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What's the difference?
Ford's small hatch, the Focus, is criminally under-bought in Australia. The latest model is one of the best hatchbacks on the road and when you chuck in the decent price, impressive equipment and absurdly powerful engine for its size, it's a winner.
But you lot? You don't buy it in nearly the kinds of numbers it deserves. Partly because there isn't a bait-and-upsell boggo model to lure you in, partly because it's got a badge that is not exciting Australians any more and partly because it's not a compact SUV.
Or is(n't) it? Because alongside the ST-Line warm hatch is the identically priced and therefore technically a co-entry level model; the Focus Active. Slightly higher, with plastic cladding, drive modes and a conspicuous L on the transmission shifter, it's a little bit SUV, right?
Behold the beautiful Cupra Leon VZe.
Like its name and multimedia screen, this enigmatic hatchback needs some decoding to make sense to Australians.
Essentially, the Leon VZe is a variation of today's eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf. Except it's built in Spain by VW Group subsidiary SEAT (remember them?), offering sleeker styling, and – in VZe guise – a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) powertrain.
In other words, this is similar to the intriguing Golf GTE grade not offered in Australia, but with more than a splash of Balenciaga about the way it looks, feels and drives – and with pricing to match (from $59,990, before on-road costs).
So, does the Leon VZe combine the sportiness of a hot hatch and torquey zing of an EV with the parsimony of a hybrid? Could this be the most complete small car on sale in Australia today?
Let's spill the tea to find out.
Ten years ago, the idea that the higher-riding version of a hatchback would be a good city car would have been laughable. The Focus Active is pitched as a kind of SUV with its different low-grip driving modes, which you'll never touch if you stick to the city.
The Ford Focus is genuinely a brilliant car, no matter where you take it. The Active takes a terrific chassis, tweaks it for comfort but, ironically, doesn't lose much of the speed.
The Cupra Leon VZe demands you give it an appropriate amount of time to get to know.
Because, as an unknown challenger brand, as a hatch in an SUV world, as a PHEV wearing an EV price tag, it is up against it. And it's too interesting a car to be summarily dismissed.
But as long as you're not expecting a pure hot-hatch-cum-ultra-economical eco warrior, the VZe is a close-enough approximation of both for it to be an intriguing and enjoyable multi-faceted small car, while also possessing a fair degree of space as well as styling flair.
If you can forgive the screwy multimedia and cope with the high pricing, there's a lot to love here.
For a fairly conservative hatchback, the Focus came under fire for what some termed its derivative styling. I quite like it, and not just because the styling work was led by an Australian. The front end is very much family Ford, as long as it's the European arm of the family, fitting in with its smaller sibling, the Fiesta. The Active scores the usual black cladding, higher ride height and smaller diameter wheels, in exchange for more compliant, higher-profile tyres. All of that takes nothing away from a design that I think looks pretty good.
The cabin is well put together, with just that oddly angled touchscreen causing me a bit of a twitch. The design is a fairly steady Ford interior with a lot of switchgear shared with the Fiesta, but it's all quite nice. The materials feel mostly pleasant and the hardwearing fabric on the seats feels right for this kind of car.
One reason why you might want a Leon over, say, one of the more common PHEV SUVs like the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross PHEV, or even Cupra's own Formentor PHEV, is because of its pleasing, conventional five-door hatchback size and shape.
Sleek and chiselled, it is quite a looker, especially from the rear three-quarter view. And the wheels are equally pretty.
Only from front-on does the Leon seem anonymous and somewhat dated in appearance. But at least it avoids the droopy fussiness of the 308.
The Focus is quite roomy compared to other cars in its class. The rear seat has good leg and headroom, with the feeling of space accentuated by large windows. Annoyingly, though, all that work put into making the rear a nice place to be is ruined by a lack of amenities like cupholders, USB ports or an armrest.
Front-seat passengers fare better with two cupholders, a roomy space at the base of the console for a phone and a wireless-charging pad. The front seats are very comfortable, too.
The boot starts at a fairly average 375 litres - clearly sacrificed for rear-seat space - and maxes out at 1320 litres with the seats down. While you have to lift things over the loading lip and down into the boot, it's one of the more sensibly shaped load areas, with straight up and down sides. Ironically, the smaller Puma has a noticeably larger boot.
Once standard setters, VW interiors have copped flak lately, losing the lead they once enjoyed in terms of perceived quality and functionality. A big backward step.
Within this context, the Leon's cabin is as aesthetically appealing as the exterior's, with lots of interesting angles and textures set within a broadly familiar VW-corporate multi-level dashboard design and presentation.
Most of the basics are largely fine, too. From the superbly enveloping front bucket seats and commanding driving position, to excellent ventilation and plenty of storage, there's much to commend.
The same goes for the moody, techy ambience, though it's closer to ‘chilled Audi' than ‘zesty Latin' in flavour.
