After driving Volkswagen’s für die Amerikaner verboten 292-hp, all-wheel-drive Golf R SportWagen and the under-the-radar Golf GTD SportWagen, you could say we’re harboring a yearning desire for a hot compact station wagon here in the U.S. There’s no relief for our affliction in sight, but it has flared up again now that VW’s Spanish subsidiary SEAT has announced that its 280-hp Leon ST Cupra wagon is officially the quickest long-roof car to circle the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
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According to SEAT, the 280-hp Leon ST Cupra circled the famed German racetrack in under eight minutes—7:58.12, to be exact. That’s quick stuff, although not exactly eye-opening these days, and we can’t help but imagine what sort of time the Leon ST Cupra’s platform mate, the Golf R SportWagen, is capable of given its all-wheel drive and 12-hp power advantage. The Leon, for its part, is helped by a limited-slip front differential, and the “Cupra” treatment is roughly equivalent to Volkswagen’s GTI or R upgrades (the “ST” in the name denotes this Leon as a wagon), with worked-over brakes and suspension. Compounding the potential family awkwardness? We think the Leon wagon is at least as attractive as the understated VW SportWagen, and the Spanish automaker is debuting its ‘Ring-destroying wagon at the upcoming Wörthersee VW festival. You know those uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinners where politically divided family members break into heated arguments? Yeah.
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- 2017 Volkswagen Golf SportWagen Alltrack: Yep, It’s Coming to America
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- 2014 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S-Model Wagon Tested: You’ll Be a Blubbering Idiot
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- Volkswagen Golf SportWagen Research: Full Pricing, Specs, Reviews, Photos, and More
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We’d say that when two small, sport station wagons fight, we all win, but we’re offered neither of those particular models in the States. At least Volkswagen sends us the regular gas- and diesel-powered Golf SportWagen.
-from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/1FapA9E
via Agya
