SEAT has been gathering a steady stream of fans in the UK motoring stakes over the last few years. Its latest Leon Cupra has added some extra wow factor to the range. gave the thumbs up to the Spanish-built hot hatch that’s worthy of the name.

For far too long the Seat Leon has been trying to break out of the shadows of its more wallet-sapping Volkswagen Golf near-relatives.

It's a slightly unfathomable scenario given the pedigree of these Spanish-built cars and their strong visual appeal – they ought to be right up there vying for sports-hatch honours.

Despite this, last year's sales figures were encouraging and the marque appears to be gaining a stronger foothold which has been boosted by a canny TV marketing campaign.

Frankly, it needed to be in order to keep pace with the weighty opposition of the Ford Focus, Astra VXR and the space-age design of the Honda Civic.

The latest Leon Cupra might well succeed in stamping its authority on the market, such is the quality of its performance and raw no-nonsense power delivery.

Make no mistake, these are not cars designed to be pootling about on a Sunday afternoon for the shopping run.

They are full-throttle speed merchants, albeit packaged in a civilised and user-friendly guise.

Take a walk round this 2.0 litre T FSI model and you’ll notice it’s larger than its outgoing model (which is good news for those in the rear seats) while retaining its swooping, aerodynamic profile which clearly helped set it apart from the pack.

This being the flagship model you would expect it to have all the bells and whistles going.

It certainly doesn’t disappoint in that department with juicy 18inch alloys, bi-xenon headlights, striking racing seats and a lowered sports-tuned suspension.

Park yourself inside and you’ll be pleasingly reassured rather than blown away by its interiors. In truth, they cannot quite match those of the Golf GTI, but they are respectable enough and of vital importance – easily operable and understood.

The minimal dash features a rather retro looking central binnacle housing its CD system, which boasts some meaty-looking speakers enough to satisfy those who like their music loud.

The sports steering wheel is responsive and this earns major plus points along with its six-speed gearbox, which feels suitably notchy for a car with high performance aspirations.

Its acceleration is impressive for its size and at just over six seconds for a 0-62 time, it’s no slouch. The firm has worked hard in the engineering stakes to ensure its power is delivered smoothly rather than in unpredictable increments.

This may take the edge off proceedings just a tad for those who favour seat-of-their pants driving, but by disengaging the dynamic stability control, there’s still enough driving thrills to be had.

On the flip side, its economy was never going to threaten the tamer models in its class but it manages 34mpg which is adequate enough.

It scores well in the safety stakes though with strong brakes and air bags for driver, front passenger and curtain side for those in the rear as well. Sadly, all-round visibility is hampered a little by its large window pillar designs, yet is nowhere near as bad as with the ridiculously small-windowed Honda Civic.

For a hot hatch, the Cupra is remarkably practical with a large boot and spacious interiors which make it an attractive prospect.

While it yearns for the open road (performing well on the motorway) it also coped well with Brighton’s packed streets during peak-time traffic.

The marque has clearly been nudged along nicely with Seat’s participation in the British World Touring Car Championship, which clearly underlines its sporting credentials.

Fast and responsive, overall this is a very competent car with much going for it.

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FACTFILE

SEAT 2.0 T FSI Leon Cupra

PRICE: £19,595 on the road

PERFORMANCE: 0-62mph in 6.4 seconds

COMBINED FUEL ECONOMY: 34 mpg

STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: six airbags, 3-point seatbelts with pre-tensioners, ESP, EBA and DSR.

CAR SUPPLIED BY: Hidsons SEAT, Loose Road, Maidstone. Telephone 01622 688990