2023 Cupra (Formentor) - (3 of 3 of a review series of short rentals in Italy)

[trinacriabob]

This was a one-day rental of a small automatic that really went over the top in terms of an upgrade. I was assigned a Cupra Formentor.  It’s a SEAT SUV model that is its own brand within the brand.

The instant you look at it, the Cupra makes an assertive statement.  The minute you get in, it makes a good impression.  The workmanship is evident throughout.  And the instant you drive off, it will come off as roadworthy.  Over that one-day period – to bridge a 7-day rental up to 8 days – this proved to be true over and over.

I really came to like this car.

One would think that smooth and quiet would compromise how planted a vehicle is and how well it communicates what’s going on. That’s not true with the Cupra Formentor.  This meant that it might be sailing along at 120 and 130 mph without your knowing that.  For that reason, the preferred mode for the speedometer is the digital one.  To that end, it soaks up road imperfections with high marks.  In short, in my opinion and for its price point, it scores highly on all the benchmarks for roadworthiness.

Power comes from a turbocharged 3-cylinder engine, which is starting to be a very normal powertrain and has even come to North America.  The gears shifted through the VW group’s automatic 7 speed DSG transmission.  Power seems sufficient in almost all situations and the automatic shifts of the DSG are very fluid – minimally felt, but also hushed in moving upward through the gears.  This is a refined automatic transaxle.

The Cupra delivers in almost all situations.  In merging onto controlled access highways, it performed well.  The only challenge might be a pass that requires judging the competition on one’s side of the road as well as that of the oncoming traffic. 

The dashboard is not overdone. Inside the main pod are different ways to set it up.  I had a tachometer as the central dial, with a digital speed readout in the middle.  At about opposite ends of the pod, readouts on time, temperature, gear, and odometer show up … clearly but unobtrusively.  Also, the sides flanking the tach/speedo show information about the drive itself and audio system info, respectively. It all worked well and was easy to get used to.

Gimmickry with lighting seems to be an important thing these days.  The outside rear-view mirrors reflect the Cupra logo at night when doors are opened or after closing them.  Then, while the BMW Gran Coupe has the arc with blue lighting sweeping across the front of the cabin at dusk, the Cupra has an orange one.

The organization of the center console is commendable. Closer to the driver, at the rear of the console’s deck are the auto stop-start switch, a pull tab style parking brake, and central door locking.  Further up, and on the other side of the shift lever, is the push button ignition switch. The centralized automatic transmission (DSG) is operated via a subtle but effective small upright lever and it was easier to return it to P when the parking brake was applied than in recent cars I’ve driven with dials and other ways cars to operate the transmission.  However, when it comes to USB ports, I could not find the old school ones most people seem to use, but only the smaller (micro) ones.  The cubby at the base of the center stack is small, but two slightly recessed slats are available on either side of the shift lever.

Moving upward at the center are the infotainment system and the climate control.  Here, the Cupra Formentor changes it up compared to the VW T-Cross, Polo, and recent Jetta:  the vents are below a large upright screen as opposed to a smaller screen embedded under the cowl.  They still disperse conditioned air very well, even though I prefer them higher up.  The large touch screen has all the major functions and is fairly easy to use, without disengaging from Bluetooth - the way other cars sometimes do - and with a pleasant display for Android Auto.  Befitting the gimmickry of the car and price point, the steering wheel controls are a little more complicated than usual.  However, the scrolling thumb operated ones on the outboard ends are easy, and even a little fun, to operate.  The ergonomics of the steering wheel, including the finishes and the shape, add to the experience.

The Cupra’s fabric seats are indeed comfortable and feature good and supportive sculpting that doesn’t push into being confining as it can be in expensive speed demons.  The fabric is not exactly uptown or soft touch, but it’s tough and ought to last and keep its shape.  The rear cargo area - with the rear seat up - is more generous than one would think, fitting 3 suitcases of various sizes

Its exterior looks that are not slab sided and utilitarian makes it more noticeable than other cars under the VW umbrella of families.  That could also account for why they decided to brand it apart from Seat, of which it now sort of a subset.  It almost picks up cues from some Ford products – much like recent Mustangs up front and somewhat like an Escape in the rear and sides … and Nissan in terms of its greenhouse and moulding appliques.  Yet, it is still very much its own vehicle.

