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By Jonathan Crouch

We like the CUPRA Formentor. But will it be as appealing in e-Hybrid PHEV form? Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 61

The CUPRA performance brand struck out on its own with the Formentor, a lively Spanish take on the mid-sized performance SUV concept. This Coupe-Crossover will be a rare sight on our roads - and even rarer in this PHEV e-Hybrid plug-in form, but it deserves serious consideration from anyone prioritising efficiency and wanting something just a little different in this segment.

Backgroundword count: 193

You'll might possibly know the 'CUPRA' brand name, but probably only as a sporty trim designation dating all the way back to 1996 and used on a whole string of SEAT Ibiza and Leon hot hatches. Now, parent company SEAT wants CUPRA to mean more, creating, in its words, 'a range of unique, sophisticated performance models designed to captivate car enthusiasts'. The CUPRA Formentor was the first of them and it's arguably at its most interesting in this e-Hybrid PHEV guise. The Spanish CUPRA nameplate, a pormanteau word encompassing 'Cup' and 'Racing', has actually been a separate marque within the Volkswagen Group since 2018, but its first products were merely sporty versions of existing SEAT models, first the rather underwhelming CUPRA Ateca, then more recently the CUPRA Leon. This Formentor, in contrast, is this marque's first stand-alone model, the first of several designs that will, the VW conglomerate hopes, make this brand a kind of Iberian Alfa Romeo - the kind of thing SEAT was always supposed to be but never really was. But can those kinds of ambitions be realised with the extra weight and complexity of a PHEV system on board?

Driving Experienceword count: 203

Rather curiously, none of the Formentor's conventional powertrain options incorporate the Volkswagen Group's latest mild hybrid technology. For any kind of engine electrification at all in this CUPRA, you've to stretch to an e-Hybrid variant which offers plug-in hybrid tech, only available with front wheel drive. As with the CUPRA Leon e-Hybrid, what you get here is a tried and tested VW Group PHEV package, though in the Formentor, it comes in a de-tuned 204PS guise as well as in Golf GTE-style 245PS form. Either way, a 150PS 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine is mated to a 6-speed DSG auto gearbox and an 85kW electric motor powered by a 13kWh lithium-ion battery with a WLTP-rated all-electric driving range quoted at 34 miles. Which of course you won't get anywhere near if you explore the quoted all-electric top speed of 80mph or start trying to throw the thing around too much (an extra kerb weight addition of up to 60kgs over a conventionally-engined Formentor discourages you from doing that anyway). Try and stretch to the 245PS e-Hybrid variant if you can, which gets torque boosted from 350 to 400Nm without any detriment to driving range, improving the 0-62mph time from 7.8s to 7 seconds dead.

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