New doesn’t necessarily mean improved, especially when it comes to cars. From each generation we see objective improvements in tech and refinement, but if you’re a keen driver, sometimes a little more polish can detract from the fun factor. We know the latest CUPRA Leon 300 is an entertaining car to drive – we’ve already road tested it for a feature in Issue 13 – but how does it stack up against its predecessor, the SEAT Leon Cupra? Handily, SEAT sent us another 300, but this time it was accompanied by a SEAT Leon Cupra 280 from their heritage fleet so we could find out which is the more exciting car.

Firstly, though, some housekeeping. Fast SEATs used to adorn the Cupra nameplate, but since 2018, CUPRA has been its own brand which makes, you guessed it, fast SEATs. Still confused? Think what Abarth is to FIAT and you’re there. Secondly, because we’re comparing new with old and we’re only interested in the LOLs, price will not feature in this article. Finally, we won’t mention neither of the cars’ onboard tech. I’ve already moaned about the 300 and the 280 is irrelevant because you can no longer buy a new one.

The SEAT Leon Cupra 280 is a special piece of kit. It was the first front-wheel drive hot hatch to complete a lap of the Nürburgring in less than 8 minutes (7m 58.4 seconds), and to mark the occasion, SEAT offered it to customers with a ‘Sub8 Performance Pack’ which replicated the specification of the car that set that benchmark FWD lap time. Our test car has that very pack and upgrades include larger 370mm brake discs with Brembo calipers, and tweaks to the electronically controlled limited-slip differential for better traction on corner exit. It also came with sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, and to help shave some extra kilos from the kerbweight, the climate control, front armrest and rear speakers were binned. Visually, a 280 with a Sub8 pack also comes with side skirts and 19-inch alloy wheels, and the orange details you see on our test car were part of a separate ‘Orange-Line’ pack. The 280’s FWD Nürburgring lap time may have been smashed numerous times over the last few years, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the car is a hot hatch-Nordschleife legend, which is something that the new Leon 300 can’t lay claim to.

In comparison, the 300 has not been round the ‘ring, there’s no special performance pack, the brakes are smaller with 340mm discs upfront and 310mm rotors at the rear, the calipers are CUPRA’s own, the rubber is made by Hankook, and no weight saving measures have been made. This makes the 300 quite a bit heavier than its predecessor, with a kerbweight of 1,490kg compared to 1,375kg for the 280. But it’s also worth mentioning that the 300 comes with DSG whereas our 280 had to make do with SEAT’s rather uninspiring six-speed manual gearbox, but more on that later.

On the face of it then, two very different cars, but there are similarities to be found under the bonnet. Both use the VW Group’s turbocharged 2.0 litre 4-cylinder engine, and unless you haven’t realised, the cars’ respective names give away which is the most powerful. The CUPRA Leon 300 has 296bhp and 295lb ft. whereas the SEAT Leon Cupra 280 puts out 276bhp and 258lb ft. of torque. Interestingly, both will do 155mph and their 0-62mph times are identical with the sprint completed in 5.7 seconds – weight really does make a difference. Despite what the spec sheet tells us, out on the road the CUPRA 300 is the faster car. These two hot hatches might tally-up on paper, but in the real world the extra torque in the 300 makes it a faster car in gear and beyond the 62mph benchmark. The difference isn’t night and day and both have boosty, entertaining engines which offer thrilling straight line performance, but the 300 has the legs when you really start pressing on.

But speed isn’t what defines a fun driver’s car, it matters, but it isn’t the be-all and end-all of hot hatch hoonery. The way a fast hatch dispatches a B-road is what counts, and in being set up for the intricacies of the Nürburgring, the 280 comes with a distinct advantage over the 300. Although far from the green hell, our broken country roads demand quality damping, sense of connection and willingness to turn in, and these are traits that the 280 displays in abundance. You can cycle through Comfort, Sport and Cupra driving modes, and there’s an Individual option which allows you to play with the various parameters for your ideal set up. For serious driving, Cupra is the one you want to be in. The increased throttle response, meatier steering, and firmer suspension give the 280 a harder edge without throwing away the compliance required for dealing with larger bumps in the road.

The 280 is high on driver engagement. You always have this great sense of where the front wheels are in relation to the road, with the rear eager to follow you in to the turn. Like in the best hot hatches, you can trailbrake in to a corner, pick up the throttle and use the ‘diff to pull you round with minimal roll from the chassis. You feel connected to the car which gives you all the confidence you need to push on, to the point where you begin to take liberties with it. The Cup 2 rubber offers copious amounts of grip providing its dry and you have some heat in them, and when you’re really going for it, the upgraded brakes have fantastic feel.

There are a couple of downsides, though. The big brakes and four-piston calipers are grabby when you’re just mooching around town, and the six-speed manual gearbox is not special enough to warrant its place in the car. The shift action is long and uninspiring, and the clutch which is prone to failure is springy. If you’re looking to pick up any 280 on the used market, then go for one with the excellent DSG transmission. I know it’s the better gearbox for the car because simply put, I used to own a DSG-equipped Cupra 280 Sub8 pack. Having said that, this is as pure a hot hatch experience as you can get, but it’s also not so hardcore that you can’t use the 280 on a daily basis – plus you get to gloat to your mates about its Nürburgring lap time.

Moving on to the 300 and many of the traits which made its predecessor a fantastic hot hatch have carried over in to the current model. You have the same driving modes available to you and it offers much of the engagement you find in the 280 but with the benefit of added refinement. As a daily driver, the 300 is arguably the superior car with its extra torque, improved NVH levels and independent multi-link rear suspension. Over a broken piece of B-road, the 300 feels more mature and offers greater compliance than the 280, something which is undoubtedly more attractive to drivers who want a car that benefits from a wider bandwidth. In isolation the CUPRA Leon 300 is fantastic fun, but when you start to push closer to its limits in the presence of the 280, it begins to unravel a little. The steering isn’t as precise, the body leans more through the corners, and it doesn’t stop quite as smoothly or with the same urgency. Like the straight line performance, we’re not talking about night and day differences, but the lesser weight and track-honed nature of the 280 elevate it beyond what the 300 is capable of in terms of driver engagement and outright fun.

The SEAT Leon Cupra 280 and the CUPRA Leon 300 are both hugely capable hot hatchbacks which are joyous fun to drive. Fast SEATs have always had that extra special something, that magic dust which turns a good hot hatch in to a great one, and the CUPRA Leon 300 is no different. I’d have one over its VW Group stablemate, the Golf R, in a heartbeat. But, in the company of the SEAT Leon Cupra 280, the 300 just falls short of the bar because what SEAT cooked up in the 280 was a car that was truly more than sum of its parts. It’s a Nürburgring legend and one of the all-time great hot hatchbacks.