Living with the Cupra Formentor VZe: The coastal escape

2023 Cupra Formentor VZe long-term review

JUMP AHEAD

• Welcome
• The coastal escape
• Formentor VZe specs

Welcome

• Price as tested: $60,990 (Driveaway $65,990 NSW)
• Km this month: 306km @ 2.5L/100km
• Overall: As above

The Volkswagen Group has a new brand in town, and that made Cupra an obvious choice for a new addition to our long-term garage. And the Cupra Formentor, as the brand’s flagship model, was the shoo-in as the model to feature.

We’re intrigued to discover the characteristics that will make Cupra, a spin-off from the Spanish Seat brand, different from stablemates Volkswagen and Skoda.

Awareness is the name of the game for Cupra at this early stage, for a brand with ambitions of reaching 7000 sales by 2025. For perspective, it took VW’s Czech brand Skoda 12 years to hit such a milestone.

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There’s no surprise that, of a dozen or so people who’ve asked about the car so far, only a couple knew about Cupra. (One was a Wheels reader, who naturally knew more, too: that the Formentor SUV is one of a trio of models that also includes the Leon hatch and Ateca SUV.)

Yet there’s also no doubt that the Formentor has been turning many more heads with its sharp looks, Y-spoked 19-inch rims, crisp Nevada White paintwork, and copper-coloured flourishes. It’s literally stopped some dog-walkers in their tracks – and, gratefully, not to allow their four-legged friends to go about their business.

One of the most striking SUVs in the entire Volkswagen Group? I think so. Forget a VW Tiguan or Skoda Karoq; even an Audi Q3 Sportback looks conservative in comparison.

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Comparisons are valid with the luxury brand; a Q3 Sportback starts at $53,800, with a 2.0-litre turbo 40TFSI not that big a stretch ahead at $66,100. No equivalent plug-in, though.

First impressions of the interior are that while it doesn’t hit the quality heights of Audi, the cabin falls into that premium-mainstream category familiar to Volkswagen owners – though with more flair.

The contemporary design is enhanced with a 10.25-inch digital driver display and 12-inch central infotainment screen, along with multiple USB-C ports and wireless charging.

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There are four variants in the Formentor line-up, split evenly between front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive models. It starts from $50,690 for an AWD V, followed by a $53,390 VZ that is front-drive but adds more standard equipment.

Higher up and close together are a pair of seemingly diametrically opposed models: a $60,990 VZe FWD plug-in hybrid and a $61,990 VZx AWD performance variant.

We went for the lucky-dip option and ended up with the PHEV. And call it good fortune, because, for a couple of reasons, we reckon the VZe makes for the best variant to assess over a period.

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An electrified model is hugely relevant for Cupra as it plans to be the first VW Group brand to go all-electric, by 2030. And we can also explore whether owning a plug-in hybrid is being half-pregnant or actually a smarter choice than a fully electric car right now.

The Cupra Formentor VZe introduces a drivetrain available in the UK and Europe in models such as the Golf but not previously offered by the VW Group.

It pairs VW’s well-known 110kW/250Nm 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol with an 85kW/300Nm electric motor – translating into combined outputs of 180kW and 400N that are put to the ground through a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox and the front wheels.

The electric motor is powered by a 12.8kWh battery.

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Cupra claims there’s about 50km of electric driving range on a full charge. So far, we’ve managed about 40km from a full battery. I’ll be running the Formentor PHEV as an owner with home charging would – regularly topping up the battery to take advantage of electric motoring in daily urban use – then seeing how the hybrid system plays into overall experience.

Official consumption is 1.9 litres per 100km, though theoretically the Formentor can be continually charged for zero consumption.

In early days, the average fuel consumption is reading between 2.1 and 2.2L/100km.

We’ll see what happens to efficiency once we’re forced to use the hybrid system on longer trips. Our Formentor is still in its run-in phase, mind; there were just over 800km on the odo when we received it.

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We’ll also be checking out the Formentor’s credentials as a practical family SUV, including assessing whether the VZe’s smaller, 345-litre boot is sufficient or lacking space. Owing to battery packaging, it loses 75 litres to other Formentor models.

There’s no auto tailgate, either. That’s part of a $2750 Leather & Power Package, which also adds leather upholstery, heated front seats, and electric driver’s seat. Buyers can also stump up $2100 for a panoramic sunroof, while a handful of premium metallic paints are $475.