Directly ahead of the driver is a 10.25-inch instrument cluster, offering several combinations of vehicle speed/operation and multimedia views.
Some of it looks good, some suffers from info-overload, but at least it's all configurable. Pick your favourite. And build quality seems up to scratch, too.
Like the Golf, there's also above-average space for longer legs and outstretched arms, while – after having to duck down a bit to get in – head and shoulder room are sufficient.
Selecting gears is a matter of manipulating a charmless stubby toggle. It works well enough, but remember when VW Group owners could interact with a Tiptronic-style lever and feel more immersed in the driving process? Memories.
That's replaced by paddle shifters, a divisive substitute that's of debatable merit in an electrified vehicle such as this, since they would serve better as regenerative braking controls.
But that's only the beginning of the confusion that ensues in the Cupra.
Reach for the 12-inch touchscreen to scroll through your many and varied media options, try and figure out the trip computer or search for an odometer reading, and any goodwill earned will be severely curtailed by just how needlessly complicated these and other once-simple tasks have become.
Plus, frustratingly, our particular car's multimedia system would just switch off mid-operation. This is not good.
We're certain time and familiarity will help make sense of working out where everything is and how to access vehicle functions located within layers of that touchscreen's myriad menus, but it is distracting and complicated.
And how is it that we could not find how to switch on nighttime illumination for the climate controls? In a week we failed to find that answer. And who ever green-lit fiddly slide controls over good old buttons? It's maddeningly frustrating.
Moving to the back seat, the Leon makes up some ground.
Two larger adults should settle into the outboard positions comfortably and snugly, aided by a pair of rear-facing air vents accompanied by a climate-control panel, two USB-C ports, a folding centre armrest with cupholders, ski-port access to the boot and useful storage via door bins and map pockets. There's even enough space for a third, smaller passenger to squeeze in between.
Further back, while the boot floor is long and flat and with a large tailgate opening to aid loading stuff in and out, the actual cargo capacity is just 270 litres, or nearly one-third down on the regular petrol Leon grades' 380L offering. This is due to the battery pack and related EV gubbins.
Speaking of which, if you need to carry charging cables there's nowhere to properly store them other than in the main boot area. And don't forget, there's no spare wheel.
At least there's a sturdy parcel shelf to keep prying eyes from seeing what you're carting around.
The VZe's interior, then, is spacious and broadly sensibly executed, but is let down – and mostly unnecessarily so – by some of the details. We strongly recommend trying before buying.
The Focus Active wears a $30,990 sticker but the several people I know who bought one haven't paid that much, so Ford dealers are obviously keen to do deals. Even at that price, it's got a fair bit of stuff. The Active has 17-inch wheels, a six-speaker stereo, dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, cruise control, auto LED headlights, LED fog lights, sat nav, auto wipers, wireless hotspot, powered and heated folding door mirrors, wireless phone charging, a big safety package and a space-saver spare.
Ford's SYNC3 comes up on the 8.0-inch screen perched on the dashboard, which weirdly feels like it's facing away from you slightly. It has wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat nav, DAB+ and also looks after various functions in the car.
The panoramic sunroof is a stiff $2000 and includes an annoying perforated cover rather than a solid one.
There's lots to unpack here.
SEAT started in 1950 as a venture between Fiat, the Spanish government and some private banks, until VW took over in 1986 and turned it into a youth-baiting value brand. Think pre-current Kia positioning.
Meanwhile, Cupra – a portmanteau of Cup Racing – had began as SEAT's competition arm earlier that decade. And there's been a Leon (referencing both ‘lion' and a city in Spain) based on every Golf since the latter's Mk4 iteration, making this generation numero cuatro.
Halve that figure and you end up with the number of small-car PHEVs left in Australia – Cupra's and another big-cat evoking Euro, the Peugeot 308 GT Sport PHEV, costing a few grand more than the VZe from $64,990, before on-road costs.
These high prices are clearly hurdles for Australian small-car buyers. Even Mercedes-Benz recently axed the slow-selling A250e due to a lack of buyer interest. Kia dropped the Niro PHEV. And Hyundai canned the Ioniq PHEV.
So, why are these types of cars so expensive, then?
The Leon and 308 feature a turbo-petrol engine, backed up by a small motor and a battery pack that's large enough to provide a claimed 67km of electric-only range in the Cupra's case. On paper at least.
That's more than the cheaper non-plug-in hybrid alternatives like the wildly-popular Toyota Corolla and superb Honda Civic e:HEV can manage.
So, besides exclusivity and two powertrains, what does the Leon VZe give you for your circa-$65K drive-away ask?
On the safety front, you'll find the now-usual driver-assist items like autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-support systems and adaptive cruise control, as well as 10 airbags including a nifty front-centre item. More on this in the safety section below.
