STEVE NELSON finds the SEAT Cupra R an exhilirating ride.

Some cars are are just plain sexy. They were created to make you go weak at the knees, to pin you to your seat, to put the thrill back into driving. Trouble is, most of them are way out of the price bracket of us mere motoring mortals.

But not all. There are a handful under £20,000 that will get the juices going, and among their number is the Seat Leon Cupra R.

Seat makes no bones about this stunning machine's appeal. Burn rubber, they say. Awaken your competitive spirt, they urge. Its power is muscular and uncompromising, its appeal is consuming.

Mmm.. a bit naughty, that, but anyway, let's get behind the three-spoke leather-clad wheel (yes, even that's sexy).

The acceleration brought gasps from the rear seat passengers. I felt half my age as I raced through the six gears of the sporty FR model. This was joy and madness rolled into one helluva driving experience.

The performance-orientated Spaniard is hotter than a July day in Madrid. It leaps from a standstill to 60mph in a fraction over 6.5 seconds and won't stop until it hits 150mph. Yeah, it's that fast.

It looks the part, too, with flared arches, massive alloys and twin exhaust pipes. Throw into the bargain Volkswagen levels of reliability and quality, the modest price tag and generous specification list and the Cupra begins to make a lot of sense in a hedonistic sort of way.

The Leon offers the cream of the road eating-crop in high performance engines. Petrol models up to a mighty 165 kw/225 hp and a range of diesels that provide enough response, acceleration and guts to leave them all at the lights.

Clues to the car's potency are everywhere. The car's 18-inch multi-spoke alloys look the business, and the Leon's nose and tail are dressed in aggressive-looking bumpers, the front one packing a menacing mesh intake.

The list of factory-fitted kit is impressive. You get electric windows and mirrors, climate control, numerous airbags and a CD changer as part of the deal.

The steering wheel and figure-hugging sports seats add to the competition theme. But there's something else in the cockpit: the racy-looking white instrument dials. I stepped into the car in bright weather, when the dials were solid white, but storm clouds gathered, the light faded and suddenly the dials featured soft red backlighting. And when the darkness arrived, the white had turned to the sexiest shade of red. It's daft, I know, but I miss those dials.

The Leon Cupra R can be indecently quick when you feel the need for speed. Yet the best thing about the Leon, speed notwithstanding, is its steering. Not the most glamorous aspect I know, but the most important. Beefed up by virtue of the car's more focused suspension settings, the Leon's helm does a fantastic job of coping with 225bhp without diluting the all-important signals it transmits back to the driver.

It may not be in the Lotus Elise league, but it does tell you enough to give you the confidence to press on or hold back depending on the conditions and the level of grip available.

The package is enhanced with the inclusion of a traction stability system that stops the wheels spinning and wasting power when you put your foot down.

This great all-round performer is fast enough to make you giggle as if you're doing something forbidden, yet comfortable enough for you and your passengers to arrive at your destination refreshed after hundreds of miles pounding the Tarmac. It's a hot hatch for drivers who don't want to grow up.

Dealer: Wills & Ellis, Poppleton Garage, Boroughtbridge Road, York (01904 792651)

Updated: 11:25 Friday, May 20, 2005