SEAT’s performance sub-brand Cupra has released pricing and specification details of its first ever standalone model, the Formentor SUV. Cupra calls it a coupe but it’s blatantly a five-door SUV, it’s just that it’s been styled specifically for Cupra as opposed to being a badge engineered SEAT like the Cupra Ateca is. SUVs sell like hotcakes, innit.
Anyways, if you want one you can place an order now and it’ll cost you £39,830 exactly. For that you’ll get a VZ2 spec car, which comes with a 12-inch infotainment setup, a 10-inch digital instrument display, LED headlamps, adaptive cruise control, proper sports seats that are both heated and covered with leather, a leather dashboard, parking sensors all around, a parking camera, adaptive damping and 19-inch alloy wheels. You do wonder what’s left to throw into higher spec cars.
Not much, it turns out. VZ3 models get better looking 19-inch wheels and Brembo brakes, and move further up the rung to a VZ Edition model and you’ll get copper-accented 19-inch wheels and a panoramic sunroof too. It’s £42,000 for a VZ3 and £44,000 for an Edition. If you’re interested, the ‘VZ’ thing comes from the Spanish word ‘veloz’ which means ‘speed’ or ‘fast’ depending on context.
The Formentor is powered by a 306bhp 2.0-litre turbo engine running through a seven-speed DSG gearbox as standard, with four-wheel drive. It’s WLTP CO2 rating is 193g/km and its average fuel economy 31.4mpg.
If you’re wondering why the ‘base’ model is so well equipped it’s because Cupra is only releasing the top tier Formentors to the UK market at first. The company has said that eventually the Formentor will be available with a 148bhp 1.5 TSI petrol engine and a manual gearbox, and there’ll be a 242bhp plug-in hybrid model too. When the cheaper ones come the range will begin at V1 spec and prices at £27,000.
You won’t have to wait too long for those either because they’re due during the first quarter of 2021.
Despite being broadly similar to the Cupra Ateca, in terms of being a crossover powered by the same engine and based on the same chassis, the Formentor has a cabin and drivetrains based on the latest round of Volkswagen Group mid-sized cars, which means a vastly modernised interior. The infotainment is the latest ‘MIB3’ setup and the DSG gearbox a ‘shift-by-wire’ system that dispenses with mechanical linkage, saving space and reducing weight.
Keyword: The new Cupra Formentor costs from £40,000…for now