• Plenty of space front and rear
• Same size boot as the standard Leon
• Five-star Euro NCAP safety rating

How much space is there?

As much as you get in the standard SEAT Leon. There’s ample wriggle room up front and a good amount of space in the rear – and legroom has increased all round, as SEAT extended the new Leon’s wheelbase by 50mm over the previous model. Cupra uses the same body shell for its version of the Leon, so all of the interior measurements are the same.

Headroom up front is slightly more generous than the old Leon, but it’s been reduced by 1mm in the rear due to the hatchback’s new rakish roofline. In all honesty, the roof chop hasn’t made an appreciable difference to the amount of rear headroom. If you’re a six footer, you’ll fit on the rear bench just fine.

The Cupra makes up for this negligible foible with its wealth of storage pockets. The line-up includes a set of storage trays on the centre console, door pockets that can accommodate litre-sized water bottles and a massive bin between the two front seats that can swallow phones, keys and wallets all at the same time.

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Boot space and storage

No surprises here – again, the Cupra Leon offers exactly the same amount of storage space as the SEAT Leon. The 2.0-litre-engined hatchback variants have 380-litre boots, while the plug-in hybrid model offers 270 litres because the battery pack that feeds the electric motor is stored under the boot floor.

If you need more room, Cupra also offers two estate versions of the Leon. Petrol versions share the same 620-litre capacity as the standard SEAT Leon Estate, but the PHEV model makes do with just 470 litres as, again, the battery pack robs some space from the boot.

Is it easy to park?

Of course. The Cupra Leon comes with front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera as standard, which makes it a doddle to reverse into tight spaces. You can also specify the car with exit assist, which warns you about any oncoming traffic when parked. It can help prevent you from opening your door into the path of a cyclist, for example.

The windows are wide, the pillars are relatively thin for a modern car and the dashboard is set fairly low, which means you don’t need to crane your neck to position the car in a space. The door mirrors are big, too – and there’s a handy function that automatically dips the mirrors when you’re reversing so you can see how close the alloys are to the kerb.

Safety

• Five-star Euro NCAP safety rating
• Lots of driver assistance tech available
• Front assist and lane assist standard

Euro NCAP’s score for the Cupra Leon is identical to that of the SEAT Leon, as both cars share the same body. They’re also available with a similar level of safety technology. Standard equipment for the Cupra includes cruise control, a speed limiter, front assist, lane assist and a driver tiredness recognition system.

Cupra also offers three safety equipment option packs, with increasing levels of technology. The most basic package adds traffic sign recognition, high-beam assist and predictive adaptive cruise control. The middling option builds on this specification with side assist and exit assist, while the most expensive package includes lane-change assist and emergency assist, which can take control of some of the car’s functions if it senses imminent danger.

In addition to all of the electronic systems, there’s a host of physical safety technology, including seat-belt pretensioners, two Isofix points and a brace of airbags, including side chest airbags for rear-seat occupants and a centre airbag to prevent front seat occupants from clashing heads in the event of a side-on collision.

Watch the Cupra Leon crash test video