The New Cupra Leon Sportstourer Is An Estate That Skids

Few things get a certain kind of car enthusiast excited like a fast estate car. Even if we’re never going to use the extra cargo space, there’s just a certain amount of appeal in something that can embarrass sports cars while carrying a small wardrobe around.

It’s always a good day, then, when we hear about a new one, or at least one that’s been heavily updated. This is the facelifted Cupra Leon Sportstourer, and it brings with it an angry new look and more oversteer.

Unveiled alongside the updated Formentor, both hatch and Sportstourer versions of the Leon get the same new ‘shark-nose’ front end and triangular lighting signatures. It’s arguably a bigger deal with the Leon, though – while the Formentor is a standalone Cupra model, you can still buy a SEAT Leon, and the Cupra version’s new look differentiates it significantly from its more pedestrian cousin, which just raises further questions around the still slightly murky future of SEAT.

The interior tweaks are the same too, with a new 12.9-inch infotainment screen, a 12-speaker Sennheiser sound system, and a range of more sustainable materials.

The powertrains? You guessed it – same as the Formentor, which means the range-topper is now a 328bhp, 2.0-litre turbocharged four-wheel drive setup shared with the new Audi S3, although this drivetrain will only be available on the Sportstourer and not the hatch. Yes, that means it gets the S3's torque splitter system too, which means this is a sensible estate car that’s theoretically capable of doing skids. On a private racetrack with a professional driver, obviously.

Other options will include a range of pure and mild-hybrid petrols, a diesel, and an updated plug-in hybrid offering 268bhp. That’ll likely be the top powertrain for the hatchback.

While pricing or UK availability is yet to be confirmed, we’d expect the updated Leon to be available to order soon and be on the road by the end of the year. A facelifted SEAT Leon is also due at some point soon, but likely won’t get this car’s sharky new look.