Talk about torque. I’m indebted, I should confess, to Google and AI for this working dedication of the term, tricky as it is to explain: “Think of it as the effort needed to start something rotating (like loosening a stubborn jar lid) versus horsepower, which is about the speed it can keep rotating”. Or “grunt” if you will.
Anyway, my test car this week has it in super-abundance. It is the thing I remember best about the Cupra Formentor 1.5 E-Hybrid VZ1 272PS DSG, to give it its full pedigree-dog-at-Crufts-style name, is how frisky it could be from rest with even the gentlest of encouragement. Although I don’t make a habit of stamping my Dr Martens boot on the accelerator, I was actually frightened of giving the Formentor full welly when setting off from the lights.
There is so much power immediately available to the driver that the front wheels can’t quite cope with it, so they skid a little to get some grip, and then off we jolly well go. It’s because this relatively sporty Cupra, which you may think of as a posh Seat, has a combination of petrol and electric power, and the engineers haven’t quite blended the mix in such a way as to ensure a civilised take-off.
On the other hand, the ready supply of sheer grunt is very welcome on the move, and the machine is a real pleasure. Of course, no one much supplies cars with a manual gearbox these days – electrification will make stick-shifting obsolete – but you can get a Formentor with a six-speed box where you can drop a cog as you fancy (albeit the power won’t be so great and it’s not mechanically possible when an electric motor is involved).
I dare say that with deeper acquaintance, the regular driver will become so familiar with their car’s torque curve and the various settings, from Comfort to Sport to Cupra, that they’ll be able to finesse their inputs to get the very best from it. It should certainly repay the investment, not least because you can get such a decent range out of the battery pack if you decide to drive for economy rather than performance (78 miles is claimed, a little optimistically).
As a plug-in hybrid, it benefits from certain tax breaks, but it truly comes into its own financially. Formentor, by the way, is an actual place in Spain, not the product of a marketing away day.
In a car world of niches within niches, this Cupra is special because, although it’s at least as sharply styled and sized like any other mid-market SUV, it sits rather lower than most, so it feels more car-like and has marginally better handling. The Cupra brand’s matt copper/bronze signature theme is used throughout the interior and exterior to considerable aesthetic effect as well.
Maybe it will all look ludicrously dated one day, as car decor tends to (remember velour seats?), but at the moment it’s the height of good taste, and all my passengers loved it. Similarly, they were impressed by the “light bar” illuminated badging on the back. However, one of the nice little curiosities about this car is that the model name, “Formentor”, is entirely omitted. Given that “Cupra” is still a relatively unfamiliar marque, it does feel a bit like a car with no name, which is a shame for something with such a strong personality.
Under the crimped bodywork, butch face and stylish cabin is a modular platform of almost pure Volkswagen Golf. That’s not such a bad thing, of course, but the ironic drawback is that the car isn’t maybe quite as reliable as you might assume just because of those VW Group origins. Still, it seemed robust enough to me. The five-year/90,000 warranty should give some reassurance.
The Cupra also shares its infotainment system with other VW group products, with a peculiar “haptic” sliding control just below the touchscreen, which works better than it used to but is still unnatural. The steering wheel, fortunately, has fingertip control for most functions, which is fine. I liked the Stop-Start and energy boost buttons being placed there as well. Just a little more individuality.
There’s only one body style, but there is a vast range of trim levels and powertrains available, all the way up to what must be a breathtaking 2.5 litre five-cylinder version, crucially with all-wheel drive to help deliver all that power. However, there’s no diesel, and no proper BEV version (that would be the Cupra Born).
My choice would probably be a base petrol model, which will give you all the style and all the fun, but the plug-in hybrid is an excellent choice, provided you plug it in every night at home and do enough mileage to cover the extra investment.
Alternatively, I’d suggest a go in the Cupra Ateca, an older design now pretty much off-sale, but a much more exhilarating and rare machine, and practical with it. Fashion isn’t everything.
