The hot hatch category has evolved over recent years.

Once upon a time, choices were strictly limited to just one performance based version of a family hatchback, but now it’s split into three distinctly different camps.

First off, the warm hatch — a more spirited version of the standard hatchback with sporty alloys, subtle styling and a jazzed up interior. Then, there’s the more traditional hot hatch, cars with around 200hp, bucket seats, bigger alloys and a more aggressive body kit. But, more recently, a new breed of performance car has broken onto the scene — the front-wheel drive, steroidal extreme hatch with 250hp plus, muscular styling and lurid paint jobs.

It’s an area SEAT has just entered with the launch of the quickest and most powerful car it’s ever made — the Leon Cupra R.

It’s armed with the same four-cylinder turbocharged engine from the Audi S3, but instead of four-wheel-drive, it’s powered through the front wheels, which immediately sets alarm bells ringing.

Having so much oomph going through the wheels that direct it used to mean you needed arms like Popeye to wrestle the steering wheel when stomping on the accelerator. That’s not the case with the Cupra R though. It may not feature a traditional mechanical Limited-Slip Differential, instead it’s equipped with XDS electronics that works with ESP to mimic the functions of a LSD, and tame those 265 horses.

In a straight line, it’ll hit 0-62mph from in 6.2 seconds and a limited top speed of 155mph, good enough to rival most of its competition. Plus, to help it through the bends, the suspension has been stiffened and lowered. Surprisingly, the ride is more forgiving than we’d expect from a performance SEAT, despite the standard 19-inch alloy-wheels — the largest wheels ever fitted to a SEAT. It’s all married together with well-weighted steering meaning it can be pushed through corners with upmost confidence.

It also scores highly on the green front with class leading emissions of just 190g/km and, according to SEAT, it’ll return an average fuel economy of 34.8mpg – if driven carefully.

Inside, the Cupra R is everything you’d expect of a performance hatchback, with   gure-hugging bucket seats, squared-off steeringwheel, aluminium pedals and R badges dotted everywhere.

So what makes the Cupra R such an attractive proposition?

Well, it works out at around £5,000 cheaper than equivalent versions from Audi and Volkswagen. Whether you can justify spending over £3,500 on a car that’s marginally quicker than the standard 237hp Cupra is another question.

Nigel Swan

SEAT Leon Cupra R
Price - £25,205
Power (hp) - 265
Torque (lb ft) - 258
0-62mph (secs) – 6.2
Top speed (mph) – 155 (limited)
Economy (mpg) – 34.8
CO2 (g/km)/Tax (%) – 190/26

To experience the full force of one of the hottest of hatches, check out the video at www.smokedout.co.uk