Cupra’s spectacular SUV turns heads

The Spanish brand’s first dedicated model has arrived in New Zealand, and it’s awesome, according to Nile Bijoux.

Despite being out on its own for the better part of three years, Cupra is still easily explained as ‘‘Seat’s performance arm that is now its own brand’’. Now the brand has its own standalone model to show the haters that it really is its own thing.

So what is it?

It’s called the Formentor, a medium SUV based on the Volkswagen MQB Evo platform coming to New Zealand in two trims. That name comes from a picturesque peninsula in Majorca, because Cupra is Spanish. Strangely, it doesn’t appear anywhere on the car.

The base model, called V 4Drive, gets a 140kW/190Nm turbocharged inline four and the range-topper, the VZ, gets the same 228kW/400Nm unit from the Golf R and Cupra Ateca. This one is the VZ, arguably the one you should be considering, although if looks are high on your list then you really win with either model.

You only need to look at the thing to see why, because it looks amazing. There are angular, angry headlights with highmounted fog lights. For a change, the grille isn’t ridiculously big. A large angular intake sits above a slimmer intake near the bumper and two corner intakes. And don’t forget the big copper Cupra logo.

Around back is a full-width

LED light bar that curls under and into itself at the ends, forming the brake lights and indicators. The boot is tapered, with a spoiler poking out from the roof, giving the profile an aggressive look.

The whole thing looks pretty damn astonishing, and more than a few bystanders took doubletakes. It’s smaller than it might appear in photos, too.

This is just a hot Volkswagen in hot clothes, right?

Yeah, but that’s hardly commentworthy. Volkswagen’s MQB platform supports so many cars these days, and underlying issues have mostly been ironed out.

So yes, you’re essentially paying for the styling differences, but you also get a hugely capable and reliable machine.

The VZ we have on test here has, as mentioned, the more powerful version of the 2.0-litre turbo four, paired with a sevenspeed dual-clutch transmission. Official spec-sheets say it will hit 100kmh from zero in 4.9 seconds, which is pretty damn quick for an SUV.

In typical Cupra fashion, it handles beautifully. The balance is as neutral as you could really ask for, and while the steering could be a bit sharper, it’s still totally adequate.

There’s a Cupra button on the steering wheel that cycles through drive modes, or hold it to skip straight to full-fat mode. This puts everything in its sharpest mode, which is well worth experiencing because this is a car that likes to be driven hard.

What about when you don’t want to drive it hard?

This is an SUV and will probably see the urban jungle more than windy backroads, so fair question.

It’s great – the 19-inch wheels don’t introduce much crashiness in the ride, even in Cupra mode, and the dual-clutch transmission

does a good job of pretending to be a normal automatic when you want it to. The gearbox does take a bit of time to go from reverse to drive sometimes, but that’s a pretty common DCT gripe.

Wind noise at highway speeds is fine and, if you did find it too intrusive, the stereo is quality.

That brings me to my least favourite part of the Formentor – the infotainment system. It’s far too complicated, with shortcuts, swipes and buttons everywhere. It is one of those things you can get used to, but I wasn’t a fan.

It also seemed to really dislike Apple CarPlay, with the phone mirroring software often getting bogged down and incredibly slow to respond. However, it would be equally fair to blame Apple for that.

Since this is a Volkswagen underneath, it has a similar VW interior.

That means you’ll prod the ESP-off button thinking it’s the starter button a few times (that’s where it is in the Ateca, after all), and it uses the same touch-based heater controls that aren’t illuminated and therefore are totally invisible at night.

There is quite a lot of space in the rear, though, because Cupra has figured out that the whole roof doesn’t need to slope down to give the appearance of a coupe.

So why should I get this over a Cupra Ateca?

The Formentor looks way better, goes as well, if not better, and has a more modern interior. It only costs about $2000 more as well.

But, considering the two SUVs occupy the same broad category, I wouldn’t be all that surprised to see the Cupra Ateca give way to the new kid. Plus, Cupra has confirmed it will offer a hybrid Formentor soon, so look out for that, as well as a 110kW FWD version that will cut the price of entry into the Cupra family to under $50,000.

Any other cars to consider?

Aside from the Cupra Ateca, look out for the upcoming VW Tiguan R, or the Hyundai Kona N, which uses the engine and front-drive setup from the awesome I30 N. No prices have been announced yet.

This road test was completed before the current coronavirus lockdown restrictions came into effect.