Spanish super SUV is simply scorchio
| Published date | 01 January 2021 |
| Date | 01 January 2021 |
The first car was the Ateca, a hot version of Seat's excellent SUV. Now we have the Cupra Formentor, a sort of coupe/SUV.
Cupra is going to be the umbrella under which some of Seat's electric cars sit and indeed the Formentor will soon be available with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. But the version we're testing is rather more old school and exciting.
If we'd had this car a few weeks ago I'd have been very tempted to include it in our 10 best cars of 2020 list.
That's a bit of a surprise because I'm not a massive fan of crossovers or SUVs.
For starters the view over the Formentor's bonnet with its subtle power bulges is really cool. Crank the electric seat to its lowest position and you sit quite close to the ground in SUV terms. The Formentor uses the same platform as the Ateca but is longer and lower.
Cupra's signature colour is copper and that's what its Marvel Comicslike logo is finished in, and there are flashes of this colour spread around what is otherwise a fairly dark cabin.
The quality is more than good enough even if the plastics are sub-Audi in texture. The dashboard's main features are borrowed from the Seat Leon and that includes a generous 12in infotainment screen and 10.25in digital instrument pack.
Unfortunately, just like the Leon (and Golf ) you get irritating-to-use touch sensitive heating controls and too many other functions that have to be accessed via the touchscreen.
''
Our test car is fitted with Volkswagen's familiar 2.0-litre TSI engine that's used in the Golf GTI, R and many other hot VW Group products. Power output is 310ps with 400Nm of
The sporty drive, very but handles torque, capable of 0-62mph in 4.9sec and a top speed of 155mph.
There are several trim levels starting with V1 and running through V2 to VZ2 and VZ3.
Our car is a VZ2 and comes with plenty of goodies including black leather sports seats with copper stitching and the Cupra logo. The front seats are super supportive and comfortable.
The only piece of equipment that you get with the VZ3 that I'd covet are copper and black alloy wheels which look fantastic.
Cupra is to it's quick also well
The...
To continue reading
Request your trial