How this new plug-in Cupra tries to make a difference 

Published on 19 June, 2021

Overview

I have mixed feelings about this week’s review car, the Cupra Formentor plug-in hybrid. On the one hand it is a breath of fresh air. On the other it carries a practical drawback or two.

I’ll tell you one thing about it straightaway: having to pronounce its name improved my poor diction. So, it’s a CUPRA Formentor. “What is it about?” people asked. “Who makes it?”

As you probably know, CUPRA used to be the sporty, performance arm of SEAT. But the decision was made that CUPRA should become a stand-alone marque – while still of course benefitting from the Volkswagen mother-ships’ expertise and facilities.

It set out to be distinctly different and to place a heavy emphasis on design and performance. A key tone is copper: be it as an inset, display, emblem or whatever. I didn’t much care for it initially but I like it now.

The Formentor coupe-SUV carries several examples with a dramatic front and quite an appealing interior (with one exception that I’ll get to in a minute). I have to confess that, after driving a few Cupras, their design touches are steadily growing on me.

I’m still not convinced that hiving it off like that makes real sense. I still reckon there were/are alternative ways of setting it apart even more dynamically than before as a special edition offshoot of SEAT.

Anyway, it’s not my business to tell them their business. What matters for you and me is how it translates into the suitability or otherwise of the end product.

The car tested this week was the Formentor plug-in hybrid (among other models is a fire-breathing performance 310bhp VZ version which I reviewed some time back).

As I’ve repeatedly said, the pros and cons of having a plug-in reduce to one core element when all is said and done: will you use it to get you 50kms of distance under electric power only?

With the Formentor the answer, from me this time around, was no. I didn’t recharge it. Simply put, it was too much bother walking half a kilometre back while it was being boosted for a couple of hours – assuming one of the two outlets nearest me was available (they are always quite busy).

And it seemed to be raining a lot of the time I was driving in the vicinity. Yes, you certainly do not need to be in lazy mode (I have to admit I was for the few days) and to be committed to doing the plug-in bit.

It is, of course, in your financial interest to do so: 50kms on electric-only power is a lot less expensive than you’ll get with a petrol or diesel over your initial distance because that’s when more fuel is proportionally used.

But just to show I’m not a complete PHEV abstainer I did use the plug-in facility with the Cupra Leon (as reported briefly last week) to great effect, managing 50kms+ of electric-only driving on one memorable drive.

Not plugging-in the Leon would have been a real sin as the facility came with our Galway lodgings for the evening. And that is where having a home charger is essential for anyone thinking of buying a PHEV. Without one, it becomes too easy to do it ‘tomorrow’.

No fear of that happening to a 79-year-old reader who contacted me to say that when going for petrol recently he had to check which side the filler cap was on, such is his management of his three-year-old KIA Niro.

In making the point that it’s all about being committed to the concept, he raised another: “I miss the spare wheel,” he laments, highlighting how the larger battery intrudes on boot space and usually means it’s goodbye to the spare.

Speaking of wheels and tyres there was one black mark against the Formentor plug-in. The level of tyre/road noise was not acceptable as far as I was concerned. There was lots of it and that was a real drawback.

You know it’s noisy when a rear seat passenger has to lean forward and raise their voice to be heard. And I don’t think I’m being super-sensitive.

Two other reasons for having the mixed feelings I mentioned at the outset were price and a feckity infotainment interface. It is only when you encounter a really good example, as is the case with the new Skoda ENAYQ that you realise how things should be done.

So would I buy the Formentor plug-in? Generally speaking I think they have given the whole concept a great shot. I think the exterior design and interior adornment show a lot of vim and a desire to change. It is a car you would like to be seen in.

Road noise would be a deterrent but, in fairness, may just be a tyre issue. Would I pay north of €50,000 for it? For all its zing and drive, I think it is a bit much.