I first saw it at Auto Africa 2006, I wanted to give it a whirl but it wasn’t available locally. Well the wait is over, the SEAT León Cupra has landed in SA. Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit played host to the event and gave the media a chance to feel out all 177kW and get to grips with the poised handling.

Yep that’s right — 177kW is generated by the SEAT specific 2.0-litre TFSI to lead the way in the front-wheel-drive hot hatch power struggle. In the torque department the Cupra wins the race with 300Nm. Only Opel’s Astra OPC matches the kW output while Ford’s Focus ST and Renaults R26 Megane have a slight upperhand in the Newton-metre department.

SEAT claim that you can complete the zero to 100km/h sprint in 6.4 seconds but we’ll give it a full go at altitude in the near future to see for ourselves.

I was really impressed with the smoothness of power delivery. It was possible to play with the throttle, to balance the car round Kyalami’s twisty bits, confident that the turbo wouldn’t suddenly come on song and throw you into the kitty litter.

A top speed just of 250km/h is claimed but if you can hold the urge the León Cupra should return an average consumption figure of 8.3 litres per 100km.

Confused about the Cupra name? Think of it as short for Cup Racing and it becomes easier. Cupra is the same as GTI is to Golf. Track time is a key factor in SEAT’s arsenal. A quick search of the World Touring Car Championship will reveal how successful the Cupra is in that formula. In fact SEAT currently lead the title chase with works team driver’s Rickard Rydell and Gabriele Tarquini lying first and second respectively.

SEAT took to the South African circuits at the end of 2007 and sent a threatening message from day one. Graeme Nathan set pole in SEAT’s first ever SA race and then finished first and second in the respective heats. This year Nathan opened his account with a double Kyalami victory and then finished second in both the Killarney races. At both tracks the Nathan set new lap records in his Cupra, despite it being the car's first time in the Cape. We can only wait and see how the rest of the season goes but to be leading both the Class T and Overall Production Car Championship is no mean feat.

Another León Cupra feature worked on by SEAT is the all-important soundtrack from the engine bay. A "SEAT SOUND" exhaust system has been developed to boost the richness of the engine sound, inside and outside, at low revs, and can be experienced both outside and inside the car. Race development has filtered down to the road car.

The bottom line is that this is a car you want to get in and drive. If the León Cupra doesn’t do this to you, then best you stay commuting by bus.

Feedback from the steering is good and lets you know what the front end is up to immediately, if you do induce a bit of front wash it is quickly controllable thanks to a responsive and not overly light steering. The Cupra also benefits from a number of low-weight aluminium parts in its suspension set-up and thanks to León Cupra Sport kit sits 14mm lower than a standard León. Body roll is minimal but ride is not uncomfortable.

SEAT León Cupra aesthetics continue with this sporting, race-bred theme: León Cupra features what SEAT call Ebano black air vents, grill and rear diffuser. Red brake calipers poke out from behind some classy 18-inch alloys. Sharp eye-like lights give way to the dynamic SEAT character line giving the car a stealthy forward thrusting visual.

Moving inside it is much the same with fully adjustable race-styled buckets, leather steering-wheel, lots of aluminium inserts and red flashes. White dials dominate the dash, and pedals are aluminium with rubber grips. My only real gripe with the car is that, thanks to an abundance of plastic, the interior is not as classy as some of the competitors. But you don’t buy a car like this to potter around and push the dash, so who cares?

I almost forgot to mention the safety and backup information. Without stealing a roll cage from a racer, SEAT has still made sure the León Cupra measures up in the safety department. Six airbags, ABS, ESP, EBA, DSR, ISOFIX, rain sensors, auto headlights, flat tyre indicators, it has them all standard. You also get the likes of cruise control, blue tooth, radio/CD/MP3 and Climatronic aircon as standard equipment. SEAT offers a three-year/120 000km warranty, 12-year corrosion cover and service intervals of 15 000km.

SEAT speculated a price of R264 000 a year or so back and, against a backdrop of rising car prices, has managed to hold its word. So does it offer value? Yes. By the time you spec some of the competitors to the León Cupra’s standard level they will cost a similar amount and unfortunately for the competition they’ll still be down a little in the performance race. And there is something cool, something cult about owning a SEAT.