Long-term report: Our Cupra Terramar is proving to be a likeable and well-rounded package

We’re now two months in with living with the Cupra Terramar and I have to say, I’ve been pleasantly surprised.

When this car turned up at my house in September, I’ll be honest, I was really underwhelmed. I’d gone from having a snarling 300bhp hot hatch to a rather tedious SUV, in a completely forgettable shade of blue.

Over the space of a few weeks though, I’ve started to realise that actually, the Terramar is probably Cupra’s most complete all-round SUV.

Due to the wash of short-term press cars, the Cupra has been left a side a number of times, though when I have used it, it’s been a rather pleasant experience.

It has been taken on a few long-distance trips and I still maintain that its levels of refinement are one of the best-in-class for this type of vehicle, as the engine is silky smooth and the cabin is extremely well-insulated.

The back seats don’t get used that often, yet I was unaware that the rear chairs slide back and forth to create even more boot space, or more legroom for rear-seat occupants. They also tumble forwards to give a nice flat load bay, which is helped by the false floor located in the boot.

A couple of weeks ago, the Terramar broke the 1,000-mile barrier, meaning it’s now fully run-in. However, I’m yet to notice any changes in how it drives, as it’s not bad. Sure, it isn’t scintillating, and you’re not going to grab the keys to take it for a Sunday drive, as it does everything in a rather sombre way.

As the car hasn’t been taken on many long runs, recently, the fuel economy has suffered, with the Terramar averaging around 28mpg to 30mpg around town, which isn’t brilliant. When you do give it a run up the motorway, you’ll manage around 45mpg – not bad for a mid-size family wagon without any electrical assistance.

A few things that irritate me though is the ‘auto hold’ function, which prevents the car creeping forward when it’s stationary. Trying to parallel park with this feature is a chore in itself as you have to feather and balance the throttle, to stop the car from violently jolting forwards or backwards into the surrounding parked cars. While I’m having a moan, the automatic gearbox on the Terramar isn’t the best on the market. Put your foot down, and the gearbox just seems to hang out onto the revs, with the engine screaming almost like it’s a CVT transmission.

I might sound like a broken record here and I’ll keep on mentioning it with the car’s horrid touch-sensitive climate control and volume dials. Also, I’m not a fan (no pun intended) of the fact that you have to click onto a separate menu every time you want to adjust the position of the climate control fans and their speeds. It would be much simpler and safer to have their own physical dials located beneath the screen.

On a more positive note, last month I complained that there was a software glitch with the ‘Park Assist’ button on the touchscreen, which seems to have now sorted itself out.

The Cupra Terramar is proving to be an easy-to-live-with, comfortable and capable family SUV. There are a few irritations that have crept in and it’s suffering from pretty poor fuel economy at the moment, and I’m hoping with a bit more use in the coming weeks, it will start to improve again. Overall, two months with this Spanish SUV have not been as dreary as I thought it was going to be. It does have its faults and you’re not going to be driving this car with vigor, but as a family car, the Terramar is ticking a lot of the right boxes.

Model as tested: Cupra Terramar V2 2.0-litre TSi DSG 4Drive
Price as tested: £46,120
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol
Power: 201bhp
Torque: 320Nm
0-60mph: 6.9 seconds
Top speed: 140mph
MPG: 30mpg
CO2 emissions: 172g/km
Mileage: 1,008 miles