Cupra Formentor 310
The sun has set on our time with the bold Cupra crossover. How do we feel about it now it’s gone?
THE CUPRA FORMENTOR WASN’T THE first crossover or SUV that I’ve run. My Fast Fleet history also includes an Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, which was one of my favourite long-termers to date, and Nissan’s Juke Nismo RS, which was one of my least favourite. So now that its time with evo is over, where did the Formentor settle on this spectrum?
It certainly made a strong first impression, with a striking design that combined chiselled lines with a long bonnet for a look that was far less dumpy than that of your average crossover. Further emphasising the Formentor’s sporting aspirations was a purposeful rear diffuser with a pair of exhaust pipes on each side, plus 19-inch alloys with a matt black and silver machined finish. The result was a crossover with real presence. Even evo’s notoriously difficult-to-please design critic, Jordan Katsianis, was impressed, calling it ‘dynamic, distinctive and attractive’.
The eye-catching styling didn’t end with the exterior either. The interior benefited from Petrol Blue nappa leather with copper-coloured stitching and numerous copper-hued highlights on the dash, all of which made for a refreshingly uplifting driving environment compared with the drab black-on-black cabins of so many other cars.
Providing performance to match the looks was the 2-litre four-cylinder TSI engine also found in the likes of the Volkswagen Golf R and Audi S3, producing 306bhp and a 295lb ft of torque. With the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and Haldex-style all-wheel-drive system, 0-62mph was dusted off in a claimed 4.9sec, while top speed was limited to 155mph. And the Formentor 310 lived up to the stats, feeling every bit as quick as a top-of-the-range Cupra should.
The ride was perhaps stiffer than you might expect from a car of this kind, particularly if you selected the preconfigured Sport or Cupra modes, but you could always switch to Individual and fine-tune the damping to suit your taste. I actually didn’t mind the firmer settings, though, as the ride was never harsh enough to cause unwanted steering intrusion, even on a bumpy B-road, and it partnered well with the driver-focused feeling the Formentor had in other areas. There were the sports seats that held you nicely in place when cornering, the digital instruments that could be configured to put a big rev-counter front and centre, and the perfectly sized steering wheel that had a large Cupra button on it for quick switching between drive modes.
The infotainment system, with its 12-inch
‘The Formentor 310 felt every bit as quick as a top-of-the-range Cupra should’
touchscreen, satnav, Apple Carplay and wireless phone charging, should have been the icing on the cake, but instead it was the pooper at the party. On several occasions the screen went blank, refusing to come back to life unless you restarted the car, which meant you had to stop driving. However, Cupra admitted there have been some software issues and performed a software update that appeared to provide a cure.
That was the only reliability issue we encountered, though, and fuel aside, the running costs for our six months amounted to zero. Filling the tank typically cost just over £60, which gave around 300 miles of range at our normal average of around 30mpg.
Everyone who got behind the wheel of our Cupra was pleasantly surprised by its ability to cover ground, but there was usually a caveat. Ian Eveleigh was a case in point, saying that while he admired the Formentor, he’d still opt for a hot hatch for its lighter weight, lower centre of gravity and extra agility. And if I’m honest, I feel the same.
Ultimately, I still struggle to see the appeal of a performance crossover. If you want a quick car with space for four adults and a decent amount of luggage, buy a hot hatch; if you want the same but have a genuine need to go off-road, get a fast SUV. To my mind, crossovers seem to offer you less of what either of those other options is best at. But if you can see whatever it is I’m missing, you should definitely put a Formentor on your shortlist.
Date acquired January 2021 Duration of test 6 months Total test mileage 9557 Overall mpg 29.8 Costs £0 Purchase price £40,385 Value today £37,135