LAOIS MOTORING: Cupra Formentor e-hybrid - is it the best of both worlds?

Cupra is the sub brand of Seat which most will know is part of the VW empire.

The Cupra brand hopes to offer buyers a more sporty driving experience than other offerings from VAG. It’s not a Seat with a sporty theme but rather a brand in itself that  offers unique cars with sporting overtones.

The Cupra Formentor  is a car designed with driving pleasure in mind while retaining the practicalities of an SUV. The version on test this week is the PHEV which aims to give up to 50km of pure electric driving.

So has it any street cred?

Absolutely! It's a cracking looking car and if the amount of admiring looks it got from passers by is anything to go by its a winner in the beauty stakes. Lots of angles, an imposing big bonnet and front end with a raked roofline give it a purposeful stance.

What’s it like inside?

Slip inside and the spacious cabin impresses. The devil is in the detail with gorgeous Cupra bucket seats with integrated headrests, a 10.25 inch digital cockpit, wireless charging, mood lighting, 3 zone climate control, sports suspension, heated and electric massaging front seats, wireless Android and Apple Car play, and a huge 12” central touchscreen.

There is more but too much to list here as well as a host of safety equipment from blind spot warning to lane assist and so forth. Quality is to the fore and the whole package feels just right. 

It is also quite roomy seating four adults in comfort and with a decent sized boot.

What’s under the bonnet?

The e-hybrid model is powered by the VAG group 1.4 litre TFSi petrol which produces some 204 bhp and drives the front wheels through a 6-speed DSG auto gearbox.

The 12.8 kWh battery drives an electric motor which in practice I found gave a real range on battery power alone of about 40km or so. 

Performance is quite good despite this being a relatively small engine and it did not dissapoint on the economy side either. Overall then the combination works pretty well with the car changing seamlessly from battery to engine power as the hybrid system sees fit. 

What’s it like to drive?

From the flat bottomed steering wheel to the selectable digital instrumentation display it all feels very much designed for the driver. On the open road it does perform well.

It handles better than you expect for most crossovers. However I found it always had a tendency to spin the front wheels very easily when pulling away on a wet surface. There’s quite a lot of tyre noise too I found it very surface sensitive, noisy on the course tarmac but better on the newest of motorway surfaces.

One element of the hybrid set up that did not appeal was when you downshift via the paddles if you are decelerating the car has gone to hybrid mode and so does not pick up the selected gear until you are back on the accelerator. It does not make for a very involving driving experience which is pity as otherwise its a good drive. 

My Verdict?

Overall I liked the e-hybrid Cupra Formentor. I really think it looks fabulous and offers a great level of specification in a very well put together high quality package.

I think though I would skip the hybrid version and go for the 2.0 TDI or even the petrol 1.5 TFSi for that more connected driving experience.

The Cupra Formentor e-hybrid is priced from €41,630.