Our VZe is refreshingly free of any options. Buy a Cupra before the end of 2022 and three years of free servicing is also included.

Gracias, indeed.

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The coastal escape

• Price as tested: $60,990
• Km this month: 494km @ 5.5L/100km
• Overall: 800km @ 4.0L/100km

Honestly, it was through coincidence rather than contrivance that our Cupra Formentor long-termer found itself in such a fitting destination for a model that headlines the recent arrival of Volkswagen’s Spanish brand.

The Entrance, formed on a bridged peninsula on Sydney’s Central Coast, was simply a convenient choice for a quick, school-holiday family get-away that wasn’t a marathon drive away and took us north rather than our usual route south.

It was also a first chance to stretch our Formentor VZe plug-in hybrid’s legs after being confined in its first month of ‘ownership’ to primarily ferrying kids to school, sports and shops – and running primarily on electric power through regular home charging.

During those first few weeks, the best electric range we’d managed to achieve from a full battery was about 40km – about two-thirds of the 58km WLTP max distance on the VZe’s spec sheet. For PHEV’s sake, that’s a poor return.

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And, consequently, this increased average fuel consumption, because the wife and I would inevitably forget to recharge the car at various times – meaning use of the petrol engine. (We could have used another car, but to reflect true PHEV ownership we’ve been pretending the Formentor is our only vehicle.)

The first sign that the PHEV’s battery prefers continuous driving over intermittent runs comes when we manage to pass just over 50km of the trip before the Formentor’s 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine chimes in.

We had deliberately ignored the available option to preserve electric power for later in the trip, where the Formentor’s drivetrain management system can be instructed to employ the Hybrid mode earlier by setting a higher battery level via the central touchscreen.

Average fuel consumption read 2.8L/100km at the start of the trip, which, for the record, compares with the VZe’s official figure of 1.9L/100km.

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This increased to just 2.9L/100km after using the petrol engine predominantly for the remaining 60km-odd of the journey.

At least we could recharge the Cupra’s battery at our Airbnb apartment. Except there were no power outlets in the underground car park. Well, at least we could go to a local recharging station. Except there were only a couple of Tesla Superchargers in convenient proximity.

That enforced a Hybrid-mode-only return to Sydney, though not before driving around the area over a few days had increased consumption to 3.7L/100km.

Stats for the petrol-electric return trip: 105km driven and 5.9 litres of premium unleaded used (and average consumption overall up to 4.0L/100km).

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Can’t deny I’m being quite obsessive about the fuel figures, and strongly suspect this might be a common theme among hybrid owners – plug-in or not.

I also sense you may be interested to learn more about the Formentor VZe than just some numbers.

I’ll delve deeper into the driving experience in the next instalment, but for now can say the Cupra is enjoyable to drive whether it’s in fully electric E-mode or petrol-electric Hybrid mode.

However, I discovered to and from the Central Coast that pure electric drive is preferable on freeways.

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In Hybrid mode, the regen braking – even with Low setting chosen over High – makes a nuisance of itself at freeway speeds, sharply rather than subtly decelerating the car when rolling off the accelerator pedal.

It forces a quicker return to the same pedal to maintain momentum, and the drivetrain isn’t quite as responsive to pedal pressure when the petrol engine is involved.

Adaptive cruise control can be a solution, but you’d be a braver driver than I to use this on the M1/Pacific Highway, where erratic driving speeds/behaviour seems higher than the norm for Australian freeways (which is saying something).

The Formentor is classified by VFACTS as a midsize SUV, though with a length below 4.5 metres – 4450mm – it’s a compact SUV in our book.

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Boot space would be considered terrible in the context of a medium SUV – especially the plug-in Formentor which, compromised by battery packaging, has less volume (345 litres) than a Golf hatch.

V and VZx Formentors offer 420 litres; the VZ has the largest boot in the range with 450L.

We still managed to pack in three days’ worth of luggage and activity gear (scooters, tennis racquets), though needed to leave the lightweight cargo blind at home. A rooftop pod would seem a mandatory accessory for longer family trips.

This might suggest the VZe isn’t the pick of the Formentor range, but with a planned co-drive with a VZ petrol variant coming up, we’ll leave that debate for the next time.

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2023 Cupra Formentor vZe specifications

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