Buyers also score LED headlights, auto high beams, fog lights with cornering function, adaptive dampers, tyre-pressure monitors, a reverse camera, electronic instrumentation, three-zone climate control, variable-ratio steering, keyless entry/start, satellite navigation, wireless phone charging as well as wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.
There's also rear privacy glass, four USB-C ports, sports front seats, a heated steering wheel, paddle shifters, ambient lighting, powered/heated exterior mirrors as well as 19-inch alloy wheels and a tyre repair kit. No spare wheel is offered.
The pricier 308 PHEV has most of these plus Matrix LED lighting, Nappa leather upholstery, panoramic opening sunroof, heated/massaging front seats, 360-degree surround-view vision and a digital radio, but has smaller (18-inch) alloys and no adaptive dampers.
Our test car was fitted with the 'Leather Package' that adds $2050 to the price, ushering in leather upholstery, heated front seats with driver's side power and memory, premium audio and dash-top stitching, while the sunroof costs $1800 more.
These take the VZe north of $65,000 drive-away. That's pure-EV territory. Little wonder buyers baulk at PHEV small cars in Australia.
Ford does an excellent range of small turbo engines. The "normal" Focus range (such as it is, now the wagon has disappeared from the market) comes with a 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine. Bucking the SUV-this-size trend (yes, I know it's not really an SUV), this punchy little unit delivers an impressive 134kW and 240Nm. They're both very decent numbers for such a small engine.
The big numbers continue with the transmission boasting eight gears, a number you don't often find in a hatchback. It's a traditional torque-converter auto, too, so those of you who have bad memories of Ford's old PowerShift twin clutches should worry no more.
Power goes to the front wheels only and you'll get from 0 to 100km/h in 8.7 seconds.
Under the Leon VZe's bonnet is a variation of the German parent brand's familiar 1395cc 1.4-litre direct-injection four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, driving the front wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch transmission.
This Euro 6-rated unit produces 110kW of power between 5000-6000rpm and 250Nm of torque from 1550-3500rpm.
Meanwhile, the 85kW/330Nm electric motor also nestled under there is fed by a 12.8kWh Lithium-ion battery pack slung out back. The system outputs combined produce 180kW and 400Nm.
Weighing in at 1634kg (tare), the VZe's power-to-weight ratio is an impressive 110kW per tonne, explaining this portly small car's feisty 6.7 second dash in the 0-100km/h sprint. However, once the battery is depleted, that drops to a much-more mundane 67.3kW/tonne.
Based on VW's 'MQB Evo' modular transverse engine architecture, the Leon features a sports-tuned MacPherson-style strut set-up up front and a multi-link rear end, while adaptive dampers and variable-ratio electric power steering are also fitted.
Ford's official testing for the big window sticker delivered a 6.4L/100km result on the combined cycle. In my time with the Focus, I got 7.2L/100km indicated on the dashboard, which is a pretty solid result given the Focus spent a good deal of the time on suburban or urban roads.
With its 52-litre tank, you'll cover around 800km if you manage the official figure, or just over 700km on my figures.
Cupra says the combined cycle average fuel consumption figure is a startling 1.8 litres per 100km, equating to just 40 grams per kilometre of carbon-dioxide emissions. The electricity consumption claim is 11.2kWh/100km.
Out in the real world, we averaged 5.9L/100km pump-to-pump, while the car's trip computer read 5.5L. This is a disappointment.
It must be all those extra kilos the VZe has to carry around, as most of our driving was inner-urban or casual freeway cruising. The stop/start system was working overtime once that battery depleted.
We managed fewer than 40km of pure-electric driving, against a WLTP rating of 52km (or 67km using the more-lenient NEDC number Cupra quotes), with the trip computer telling us we were averaging 5.9kWh/100km – a figure likely achieved in hybrid mode with the petrol engine chiming in.
Charging times vary, with the 12.8kWh battery needing between six and eight hours plugged in at home, or about four hours using a 7.0kW AC charger via the Type 2 connector. No DC rapid charging ability is available.
Filling up the 40L fuel tank with the required 95 RON premium unleaded petrol and giving the VZe the benefit of the doubt by using the official fuel consumption average of 1.8L/100km to find out its PHEV range, you could theoretically achieve 2220km between refills.
Or about one-third of that by our real-world experience.
Despite the very mild off-road pretensions, if it's a comfortable city ride you're after, the Active is the Focus to have. While the ST-Line isn't uncomfortable - not by a long way - the Active's more compliant tyres and higher ride height (30mm at the front and 34mm at the rear) iron out the bigger bumps without sacrificing much of the sportier car's impressive dynamic prowess, even with the low-rolling-resistance tyres.
The cracking 1.5-litre turbo is responsive and well-matched to the eight-speed auto. The big torque number pushes you along the road and makes overtaking much less dramatic than a 1.5-litre three-cylinder has any right to.
