Cupra Australia confirms most powerful Leon for mid-2026

Lovers of the discontinued Volkswagen Golf R Wagon might finally have an alternative, with Spanish VW Group brand Cupra set to launch a high-performance Leon Sportstourer next year.

Cupra Australia head of product, Jeff Shafer, confirmed the Leon Sportstourer VZx will arrive here in mid-2026, complete with the most powerful powertrain ever featured in the Leon range – a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine offering 245kW of power and 420Nm of torque, matched with all-wheel drive.

Joining the 200kW Leon Sportstourer VZe plug-in hybrid (PHEV), which arrives in Australia this month, the VZx can dash from 0-100km/h in a claimed 4.8 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 250km/h.

It’s a healthy bump in performance over the related Skoda Octavia RS Wagon, which runs the same 2.0 TSI engine but is detuned to 195kW/370Nm and drives the front wheels only. Skoda claims a 0-100km/h time of 6.5 seconds.

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Further details like pricing and specifications are still to be confirmed, though we’d expect the Sportstourer VZx to feature an almost identical feature list to the VZe – as well as the Leon VZx hatchback – bar the drivetrain.

Cupra Australia has confirmed the Leon Sportstourer VZx will also offer the option of the Extreme Package, like the top-spec hot hatch, which adds trick Matrix LED headlights with graphic projection, CUPBucket sports front seats, Akebono performance brakes, and dark chrome interior embellishments in place of the signature copper accents.

Expect the Sportstourer VZx to be priced somewhere between the $64,990 Leon Hatch VZx and the $69,990 Leon Sportstourer VZe, with the Extreme Package likely to cost the same $7600 as with the hatchback.

The second wagon variant will put Cupra in a very niche part of the Australian auto market, with the only all-wheel drive pseudo-performance wagon within the same price bracket being the Subaru WRX Sportswagon, which is priced between $52,290 and $63,290 before on-road costs.

Beyond the WRX and the aforementioned Skoda, you need to spend at least $90,000-$100,000 for the Audi A5 Avant or BMW 3 Series Touring.

The facelifted Cupra Leon range launches this month, starting with the mild-hybrid Leon S and high-performance Leon VZx hatchbacks, as well as the Sportstourer VZe PHEV.

Before the Sportstourer VZx arrives next June-July, Cupra Australia will also add the Leon Ve PHEV around March-April, bringing PHEV power to the new hatchback range and debuting the lower-output 150kW drivetrain in Australia – though it will offer over 120km of all-electric driving range.

Stay tuned to CarExpert for our first Australian reviews of the updated Leon Hatch and Sportstourer range on October 16.

MORE: Explore the Cupra Leon showroom