FAMILY FEUD

VW Golf R and Cupra Leon 333 share the same platform and 328bhp turbocharged engine, but on the road they're very different propositions. Which will triumph?

- by ETHAN JUPP PHOTOGRAPHY by ASTON PARROTT

ARMS DON’T GO FLYING SKYWARD in the evo office when volunteers are needed for a comparison between two Volkswagen Group MQB Evo-based machines. Especially on a slightly gloomy autumnal Wednesday morning. In the six years that the platform has been around, few cars that have MQB Evo at their heart have set ours aflutter. Doesn't matter whether all or just the front wheels are driven either - both the Mk8 GTI and Golf R, to our great regret, leave us a little cold.

There are exceptions. Audi’s RS3 has levelled up in its latest (and soon to be discontinued) generation, its Torque Splitter differential combining with the five-cylinder engine’s 394bhp to unlock appreciable throttle adjustability. Quiet though its rise has been, Cupra has also elevated its hottest Leon as a driver's choice, our last Fast Fleet long-termer surprising us with a genuine sense of playfulness and combative hot hatch personality.

You might have forgotten that you can still buy an estate version of the Cupra Leon at all, let alone that it's the only one that's all-wheel drive. It's also the most powerful of the hottest Leons, with a Golf R-matching 328bhp and 310lb ft from its shared EA888 Evo 4 turbocharged 2-litre four. But does a driven rear axle dull the fun for which the hatch earned our affections? With the Torque Splitter diff, hopefully not. So, just how different can these mechanically nigh-identical cars feel?