in control through the different driver profiles: Comfort, Sport, CUPRA and Individual. These profiles change the vehicle’s character, from daily drive to performance-focused hot hatch. The CUPRA Leon also offers the possibility to select precisely the setup you want (up to 15 steps) with the DCC slider control, while in Individual mode.
The technology works, in part, because of the CUPRA Leon’s base chassis technologies; the front MacPherson struts and rear multilink setup, with springs and dampers tuned specifically to balance the competing needs of comfort for daily driving and the response in more energetic scenarios.
The inclusion of 18’’ brakes with Brembo callipers means that dynamics are as intuitive when entering a corner as when exiting. Those brakes are bigger than the standard ones (370x32mm) and are perforated with four pistons, offering higher braking capacity. And now they’re also available for the plug-in hybrid versions.
Overall dimensions have also added to its dynamic abilities. In its 5-door version, the CUPRA Leon is 4,398mm long, 1,799 wide and 1,467mm high.
In its Sportstourer version, the CUPRA Leon is 4,657mm long, 1,799mm wide and 1,463mm high.
The wheelbase of both 5-door and Sportstourer versions wheelbase stands at 2,681mm, offering a lot of room for the rear passengers.
In the most powerful Sportstourer variant, the performance is controlled by the 4Drive all-wheel drive system. The latest generation of the electro-hydraulic multi-disc traction system delivers power to the wheels in a controlled manner helping to maximise traction and performance.
The 4Drive traction system analyses road conditions in real time, including the speed of the car, the speed of each wheel, the steering wheel position, and the driving style or mode to quickly and progressively deliver power instantly to the necessary wheels. Torque can even be controlled between wheels on either side of the vehicle thanks to the EDS electronic aid which locks the slipping wheel relative to the opposite side, meaning no transversal torque is lost.
The system is integrated into the rear axle and sits at the end of the drive shaft in front of the rear differential, improving weight distribution and reducing inertia and reaction time, meaning the CUPRA Leon can react to scenarios with even more assurance.
The CUPRA Leon is equipped with an electrical brake booster which provides a faster response than a conventional system, the possibility to recover the braking energy through the blending function (specific for the plug-in hybrid version of CUPRA Leon) and a better active security due to the duplicity systems (ESC and electrical brake booster). The electrical Brake Booster has been specifically adapted for the high powered CUPRA models.
Finally, front-wheel drive petrol versions are equipped with a front differential lock (VAQ), offering even more traction (CUPRA Leon 5-door and Sportstourer equipped with front-wheel drive 2.0 TSI 245PS & 2.0 TSI 300PS).