Cupra Formentor 2021 Review – International

What makes the 2022 Cupra Formentor different to the Spanish Seat sub-brand’s first model, the Ateca, is that the Cupra Formentor is not available with a SEAT badge on it, whereas the Ateca is.

Of course, here in Australia, neither Seat nor Cupra is available to us anyway, so it might all seem academic.

Except that Volkswagen Group Australia has confirmed it will introduce the Cupra brand here by mid-2022, and the Formentor will be its first model available Down Under, with the Ateca and Leon expected to follow.

So we thought it worth testing the Formentor to see what’s heading our way.

There are a lot of engine choices for the mid-size Cupra coupe-SUV in other markets, including 110kW 1.5-litre TSI petrol, 140kW 2.0-litre TSI petrol and not one but two plug-in hybrids – with either 150 or 180kW outputs.

But given Volkswagen Australia’s (and Cupra’s) penchant for performance, and the German brand’s resistance to electrified models until its ID EV range launches here in 2023, we’ve focused on the range-topping 228kW TSI version, which basically uses the same engine as the Volkswagen Golf R and Audi S3.

Whether the Cupra Formentor will come with the full 228kW remains to be seen, due to our high-sulphur petrol; lots of fast VW Group products have had to be detuned for Australia and its hot-climate status before, so the Cupra could go the same way.

But let’s think positively and assume we get the full-fat version as is. All that power and an additional 400Nm of torque is channelled through a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission and Cupra’s 4Drive AWD system (some of the lower-output Formentors are front-wheel drive and have a manual gearbox).

Anyway, on the outside the Formentor looks terrific. It is closer in height to Seat’s Golf-class Leon hatchback than it is to the Ateca SUV, while it’s also broad in stance and finished with lots of great detailing – such as the full-width rear light strip and most of its visible accents rendered in copper.

Top-spec or bottom, the Cupra Formentor has an attractive design. Base models run on 18-inch alloys but most, like this 228kW car, enjoy 19s and yet more copper-tinged exterior highlighting.

About the only questionable feature on it is the Cupra logo – which comprises a couple of intersecting brackets that are supposed to represent mirrored ‘Cs’ but instead look like some cheap tribal tattoo done in an unlicensed backstreet parlour – and the fact that entry-point models have totally egregious fake exhaust exits.

Not this 228kW model, though, which enjoys a proper set of quad tailpipes.

Moving inside, the 2022 Cupra Formentor really scores highly. Having driven both the range-topping 228kW model and a basic 110kW version, we can report that the cabin feels special from the bottom to the top of the range.

This is because every model has a crisp, 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster with six different, selectable layouts available, while there’s also a 12.3-inch touch-screen in the centre of the dash to control most of the onboard functions.

If there’s a gripe about the Formentor’s cabin, it’s that – like other current VW Group products – the Cupra relies on that central screen for too many of its gizmos.

Apart from soft haptic sliders for the split-zone climate control and the audio volume levels, both of which sit at the base of the screen, every other control is on the touch-screen itself.

This would not be such a problem, because the layout of the functions is intuitive and, when it’s working well, easy and understandable to navigate through.

However, it seems to take an age to ‘warm up’ after a cold start-up, so you can find yourself prodding in frustrated fashion at the graphics, trying to get the climate control to switch off or simply bring up the navigation screen.

Other than that, it’s a glowing report card. Everything looks and feels of high quality, there’s loads of room for taller passengers in the back considering the sloping roofline, even 4Drive models have 420 litres of boot space (there’s 450 litres to play with on versions with no rear driveshafts), and you can option up things like snazzy blue leather seats and door cards.

Further quality details include a strip of ambient lighting hooping around the door cards and dash, which incorporates the blind-spot warning on models with the tech fitted, and – on higher variants like our 228kW example – the engine start-stop and drive mode buttons are on the steering wheel itself.

What we don’t know yet are trim levels for Australia, although in Europe the Cupra Formentor is available in V1, V2, VZ1, VZ2, VZ3 and VZ Edition grades. These are so-called because the Spanish word for ‘fast’ is ‘veloz’.

As even V1 cars are generously equipped with some desirable kit on them as standard, we’re hopeful Australian cars will follow much the same format.

We’re likely to see a couple of variants available here, but local pricing is anyone’s guess at this stage, given the top-spec 228 TSI DSG 4Drive shares its drivetrain with the outgoing Golf R, which currently costs $57,990 but could follow the new Mk8 Golf GTI in going up in price.

There’s also the fact the Cupra Formentor is an SUV and VW Australia is likely to want to undercut theoretical small to mid-size rivals such as the Peugeot 3008 GT Sport ($54,990), BMW X2 M35i ($68,900) and Volvo XC40 T5 PHEV ($64,990).

