One of the most anticipated cars of the year has also arrived on the screens of techprincess, on which we have lost count of your requests to try it. Finally, we put it to the test with a nice one test drive CUPRA Formentor, the first original model of the very young Spanish company. We then had the opportunity to try a Formentor … normal, equipped with the 1.5 TSI and 150 CV, the attack version of the range. Despite this, however, CUPRA Formentor turned out to be one of the cars that I liked the most in recent years, and that I really struggled to deliver. Because? I’ll tell you everything in the complete CUPRA Formentor test drive.
The Formentor phenomenon: likes, sells and convinces
Before talking about our Formentor, we cannot fail to talk about the success that this model is having, in Italy as in Europe. In fact, although it is the first model of a house that did not even exist up to 4 years ago, today seeing a CUPRA Formentor on the street is not a coincidence, quite the contrary. For example, in my CUPRA Formentor test drive I saw about fifteen “little sisters” plowing through the Italian roads. And it’s not just my perception, because the success of this model is tangible and verified by truly exceptional numbers.
Between January and September 2021, in fact, CUPRA has sold just under 38,000 Formentors across Europe, a number that, counting the entire industrial life of the model, launched at the end of 2020, reaches almost 45,000 units in less than a year. This incredible success is also evidenced by the wait it takes to buy one, which lasts up to 6 months: the first original CUPRA in history is conquering everyone. This is thanks to a truly successful line, which we will discuss shortly, which however does not affect the substance. Formentor, as we shall see, is a ‘car that cares about style but does it without sacrificing usability in everyday life. His ability to to combine the world of SUVs with that of sportiness then he made it a cool object, which is liked and enjoyed.
Finally, one of the great merits of Formentor is that of offer two plug-in hybrid engines in a medium-sized car. The Formentor e-Hybrid, in fact, is in the top 5 of plug-in hybrid cars in Italy, and permanently in the monthly top 10 in Europe.. Thanks to the success of Formentor, CUPRA is continuing to expand: a few months ago the second new model arrived, the electric Born, and soon other models of the Cupra Tribe will arrive, including the Tavascan sporty SUV. Thanks to such well-chosen models, the CUPRA brand is also becoming a phenomenon of costume. Its dealerships, indeed, the Garages are lifestyle places, where you can buy clothing, accessories and cars, and by buying a CUPRA you enter the CUPRA Tribe, a tribe that makes you feel part of something special.
From the outside, the CUPRA Formentor strikes at first glance: is it the most beautiful SUV around?
But what is so special about this CUPRA Formentor? I understood it as soon as I saw it live, ready to get scrambled on my test drive: CUPRA Formentor hits you as soon as you set eyes on it. These muscular, powerful lines, at times almost tamarre but never ending in the tacky, they also fascinate those who are not in the least interested in cars. Formentor turns the heads of passersby in the city center, it is indicated on the motorway with amazement, I even caught a few people photographing it.
In fact, Formentor has in my opinion a very important merit: it is the first SUV that even those who just can’t see SUVs like it. The merit is also of the generous dimensions, with one length of 4.45 m it’s a width of 1.85 m, but above all combined withheight of only 151 cm. To be clear, in fact, a car of the same segment as Volkswagen Tiguan is 16 cm highera, and so are almost all rivals of the same segment. In fact, the Formentor looks like a slightly grown sporty compact, and thanks to the perfect proportions it is objectively well designed and splendid to look at.
The front is in fact aggressive and personal, with the trapezoidal front mouth that proudly flaunts the CUPRA logo in bronze color, or rather, copper in the center. We also find copper in the details of the 19-inch wheels, in the rear logo and inside, with finishes in CUPRA’s signature Copper color. Belli i Full LED headlights, elusive and sleek, with round fog lights that add that rally car je ne sais quoi. Laterally, my favorite aesthetic detail is discovered: the hood. Long, very long, muscular: looks like that of a longitudinal engine car, and gives an incomparable sporty appearance. They are also successful and harmonized with the rest of the lines the cockpit set back and the windshield slanted, while the rear does not lose a shred of personality and uniqueness.
Beautiful i very rounded and muscular wheel arches, as well as the steeply sloping rear window, the generously sized spoiler and the light-bar, the light bar that includes all the optical groups, LED and with dynamic tracking arrows. The only thing that hasn’t driven me crazy is the discharges fake: on the more powerful versions they are real, here they are fictitious. Sin. The exhausts, however, are the only real way to be able to distinguish a “normal” Formentor from the more powerful 300 or 390 hp versions.. If for someone it can be a problem, for me it is a big one merit: you don’t have to choose the most powerful versions to be beautiful! The tailgate only sports the CUPRA logo but… the name Formentor is not written anywhere?