I really came to like the Cupra Formentor.  One day wasn’t enough.  I would have liked it for a few more days compared to more time spent in the preceding Citroen C5 and VW T-Cross.

I felt more comfortable and had more fun with this newly reformulated and upgraded Cupra model than I did in the BMW Gran Coupe 2 (an upgrade I didn’t ask for) I had for 4 days last summer.  The BMW has slightly better road manners, but this one is easier to get used to and live with all the way around.

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PHOTOS FORTHCOMING

[Robert Hall]

Very strange name, at least to Anglophones... named after a scenic location on Mallorca. 

Maybe they could do a version that is miserable to drive, and call it the Tormentor?

[trinacriabob]

I didn't know that.  I did not know how they got the name.  It sounds like something fermenting.  I have been to Mallorca once ... turquoise waters ... and a pipeline to/from Germany.  Can't say I liked the Mallorcans much compared to the noticeably friendlier locals in Spain's Canary Islands - a "suburb" of Morocco and darker Atlantic Ocean water.

I had a friend in Portland who would jokingly say "make holiday mit der Deutsch."  Their English saying for going on vacation is "make holiday."

Actually, I find the name Cupra sort of weird.

[Robert Hall]

'Cupra' is Latin for copper..maybe that is where they got it.   It's also an ancient Etruscan fertility goddess.    Cupra the car brand started as a performance trim level on SEAT cars in the 90s, and as the name of their race team.   Kind of like M, V-, SVT or SRT, but then became it's own brand more recently.   Another one of VWAG's many brands.

Edited August 19 by Robert Hall

[trinacriabob]

Ouch!!!

I had meant to say 120 to 130 KM per hr. 

That's about 75 to 80 mph, give or take.  It was late when I wrote this.

[trinacriabob]

EXTERIOR PHOTOS

Side view - not slab sided, but sculpted ... nice alloy wheels that have some "motion" incorporated into the design

Angled rear view - seen in the Southeastern Sicilian countryside

Rear view - the pleasing lines continue and it looks good from all vantage points

Front view - I see a little bit of Mustang here - a little bit - and others might see something else

One of its exterior lighting features is to shine the Cupra logo from the base of the outside rearview mirrors

[trinacriabob]

INTERIOR PHOTOS

The view upon getting in from the driver's side - a little bit of sand on a seat is to be expected in these parts

The view upon getting in from the passenger's side

The extent of the dashboard as seen from the center of the rear seat

The main instrument cluster has nice graphics and does not have the "twin" dials we are used to seeing - device information such as music and more would have been in the right panel

The console is "intelligent" in all ways - I liked the placement of the switches and controls ... and operating them

This is a close-up of the controls on the steering wheel and the steering wheel itself feels great with the material, the stitching, etc.

The door switches are fairly standard and there is some sculpting and stitching in the interior of the door panels

This is an excellent place to put this module and the way it's consolidated is handy

This shows the shape and the fabric of the driver's seat

With an unusually shaped window in the rear quarter panel, the pillar isn't too intrusive and visibility is acceptable

This shows the amount of space in the rear seat and some of its features and accessories

This is the driver's side at night with the orange sweep of illumination across the top of the dash onto the door

This is the passenger's side at night with the orange sweep of illumination across the top of the dash onto the door

The trunk or rear storage space is more than acceptable with the rear seat up

This shows the luggage that this configuration can take, with additional room on top of it for smaller items before closing the rear hatch and having the cover hide the contents

MECHANICAL PHOTO

Organized engine bay for this small but capable turbocharged engine with clear access points to fluids, simple to service battery location, and conventional prop rod

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 END OF PHOTOS

[Drew Dowdell]

I suppose it is supposed to look like a gaming laptop inside.  It seems marketed to that kinda crowd. 

[G. David Felt]

The interior makes me think boy racer.