The drivetrain of the 2022 Cupra Formentor 228 TSI AWD is an absolute gem. The ‘EA888’ 2.0-litre has performed sterling duties in rapid VW Group products for years, but that doesn’t make it any the less brilliant at what it does here in 2021.

Hooked up to the DSG and the 4Drive, performance is epic across the board. You won’t find a point on the rev counter where the 228kW Formentor doesn’t respond instantly, and with some stonking urge too.

Admittedly, in its hottest Cupra mode, there’s quite pronounced fake noise being pumped into the cabin, which has a vaguely five-cylinder trill to it.

Odd, because there’s a five-pot Formentor on the way, reputedly called the V5 and complete with the 294kW 2.5-litre engine from an Audi RS 3.

Don’t get your hopes up for that one here though; it’ll be left-hand drive only and built in relatively small numbers.

Otherwise, the Cupra’s 2.0-litre TSI drivetrain is near-flawless. It’s decent on fuel when you drive it steadily, the official 7.7L/100km easy to achieve with a modicum of restraint.

The DSG transmission doesn’t have any appreciable evidence of that odd hesitance that can afflict these dual-clutch units, and the car feels every bit capable of its searing 4.9-second on-paper 0-100km/h time.

If anything, it’s the MQB Evo platform under the 2022 Cupra Formentor that shines the brightest.

Cupra equips the top Formentor not only with the DSG and 4Drive, which can shuffle torque out to the axle that needs it most at any given moment, but it also has fitted powerful Brembo brakes and Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) adaptive dampers as standard.

Factor in the fact that – even in this fully loaded, most potent configuration – the Formentor tips the scales at 1644kg and you can begin to see why it is so talented in the corners.

As coupe-crossovers go, it’s relatively low, relatively light, has broad track widths, comes with an armoury of chassis enhancements and suspension tech, rides on grippy tyres and big wheels, and it has a furious turbocharged engine with which to best exploit all of this.

It’s not just that, though. It’s that Cupra has calibrated its steering and its DCC to the point of perfection for one of these things.

The Formentor turns in like a hot hatch, the nose keen and eager and the steering feeding back some useful information about what is going on at the front wheels across all its various modes.

The DCC has three main settings – Comfort, Sport and Cupra – but that’s not counting the 15 different damping levels you can configure overall and then store, along with steering weighting and drivetrain response and so on, in an overarching Individual mode.

Whichever one you pick, the Formentor never loses its composure. Body control is absolute in Cupra mode without making the SUV intolerable to ride in, while its genial manners and cushioned ride quality in Comfort make it feel every bit as plush and upmarket as its glitzy interior would have you believe.

This is a car that is superb, everywhere. In town, on flowing semi-urban routes, on gnarly backroad passes, and up and down highways, there will be a setting in the Cupra Formentor drive menus that will satisfy its driver’s needs.

Any problems? Well, on rougher surfaces, you get a touch too much tyre roar permeating the cabin.

And while the Formentor drives blindingly well for a coupe-SUV, you’d probably still get a more involving experience behind the wheel of one of the best-sorted hot hatchbacks of the moment.

But that’s missing the point of precisely what Cupra has achieved here, given the design brief it set out with when developing the Formentor.

It’s hard to convince people – and especially performance-SUV Doubting Thomases – precisely why the 2022 Cupra Formentor is so special, and why it cannot simply be dismissed as ‘just another VW Group crossover-SUV’.

Especially when it uses the same building blocks as so many cars from the giant Germanic-European conglomerate over the years: MQB chassis, EA888 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, DSG dual-clutch gearbox and Haldex multi-plate clutch all-wheel drive system.

It’s familiar fare that we’ve seen about a dozen times before, mixed into broadly the same nourishing yet often-uninspiring automotive dishes.

But the Spanish firm has dipped into the box of bits available to it, crafted the essentials into something that finally hits a target that so many fast crossover-SUVs have spectacularly missed and wrapped it in a cool design.

The result is stylish, family-friendly performance motoring that combines the higher seating position of a crossover wagon with all the driver interactivity and enjoyment of a well-sorted hot hatch.

We can’t overstate this enough – there are precious few SUVs of any size, shape or price that are more rewarding and talented than the Formentor 228 TSI.

How much does the 2021 Cupra Formentor 228 TSI DSG 4Drive cost?
Price: $55,000 (estimated)
Available: Q2 2022
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 228kW/400Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 7.7L/100km (EU Combined)
CO2: 203g/km (EU Combined)
Safety rating: N/A

Related: Cupra Formentor confirmed For Australia news
Related: Fast Audi SQ2 previewed
Related: New Volkswagen Golf R revealed