Golf R wagon returns? Cupra Leon Sportstourer adds rapid 245kW VZx grade for 2026 with AWD and ‘Drift Mode’

New Cupra Leon VZx variant debuts in Sportstourer wagon body with an extra kick in power, all-wheel drive, drift-mode and an additional 258mm in length

The Volkswagen Golf R wagon is back, but not as you know it, with German-owned, Spanish-inspired Cupra confirming a wagon-bodied, all-wheel drive version of its flagship Leon VZx performance hatchback, known as the Leon VZx Sportstourer.

Fans familiar with Volkswagen Auto Group are likely to recognise that behind the hot new Leon’s matte paint and bronze badging is a beloved Volkswagen product which left Australia just three years ago – the ‘MK8’ Volkswagen Golf R wagon.

But where the flagship wagon left Australia with a starting price of $71,990 before on-road costs, Cupra’s new Leon Sportstourer arrives some $4500 cheaper, starting from $67,490.

That’s still $2500 costlier than the Leon VZx hatchback, but places the Sportstourer in a comfortable middle ground of niche performance wagons, sandwiched between a $117,900 Audi S5 Avant top and $58,490 Subaru WRX wagon tail.

Appeal for the new, all-drive Cupra Leon Sportstourer only increases with a current launch-offer price of $72,490 drive-away, nation-wide.

Like today’s Golf R ‘MK8.5’ hatch, the Leon VZx gains all-wheel drive and develops 245kW/420Nm – up 10kW from yesterday’s R ‘MK8’ – pushing ahead of its front-drive only VZx hatch sibling by 24kW/20Nm.

Resultantly, the Sportswagon can sprint from 0-100km/hr in 4.8 seconds, blitzing the front-driven VZx’s time of 5.7 seconds by 0.9 seconds. A trick, standard equipment torque-vectoring all-wheel drive system aims to keep the power down, while standard ‘Drift Mode’ will likely do the opposite.

The new Leon flagship is also longer than its hatch-bodied sibling, measuring 4656mm to the hatch’s 4398mm. Indeed, the Sportstourer eclipses even the Formentor SUV by some 200mm in length.

Standard equipment in the Cupra Leon VZx Sportstourer includes 19-inch forged wheels, a performance braking system with cross-drilled rotors, dynamic chassis control, and a premium interior with heated front seats and a Sennheiser sound system.

An optional $7600 Extreme Package furthers the Sportswagon’s performance capabilities, adding CUP bucket seats with carbon-fibre shells, matrix LED headlights, package-specific gloss trim, and Akebono six-piston front brake calipers.