Autocar UK – 28 August 2019

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On the mountain, your first

few corners with the Mini

are a breath of fresh air

a

Δ and tucking in off the throttle, the

t a i l a r c i n g r ou nd – but it ’s on l y e v e r a

suggestion, as the body just takes up

some slack in the suspension rather

than developing into something

genuinely balletic and entertaining.

S ome t h i n g l i k e l a s t y e a r ’s w i n ne r,

in other words; something like the

d a m ne d Fie s t a ST.

Ultimately, the Abarth and the

M i n i w e r e a l w ay s goi n g t o h av e a

tough time among the more senior

hot hatches, but only the Abarth

makes a virtue of its status as a

minnow, if not in dynamic prowess

t he n at le a s t i n r aw c h a r a c t e r. O n t he

other hand, the Mini seems a little

ambivalent, despite its undeniable

speed and perceived quality.

And now for something completely

different. “It’s a purist’s dream,” says

Calo, Autocar’s resident hand and a

man paid to dependably throw any

car, at any speed, in any weather and

at any angle around corners for the

c a me r a s. W h at c ou ld he b e t a l k i n g

a b out? C ou ld it b e a f r ont- e n g i ne d ,

rear-driven roadster without a turbo

in sight and with a kerb weight of

less than 1150kg? The Mazda MX-5

needs no introduction, although this

is the latest model with the newly

tuned 2.0-litre engine. In excess of

180bhp delivered at 7000rpm feels

like the kind of shove this car has

The 296bhp Leon ST

is the only car here

with all-wheel drive

Each^ blamed^ the^ other

for forgetting^ biscuits

SEAT LEON

CUPRA ST

MAURO CALO

It wasn’t long ago

that fast wagons

like this only came

in £50k-plus

packages from

Mercedes-AMG or

Audi; and a compact,

300-horsepower,

4WD estate car

remains a very cool

thing. Shame it wasn’t

a bit more exciting –

but still interesting.