In 2021, Cupra’s Formentor was the first vehicle designed and developed from the ground up as a Cupra model. Cupras are designed to offer a more thrilling driving experience, with powerful engine options and sporty avant-garde styling, whereas sister-company SEAT’s vehicles are more focused on traditional cars with smaller engines and value for money. Both are part of the Volkswagen Group.
Their largest offering, the five-seater Formentor SUV coupe, provides the benefits of a performance car with the qualities, ride height, and roominess of an SUV but with lots of extra touches included. It is aimed at high-earning male buyers in their forties who will most likely have a young family and who want their car to have robust style and a sporty driving performance combined with modern technology.
Cupra has sold 1,173 units in Ireland this year, with Formentor leading the charge with a 12.25 percent increase on the whole of last year, so their marketing strategy is obviously working. The Irish company plans to increase its market share to 2 percent as it builds awareness of the brand.
The model has been given a significant facelift for 2025. Exterior changes include a redesigned front bumper that integrates the logo, a new grille, and updated fog lamps. The rear has an integrated, illuminated logo set within 3D infinite lighting for an iconic signature.
My car was in a new matt shade called Century Bronze, which resembles an army vehicle’s colour. Bronze accents and 19-inch alloys made it stand out. Interior changes include a new dashboard, a padded central console, copper-coloured accents and stitching, and a wrap-around ambient light system across the dash and door panels. Centre stage is the new and easy-to-use 12.9-inch infotainment screen with an integrated navigation system, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. The car has a three-zone climate control system that allows both front seat occupants and rear passengers to set their own preferred temperatures independently.
A colourful and customisable 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster supplies all the information you need almost within your line of vision, with your current speed shown bottom right on the screen. The multi-function steering wheel has two satellite buttons, which are the Start/Stop button and a drive selection one. Drive modes are Comfort, Performance, Individual, and Cupra for the ultimate driving experience. Some may like the touch-sensitive sliders for temperature and volume, others perhaps not.
The automatic transmission gear selector is located on the flat of the central console. The D/S position allows operation in normal mode or sport mode.
Comfy leather bucket seats with integrated headrests are mostly made from recycled polyester. My driver’s seat had power seat controls, three memory seat settings, and lumbar support. Storage areas include big front door bins, a decent glovebox, and a deep area below the front armrest with a 12V power socket. A wireless phone charger and two USBs are on the dash. Other features are an excellent rear view camera and Blind Spot monitors that light up a bright warning lamp on the inside part of the corresponding side mirror where a vehicle is approaching from that side.
There’s good head and legroom in the rear, headspace being unaffected by the large sunroof, which you open or close by sliding your finger along the overhead control. There's a power tailgate, and luggage capacity for the plug-in hybrid version is 345 litres compared to the 450 litres in other variants. When not needed, the rear seats can be folded down for more cargo space. Trims are Formentor with output power below 245hp and VZ with a power out from 245hp. The latter adds touches of luxury, elevates performance, and adds 19-inch alloy wheels, dynamic chassis control, as well as new technology and a range of new engine options that now include petrol, diesel, two mild-hybrids, and plug-in hybrid versions with a blend of electric and petrol performance.
While the entry engine is a 1.5 TSI with 150hp, my review car was the powerful VZ 1.5 TSI (petrol) 272hp e-Hybrid PHEV hybrid version mated to a 6-speed DSG automatic gearbox. Max torque is a powerful 400Nm which together with the petrol engine can shift the car from 0-100km/h in 7.2 seconds. My fuel usage was 6.4 L/100kms. Motor tax is €140 for the PHEV models.
On the road, I liked the power on tap, the whole atmosphere and styling of the cabin, and had no trouble with all-round visibility and liked the quite direct, well-balanced steering.
With a big suite of driver assistance and safety systems, Formentor was awarded a maximum five-star safety rating by Euro NCAP.
The entry price is €39,885; VZ from €59,135. Over €10,000 worth of options were exterior paint (€2,626), 19-inch copper machined alloys (€1,641), Sennheiser 12-speaker system with subwoofer (€704), Pure Performance of Matrix LED Ultra and Dynamic Chassis Control (€1,134), a Progressive Design pack of leather seats/power front seats with driver memory €1,154), Intelligent Drive DQ of side and exit assist, pre-crash assist, intelligent park assist, lane keeping, navigation, traffic jam assist and a top view camera (€2,017), panoramic sunroof (€1,287). These brought the price of my car as tested to €69,698.
Formentor is named after Cape Formentor on the Spanish island of Mallorca and is produced in the Martorell factory in Catalonia, Spain.
