Cupra Formentor E-Hybrid review

Sardinia is putting on a brave face. Behind a 2000km perimeter of perfect white sandy beaches, soaring mountain escarpments and sun-bleached seaside villages, all is not as idyllic as it might appear.

You don’t need to go far out of the quaint townships dotted about this Italian island to find the scars of an aggressive mining past with the spoils of lead and zinc prospecting still lingering long after the valuable resources departed.

Bomb ranges to the east pose a more modern hazard with secret NATO ballistics tests allegedly spiking mysterious illnesses in local communities. More recently, the unprecedented severity of wildfires that struck the island – second in size only to Sicily among the islands of the western Mediterranean − in 2021 is being blamed on climate change.

Sardinia has copped a beating at the hands of humankind but it’s a resilient isle with a prevalent natural beauty that far outweighs the environmental atrocities and has much to offer the casual adventurer.

But while the economy desperately needs the cash injection of tourism, stepping onto these shores with a heavy carbon footprint would be worse than not coming at all. That’s why I’m rolling off a huge ferry in Olbia at the northern end of the island for an adventure to the south at the helm of a plug-in hybrid.

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Why not an EV?

While the trip from Olbia to Cagliari in the south is technically 260km, you can add on a significant factor when photographing a car for a magazine feature. Imagine photographer Tom as a dog walker, while the car (piloted by me) is a hyperactive border collie retrieving a ball that covers three times the distance of the human.

Add in a full load of equipment and luggage, a constant curiosity to see what’s over this crest or in that valley, and suddenly any indicated journey length is multiplied more times than a poorly calculated renovation budget, while the range falls like a stone.

In these circumstances, a plug-in hybrid is the perfect fit. Even if the relatively small battery is drained, a PHEV still offers the same regenerative efficiencies of a mild hybrid and the fuel saving continues if you can’t find a charger.

Completing the list of adventure-friendly essentials would have to be an SUV, bringing the space for people and things, combined with a bit more ground clearance if the author should take a wrong turn… more than once… hypothetically speaking.

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Then there are the roads themselves. Sardinia is connected by a single main freeway running the length of the island like a backbone and this road will get you from almost one end to the other in about three hours but, having spent a few days on the island, I can say with some confidence that it’s the only straight thoroughfare on the entire landmass.

Deviate away from the E25 and the way ahead immediately looks like it was cut by a woodworm. That’s why the final facet to any Sardinian adventure machine must be an ability to carve corners without feeling like the ferry you arrived on.

Punch all of these must-haves into a motoring match maker and one option it’ll spit out at you is this – the Cupra Formentor E-Hybrid, coming to Australia as part of an initial three-strong line-up (made up of nine variants) in 2022.

Other options might include pluggable versions of the Mini Countryman or Volvo XC40 if it weren’t for one other factor. At the conclusion of this particular trip there’s another Cupra waiting for us and it’s an entirely different kind of eco warrior that I can’t wait to meet…

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Rather than the ‘express’ way south, there’s a more interesting route from the port town of Olbia hugging the coast as it spears southeast picking up little villages along the way. But from Orosei the SS125 gets really good.

Not only is this stretch suspiciously deserted by all except a few bikers, it’s also been recently widened and resurfaced. The narrow, rickety pre-upgrade trail would have been too heart-stopping to enjoy, but the improvements have produced one of the finest driving roads I’ve encountered in years and it seems no-one else has yet realised.

Kilometres fly past and the Formentor is coming alive as my confidence in its ability builds. Like its Leon sibling, the front end is beautifully tuned with the precision to lean into the variety of corners.

Unusually for a mountain road like this though, most bends can be driven as-seen with good exit visibility and no need to have a practice run. Wearing Goodyear Eagle F1s, there’s masses of cornering grip and the turn-in is sharp with steering feel that the Spanish brand is quickly establishing as a trademark.

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On the straights, the combination of electric torque and turbo petrol power makes for respectable pace. While 150kW is not blinding, the immediacy of 350Nm delivers excellent responsiveness and feels faster than a car that reportedly gets from zero to 100km/h in 7.8 seconds.

In isolation, the 1.4-litre four-pot is a strong performer with a satisfying power note, while the dual-clutch transmission delivers urgent shifts and pairs well to the engine and electric assistance. Only an inconsistency in the sharing of electric and petrol power mars the powertrain, with an occasional clumsiness during handover.

The combined torque is also enough to slip wheels easily on anything but perfect asphalt or yank at the steering when the grippy rubber can get its claws stuck in. There’s no AWD option available for the hybrid at this stage which would solve the problem although inviting any extra mass on top of the already hefty 1704kg weight might be a foolish move.

That said, the sports suspension does a great job of keeping the Formentor’s handsome body reined in and the ride doesn’t suffer either. That’s partly down to Sardinia’s roads which are incredibly well maintained and put Australian maintenance regimes to shame.