IIn reality, there is only one place, or rather two, where you can find the model name: here, inside the rear light. A treat to use at the bar with friends. In fact, I’ll give you another one. Do you know why it is called Formentor? CUPRA has decided to pay homage to the Head of Formentor, a small peninsula on the island of Mallorca, of which it is the western tip. Anyone who has been to Mallorca knows this place, because it is believed to be one of the most beautiful on the whole island. And just like the Capo from which it takes its name, Formentor is extremely successful from an aesthetic point of view. Objectively well designed and personal, the CUPRA model is currently one of the most beautiful SUVs around, capable of making you feel special. But is it really the most beautiful? We leave this to you below in the comments.
The interior of CUPRA Formentor: the blue leather amazes, the quality reassures
While Formentor on the outside is personal, unique and exciting, the music doesn’t change inside. Compared to the cars of the Volkswagen Group with which it shares the platform, the mechanics and various on-board technologies, in fact, Formentor has a simple yet refined, personal interior. Makes you feel again part of something special, different from the usual: take for example i seats and the dashboard. Our specimen is equipped with Sports seats upholstered in Petrol Blue leather.
This leather is then carried over on the armrest, in the door panels and even on the dashboard, making the interior of Formentor much more luxurious than you might expect. And then, this blue leather is not only very soft and pleasant to the touch, but also unique: when did you see another car with petrol blue seats? The seats themselves then are extremely comfortable, and are paired with a specific CUPRA steering wheel, sporty and with physical buttons, and with a cockpit with simple and taut lines, but very well cared for. Compared to the outside, here the lines are more conventional, but always refined and elegant.
The materials used are of excellent quality wherever your hands and eyes fall, with a nice soft plastic coating on the dashboard, and a very pleasant lounge lighting at night. In addition, the clean central console stands out, even without the gear lever, replaced by the small one selector in the style of Porsche 911 992. Here you will also find the power button, that beats like a hot heart to convince you to turn it on. Speaking of more pragmatic things, space is great in all directions, and even if you are 1.90 m tall as he tells you, the space is really abundant, both in front and behind.
Behind, also with the panoramic glass sunroof (optional at 1,335 euros) the highest ones do not touch the head but only touch, and the space in width is great for two people, only good for three people as per the tradition of the segment. Then there is no shortage four USB Type-C sockets, two in front and two behind, to charge all your devices. In front of the gear selector we then find the housing for the ricarica wireless while in the rear console there are air conditioning vents dedicated to rear passengers. The trunk, then, convinces. Despite the sporty lines, in fact, it scores a volume of 450 liters in 5-seater configuration, which rise to 1.505 folding down the rear seats. Sure, the Tiguan’s 615 liters are a long way off, but for a family’s needs they are more than enough.
CUPRA Formentor technology: level 2 autonomous driving, huge touch screen and wireless mirroring
Before talking to you about how to drive our Formentor, which I can’t wait to do, let’s briefly see the excellent technological equipment of the Spanish car. CUPRA has in fact equipped Formentor with all the driving assistance systems present among the medium-sized cars of the Volkswagen Group to which it belongs. There is therefore no shortage of Adaptive Cruise Control, the active lane maintainer, the automatic emergency braking, the Bilind Spot Monitor, the Traffic Jam Assist for autonomous driving in case of queues or slowdowns and the rear view camera with parking sensors both in front and behind.
Level 2 autonomous driving is therefore ensured, and I anticipate that all systems are calibrated really well and well matched to engine and gearbox. I then particularly enjoyed the solution designed by CUPRA for LED indicating the blind spot sensor. Instead of inserting an LED in the mirror, in fact, on Formentor yes illuminates a large slice of the LED strip in amber at the base of the front window. This makes this technology less invasive and annoying, but at the same time more visible. And if you are changing lanes without noticing a car in the blind spot, the entire LED strip will flash. Making mistakes, thus, becomes really difficult.
In terms of technology in the cockpit, however, we find a real one in the center of the dashboard surprise. In fact, if the cousins get to have a screen with a maximum diagonal of 10 inches, our Formentor sports a touch screen da ben…