The Seat Leon Cupra has been made cheaper

The Seat Leon Cupra is already a pretty spiffing hot hatchback. At any other time in hot hatch history, it’d be more than good enough to lead the class.

Problem is, this is no normal time in hot hatch history. There’s the almighty Honda Civic Type R, the class leader. The feisty new Renault Megane RS. The cheap, sensible yet brilliant Hyundai i30N. And we’ve not even mentioned the Ford Focus RS…

Keen for a USP, Seat’s got its little label maker out and started putting yellow sale stickers on the Leon Cupra’s myriad variants.

The price cuts depend on which version you’re talking, but the largest total almost two grand. The other headline is that DSG paddleshift gearboxes are now free; choosing one over the standard six-speed manual will cost you nowt, whereas it used to be more than a grand.

Your cheapest way into a Leon Cupra – which has 296bhp nowadays – is now a three-door manual or DSG, at £29,600. Add £300 if you want a five-door, or £1,295 if you want the ST estate. A four-wheel-drive Cupra ST tops the range £32,580, madcap (and sold out) Leon Cupra R excluded.

Seat has also added the VW Group’s fancy virtual cockpit to the Cupra, making it the first of the Spanish brand's cars to replace analogue dials with digital in the process. Combined with a price cut, is that enough to tempt you away from its rather excellent rivals?