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Tom has thrown the ball for me a lot and the band of blissful blacktop finally summits near the tiny community of Urzulei where we stop for a bite. It’s deep into off-season in October but the barista at the little stone cafe whips up a prosciutto and parmesan roll that I’ll be talking about for years.

As we saddle up for the ride down, the battery has long been depleted to one percent but the Formentor offers unusually aggressive regenerative braking for a PHEV and the descent rapidly replenishes the charge levels like our lunch. Actually, the E-Hybrid has multiple personalities depending on the drive mode.

Even when on the flat, the power management can be set to keep the battery at a predetermined level using the engine to charge on the move – particularly satisfying when another tiny village looms and the engine can be silenced in favour of pure EV power. I’m not sure if the locals were stopping to take in the Formentor’s aggressive facade or the strange, harmonic hum it emanates when gliding in EV mode.

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At Tortoli, the way resumes a relaxing coastal meander but there’s an even more ridiculously indirect ribbon that heads inland along the SS198 into highest ranges on the island and won’t spit you out on the west side until the next day.

I opt for the faster way over to satisfy Tom’s puerile humour and a visit to the town of Buggerru. Here, there is even more evidence of massive mining ventures. The town once had the largest hospital on the island, specifically constructed to treat the horrible respiratory illnesses common to miners.

Today, we’re most interested in its EV charging infrastructure. Disappointingly, while the charger is there along with a dedicated parking spot marked out on the salt-stained car park, the mains power cable is comically hanging out of the junction box and yet to be commissioned. It’s not the first time we encounter lackluster EV facilities, nor the typical casual Italian way of life.

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The balmy day gives way to night and as the copper sun bows to the rising full moon, the Formentor’s cabin flashes into life and I get my first real opportunity to appreciate its unique bits inside and out.

When it arrives in Australia in 2022, the Cupra line-up will bring mechanicals from the Volkswagen family, but the styling of the Formentor couldn’t be further from its relatives. Copper highlights abound as an obvious nod to the moniker, but the design is uniquely handsome and its proportions have something of the Infiniti QX70 on a smaller scale.

Inside, technology is front and centre with digital displays for the driver and central screen. The pinstripe of colour changing light that curves from the door trims through the dash is not just beautiful but functional, pulsing with the hazard lights and serving as the blind-spot warning.

Bucket seats finished in leather and vinyl, with electric adjustment and heating, are part of the VZ1 spec, as are the big panoramic roof and heated leather ergonomic steering wheel – although it lacks the drive mode and start button of the VZ2 in favour of drive modes that are buried in the unorthodox operating system.

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Bizarre typewriter and thumping sounds that accompany functions including even switching on a cabin light become comforting and the Formentor feels dramatically different but not simply for the sake of being different.

In terms of practicality it’s compelling, too, with a simply vast second-row seating space, and while the boot shrinks compared with the petrol-only version to 345 litres, it still has an appetite for a tonne of gear.

Essentially Cupra’s smallish model is an SUV with enough ground clearance to avoid embarrassing guts-dragging, but it’s elegant enough to forget that… until you encounter a dry lake and unintentionally find the limits of its traction.

As we roll into the Teulada Head Military base it’s time to surrender the Formentor. It’s been a perfect companion taking challenging roads in its stride, carrying all the gear we threw at it with the stoicism of a burro, and returning a fuel-economy figure of just 6.2L/100km – astonishing given the type of roads it’s had to negotiate. But our journey now continues in canvas-roofed trucks across a vast plain, dust whipping behind tanks, a Bell Huey is parked by the way and a hastily established tent city lies in the distance.

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For a moment I feel like one of those ‘proper’ journalists but there are no bullets whistling over my head – this is the location of the penultimate race in the Extreme E electric off-road series and in one of the nine pit ‘garages’ is another Cupra.

Beyond its electric motors, battery and the claw motif on its bonnet, the similarity to our Formentor firmly ends, but both cars are fighting to bring electric technology to the forefront. The monstrous Cupra Odyssey 21 is proving that motorsport can be sustainable and clean, while the Formentor E-Hybrid provides the stepping stone to road-car electrification.

But the fuel cell that charges the race cars uses hydrogen produced using Sardinia’s coal-fired power stations, and it would be the same electricity pumped into the Formentor (had we found a functioning charger). It’s a stark reminder that, until the loop of renewable energy can be completed, change is superficial. But it’s a start at least and this brace of Cupras is a symbol that we will get there because we must.

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My mind casts back to the achingly beautiful Spiaggia di Cala Domestica near Buggerru where we found the most perfect of Sardinia’s white sands, impossibly blue water framed by rugged cliffs and a single white yacht hovering motionless on the flat water.

The Oasi Beach lounge bar was the only structure standing as far as the eye can see and completed this vision of remote island paradise as light reggae drifted from its deserted timber bar. But only a little way inland, a noisy generator belched black smoke into the warm air to keep the lights on and the Ichnusa beer cold.

2022 Cupra Formentor specifications