Ford's trademark Euro-tuned quick steering is also along for the ride, making darting in and out of gaps a quick roll of the wrist, which has the added benefit of meaning you rarely have to take your hands off the wheel for twirling. That darting is aided and abetted by the engine and gearbox, with the turbo seemingly keeping the boost flowing with little lag. It's almost like they planned it that way.
You have good vision in all directions, which almost renders the fact that the blind-spot monitoring is optional acceptable. Almost. It's very easy to get around in, easy to park and, just as importantly, easy to get in and out of. Compared to, say, a Toyota Corolla, the rear doors are very accommodating.
There aren't many PHEVs out there, and that may remain the case, for Australians at least.
But the Leon VZe is definitely one of the more enjoyable of the breed to drive and ride in, with a sporty bias that lives up to its sleek and sexy styling.
With a fully-charged battery, off-the-line acceleration is brisk, and remains rapid as the revs and speed rise. It's smooth and slick in the best VW Group manner, and is accompanied by an appropriately stirring exhaust note. Especially in racy 'Cupra' mode.
The extra torque provided by the electric motor is also felt at low speeds, with little hesitation or delay from the throttle and DCT if the driver wants to instantly plug gaps in traffic.
Expertly tuned, the Cupra ought to be commended for how well-modulated everything feels and responds.
Find a fast, curvy ribbon of road and the Leon's steering comes alive, providing plenty of feel and control, backed up by a taut and agile chassis tune. Whether in 'Comfort' or 'Sport' modes, this is an athletic little hatch.
What the VZe isn't is a hot hatch.
When pushed, even in Sport or Cupra mode, it feels far heavier and less zippy than, say, a Golf GTI, lacking the latter's lithe spirit and dynamic dexterity.
That's not to say the Cupra isn't an involving, capable and secure handler or road-holder, because in isolation this is a terrific little car to hammer along. But it doesn't excite or thrill like the best of them. For more clarity on this, please drive a Civic Type R.
The driver can switch between electric, hybrid and turbo-engine-only modes to help preserve electricity, but once the battery is spent, there isn't the same level of punchy torque available.
Better, then, to instead select Comfort mode and let the adaptive dampers isolate you from those irritating bumps; while not plush, the ride is compliant enough for the VZe to make a very good impression of a grand tourer. Road noise intrusion, too, is pleasingly muted.
We're also grateful Cupra allows the driver to mix-and-match the drive modes, so you can choose a spicy engine tune with cushy suspension if you wish.
Note, however, that our Leon insisted on defaulting to Sport mode after every start-up. Using the flummoxing touchscreen to figure out how to change that to Comfort or Normal was a challenge.
Otherwise, there's much to enjoy from behind the wheel of the VZe. Probably the most fun PHEV we've ever punted around.
The Active has six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, forward AEB (low speed with pedestrian avoidance and highway speeds), forward collision warning, lane-departure warning, speed-sign recognition and active lane-keep assist.
Annoyingly - and I can't for the life of me work out why this is a thing - despite some advanced safety features in the base package, you have to pay $1250 extra for blind-spot monitoring, reverse cross traffic alert and reverse AEB, which are part of the Driver Assistance Pack. No, Ford is not the only company to do this.
The back seat has two ISOFIX points and three top-tether anchors.
The Focus scored five ANCAP stars in August 2019.
Tested in 2021, the Leon range achieved an ANCAP crash-test rating of five stars.
The VZe is fitted with 10 airbags – dual front, side chest, side head, driver knee and a front centre item; the latter is there to help reduce occupant-collision injury in lateral impacts.
On the driver assist tech side of things, the AEB includes pedestrian, cyclist and reversing detection, and there's 'Lane Assist', park assist, blind-spot monitor, rear cross-traffic alert with exit warning, a driver-fatigue monitor, emergency assist and tyre pressure monitors.
The AEB is operational between 5.0km/h and 250km/h. Likewise, the lane-support systems kick in between 65-250km/h.
The VZe is also fitted with electronic stability control, traction control, anti-lock brakes with brake assist and electronic brake-force distribution, adaptive cruise control, an alarm, auto on/off LED headlights with auto high beam, cornering driving lights, front and rear parking sensors, rain-sensing wipers and a rear-view camera.
Plus, the outboard rear seats include ISOFIX child restraint anchors as well as three top tethers for top straps.
Ford offers a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and a roadside-assistance package that consists of a membership to your local motoring organisation.
The first five services cost $299 each and also include a free loan car and a 12-month extension to your roadside assist membership for up to seven years.
The Cupra comes with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is standard fare nowadays, as well as five years of roadside assistance.
Service intervals are at 12 months or 15,000km.
The VZe is offered with a three-year or five-year service pack in place of capped-priced servicing. The price for three years is $990 (until December 31, 2023).