Spanish performance brand Cupra is readying its crown jewel for Aussie roads as we take a quick preview drive with the Formentor VZx on track
Cupra is about to hit the scene in Australia. Backed by the mammoth Volkswagen Group, the Spanish-founded performance brand is intent on making its mark locally – and central to its brief is the Cupra Formentor crossover. Standing alone among Volkswagen’s other brands, the small SUV ably blends sporty cues with Euro refinement.
Ultimate test bed
History tells us that sportiness and European origins are not precursors to sales success in Australia.
But they do help.
Spanish performance brand Cupra has quietly touched down locally ahead of a full-scale launch in June.
With the might of Volkswagen Group Australia overseeing the operation, officials are brimming about the potential of the new marque – and key to their enthusiasm is the 2022 Cupra Formentor SUV.
Cupra – pronounced coo-pra and short for Cup Racing – definitely isn’t the first sporty Euro to try its hand at the Australian market, and it certainly won’t be the last.
Can the fledgling Spaniard make a mark where other performance-oriented brands including Opel, Alpine or even its parent company, Seat, haven’t?
Champagne taste
The 2022 Cupra Formentor will be offered in four different grades in Australia, including a plug-in hybrid option.
Entry into the range starts at $50,690 plus on-road costs for the V with 4Drive all-wheel drive.
From there, customers strangely move to a front-driven second-tier Formentor VZ (from $53,790) before reverting back to all-paw power with the penultimate VZe plug-in hybrid (from $60,990).
At the top of the range resides the 228kW/400Nm VZx AWD flagship driven here, at $61,490 plus on-road costs.
Just like the 2022 Cupra Leon range, Formentor variants share common standard equipment features, with the main differentiator being their powertrains – which we’ll get to in the next section below.
Standard equipment includes LED headlights and daytime running lights, LED tail-lights, 18-inch alloy wheels, heated and powered side mirrors, cloth seats, keyless entry and start, three-zone climate control, a reversing camera (a 360-degree camera will become available in 2023 production) and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror.
However, even at this money, you still make do without some key equipment – unless you’re willing to pay extra.
A $2750 Leather and Power package adds leather seats (heated up front), driver’s seat power adjustment and position memory, mirror memory function and hands-free tailgate, while a panoramic sunroof costs an additional $2100.
You can also option a Brembo brake package at an additional cost if you so wish.
On the safety front, the Cupra Formentor is backed by a five-star ANCAP safety rating (2021) based on New Zealand variants.
The car’s basic safety suite includes front assist with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane assist, park assist, side assist with exit assist, adaptive cruise control, Travel assist and pre-crash warning.
The Cupra Formentor is backed by a complimentary three-year servicing offer, a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and five years’ roadside assist.
As it stands, Cupra Australia will not offer a future guarantee value program and prices are fixed.
Engine room
The 2022 Cupra Formentor is based on the Volkswagen Group’s ubiquitous MQB platform architecture and runs familiar VW engines.
However, it strays from convention slightly with its body size, shape and profile.
Measuring 4450mm long, 1839mm wide and 1511mm high, and punctuated by a raked ‘coupe-like’ roofline, the Formentor finds itself in clear air compared with other VW Group offerings.
About the closest on paper and in price is the Audi Q2, which measures 20cm shorter.
Underneath the bonnet, the Cupra Formentor offers three different tunes of the Volkswagen Group’s EA888 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine.
The base AWD Formentor V doles out 140kW/320Nm, while VZ offers 180kW and 370Nm – pushing drive through the front wheels only.
Driven here is the flagship VZx grade which shuffles drive to all four wheels and offers total outputs of 228kW and 400Nm.
Additionally, there’s a penultimate Formentor VZe plug-in hybrid, which combines a turbocharged 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor and lithium-ion battery pack, for 180kW and 400Nm combined.
Good genes
Our first foray in the 2022 Cupra Formentor VZx comes in the form of four laps at Sydney Motorsport Park in a New Zealand-specification model.
We’ll reserve full judgement (and an overall score) for the car’s official on-road launch in June, but in the interim the Formentor flagship enamours with a quality cabin, decent materials and a striking design.
From the driver’s seat, there’s adequate vision front and rear (the latter slightly impinged by the raked roofline) and decent positioning and reach to the key controls.
Similarly, the cockpit adopts bits and pieces from other VW Group models, including a Porsche 911-esque gear shifter, VW-centric screens and switchgear and even and Audi/Lamborghini starter button on the steering wheel.
The key touchpoints appear appropriately soft for this price, and there’s a quality premise to everyday controls.
With such close ties to other Volkswagen models, there’s a customary hesitation upon taking off – a symptom of the DSG gearbox and some lag – but from that point on power is expedient and plentiful as we pull onto the 11-turn Eastern Creek Grand Prix layout.
The EA888 engine feels a willing match for the Formentor’s circa-1600kg mass, reaching peak power and torque outputs early in the count and offering a linear (if slightly elastic) transition to the upper echelons.
The turbo-petrol makes a decent soundtrack at the same time, albeit with some artificial noise piped into the cabin.
The car’s all-wheel drive system is quite efficient in plying power at the appropriate wheel, improving grip and allowing the car to rotate through faster corners.
Those traits are compounded by well-weighted steering, excellent body control and a communicative chassis that offers expediency and stability during fast changes in direction – so much so, we have few qualms about a minimum 155km/h cornering speed through SMP’s rapid turn one.
While that might sound like a moot point in a family-friendly SUV, it demonstrates the Cupra Formentor isn’t shy on performance – especially in flagship VZx form – and will offer a point of difference from the hordes of other like-minded SUVs.
The true test
We’ll reserve ultimate judgement on the 2022 Cupra Formentor for its official launch in June, whereupon we’ll have more time to crawl through its interior, play with the infotainment and, importantly, learn whether the inherent sportiness comes at the compromise of everyday road comfort.
In the interim, the Formentor VZx presents as a sound, enjoyable European SUV – yet one that makes no apologies for its lofty price.
Given there are plenty of other sporty, expensive European SUVs already doing the rounds, gaining a real foothold won’t be easy.
How much does the 2022 Cupra Formentor VZx cost?Price: $61,490 (plus on-road costs)Available: June 2022Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrolOutput: 228kW/400NmTransmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automaticFuel: 7.7L/100km (ADR Combined)CO2: 175g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2021)
Keyword: Cupra Formentor 2022 Reviewr