A new beginning
Scratch your head as much as you like over the Seat/Cupra brand strategy, but the Formentor is a fine car that bodes well for the future.
Judge the Cupra Formentor against the closely related VW Golf R, or examine it on its own merits, and either way it stacks up. Just ask reader Jeff Parrington, who judged its design and value ahead of the equivalent Audi SQ2 and BMW X2 M35i and bought a VZ2 like ours.
‘It’s one of those rare cars that seem to do everything it’s meant to do, to a high standard,’ says Jeff, ‘managing to display a degree of originality and panache whilst doing it.’
The VZ2 is the fastest Formentor, with a stonking 306bhp – just 10 shy of the Golf R. Interestingly, the price has risen since the figures quoted for our car, and it now retails at £41,145, a not insignificant £1120 more than the VW. Whether you prefer the Golf ’s more restrained polish or the Cupra’s high-riding stance, there’s no arguing with the 4.9sec 0-62mph punch and all-wheeldrive traction.
That performance comes at a price and in these carboncrunched times it’s hard to stomach the circa-30mpg fuel consumption we averaged. Motorway cruising nudged that up around 35mpg, but figures for many tankfuls began with a ‘2’. Search our long-term test archive online to read a comparison with the Formentor PHEV, which trims those bills rather better.
Nothing broke or fell off and our Formentor was well built, in that upper-volume manner that never quite felt premium. The touchscreen infotainment was a little laggy and slow (though a midlife upgrade involving a trip back to Cupra HQ seemed to improve things) and the reversing camera would often lay dormant when Reverse was selected. We never quite got to the bottom of that one. Most testers found the ride too stiff, even when the adjustable dampers were set to Comfort. I preferred the more relaxed mode settings, but chose the ‘Cupra’ engine noise for its burbly bark.
The Formentor is surprisingly practical – roomy in both rows and with a decent, tall-hatchback boot. That they’ve put this top hat on the innards of a Golf R is the icing on the cake; it feels a step forward, like the arrival of the Leon 20 VT two decades ago, heralding a great run of bright, fizzy Seat hot hatches. Now it’s Cupra’s turn to move the game on and the Formentor left us quietly impressed.
Count the cost
Cost new £40,385 Part exchange £32,077 Cost per mile 19.7p Cost per mile including depreciation £1.35
It feels like a step forward, like the arrival of the Seat Leon 20 VT two decades ago