Review and test Cupra Formentor VZ e-Hybrid Copper Edition

‘Formentor’: sounds dangerous, a little scary even. Like a torturous executioner and ruthless dictator in one. Like Skeletor’s even meaner brother. It certainly doesn’t sound like a compact crossover, the dullest and most stale body shape in the car world. Bum bags, bike racks, two of the same Human Nature jackets, FORMENTORRR. No, that doesn’t fit.

It makes a difference that the Formentor is a Cupra. This new VW Group brand, a spin-off of Seat, has set itself the goal of producing only exciting cars. ‘For the drivers’, goes their saying, and that’s pretty ambitious talk when you’re talking about a crossover. But you have to hand it to Cupra: they try their best to make it fun. For example, they hang the 2.5-liter turbo five-cylinder from Audi in the Formentor so that the thing is not only deceptively fast, but also sounds heavenly. Look, that’s how you win souls.

Why we don’t test that Cupra Formentor VZ5 here

Simple: you are reading the Dutch version of TopGear. Everything that is nice, but also a bit dirty, is no longer allowed in our country. Well, it is allowed, but it is so heavily taxed that no one cares about it anymore. As a result, as a Cupra, you might as well throw your hot models straight into the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal. (But you also get a hefty environmental fine, because that is no longer allowed, pff.)

Only hybrids from Cupra

Result: Formentors, or actually all Cupras, can only be electrified here. There are two flavors, namely a regular e-Hybrid with 204 hp and a VZ e-Hybrid with 245 hp. You can also get a Copper Edition of the latter, with all imaginable options and the necessary copper-colored accents (as far as you can still speak of accents when your entire wheels are finished in the hue). That’s the version we ride here, and in matte black too. No, not your average crossover, this.

The Cupra Formentor looks good, that’s hard to argue with. There really is something there: with its powerful lines and attacking attitude, it automatically draws attention to itself. And not in a droll way, like some of the other small SUV guys (*cough* Juke) – it breeds genuine, genuine interest and admiration. Everyone we ask thinks it’s cool, even people who don’t like the body shape.

The interior continues the same line

Sleek and sharp design, a pair of thick sports seats that keep you firmly in place, a fine steering wheel with a start/stop and a Cupra button. In the back, someone of average height actually manages to be very nice, despite the sloping roofline. For the rest, of course, it’s all very Volkswagen in here. While that is an advantage in terms of material and quality, we are now also stuck with two negatives: the clear, but sometimes slow infotainment system (which you have to dig into again and again to turn off that damn lane assist) and the stupid swipe control for air con and volume you can’t see in the dark. Can’t help Cupra – hate mail about this can go to Wolfsburg.

The engine of the Cupra Formentor

The now somewhat older powertrain is also known: it is the 1.4 TSI plus six-speed DSG gearbox and electric motor from the Golf GTE. We recently tried the same combination in the Cupra Leon and we weren’t particularly excited about that car, but the Formentor has several ups and downs. First of all, it’s not a Seat in disguise – this is Cupra’s first own model. Okay, it shares its setup with the Audi Q3 Sportback, but it’s not a simple logo change, we mean. Second, as stated earlier: crossovers are dull, this one is not. That makes us positive, where the Leon disappointed because it didn’t really live up to the hot-hatch expectations. It’s more a matter of feeling than anything else, but that’s the pond Cupra likes to fish in.

The Cupra Formentor in this version goes from 0 to 100 in 7.0 seconds – but the electric push you get often makes it feel faster. In Cupra mode, there is an entertaining gurgling sound from the speakers and there is even more urgency in the tempo. The chassis is adjustable in fifteen steps and although you really won’t use all of them, the differences per three/four are large enough to be useful.

It’s kind of a crossover, but not quite

All things considered, the Formentor doesn’t sit very high at all (a Ford Puma driver looks down on us), which contributes to the fact that its handling is pretty good. Couple that with a nice set of Bridgestone Potenzas and steering that is direct and lively in all modes, yet not too snappy or nervous, and you have a nice companion in most conceivable driving situations. Highway kilometres: solid and stable. Smooth turns: more fun and playful than expected. City traffic: agile and effortless.

The only thing we can’t really figure out in our time with this Cupra Formentor is its regeneration behaviour. Sometimes it rolls freely when you let go of the gas, sometimes you get strong braking, and we can’t trace this back to navigation info (for example when approaching intersections) or a certain percentage of battery charge. It seems quite random, and that sometimes makes anticipation difficult. Solution: select a sportier mode, it will be more predictable.

Digital stuff

In terms of connectivity and safety gadgets, it is a must, as you would expect from this generation of cars, and the hybrid gifts of the Formentor are also in order. In electric mode, in which it always starts, it can drive quietly and cleanly for up to 55 kilometers. You can also let it figure out the drive mix itself, more or less keep your battery charge for later, or use the petrol engine as a drive plus generator. We covered almost 600 kilometers without plugging in like a bunch of lazy assholes, consciously to see what this would do to the consumption, and came to an average of 6.2 l/100 km. Not crazy at all.

The Cupra Formentor turns out to be a surprisingly fun and surprisingly unique addition to VW’s industry-wide range: they didn’t have anything like this before. Its price is not good in this version (it is available from 44 mille, 34 in Belgium for a 1.5 TSI), but what you get is really something special. And that evil name? That’s just a peninsula of Mallorca.