Find your perfect new car<\/span>![](\"https:\/\/media.autoexpress.co.uk\/image\/private\/s--xLRUiXLB--\/f_auto,t_content-image-full-mobile@1\/v1702297739\/autoexpress\/2023\/12\/Cupra%20Formentor%20LT%20final%20report-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAnd just like our ex-associate editor, I\u2019ve also found the tailgate has a mind of its own. Sometimes I\u2019ll press the bumper-mounted button above the number plate, and while the boot will unlatch, it takes an additional forced prod for the hatch to open. Using the key mitigates this, but it\u2019s an unwanted frustration when your hands are loaded with shopping, or \u2013 as I found out last weekend \u2013 a six-foot Christmas tree.<\/p>\n
And then there\u2019s the fuel economy. As mentioned above, this Cupra is, too all intents and purposes, a rebodied, higher riding Golf R. That means it has 306bhp and 400Nm of torque at its disposal, fed to both axles. However, with no electrification at all \u2013 not even the mildest of mild-hybrid tech \u2013 it\u2019s a rather thirsty beast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/media.autoexpress.co.uk\/image\/private\/s--2ndlamRb--\/v1683626472\/assets\/partners\/powered-by-motorway_150x70.png\")
\n![](\"https:\/\/pubads.g.doubleclick.net\/gampad\/ad?iu=\/359\/impcount.co.uk&sz=1x1&t=creative%3DAEXMotorwayWidgetApril2022&c=%%CACHEBUSTER%%\")
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I\u2019ve averaged around 31mpg over some 2,000 miles, but seen as little as 18mpg on short urban journeys. Some may consider that a fair trade-off for the performance on offer, but when you\u2019re used to charging at home \u2013 even on a normal domestic tariff of 31p\/kWh, brimming from empty to full for \u00a384 is a tough pill to swallow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s definitely made me miss my old EV. On that journey up to Cumbria, I had to stop to fuel the Cupra three times. Assuming I\u2019d have been able to charge my MG at a hotel overnight, I reckon there\u2019s a good chance I\u2019d have spent less time \u2013 and almost certainly less money \u2013 filling the Chinese hatchback with electric charge than I did topping up the Cupra with unleaded. Especially when you add in the fact that, over 650 miles and almost 12 hours at the wheel, I needed more than the odd comfort break. Time that could have been spent charging, as well as filling my face with food.<\/p>\n
So while I have enjoyed my time with the Cupra, my next EV can\u2019t come soon enough.<\/p>\n
Cupra Formentor VZN: second\u00a0report<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/media.autoexpress.co.uk\/image\/private\/s--TeJGNkNi--\/f_auto,t_content-image-full-mobile@1\/v1696330530\/autoexpress\/2023\/10\/Cupra%20Formentor%20second%20report.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
The Cupra Formentor is earning its wings, but pre-flight checks frustrate\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n- Mileage: <\/strong>2,739<\/li>\n
- Economy: <\/strong>32.3mpg<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
I like my Cupra Formentor long-termer, I really do. But after a few months I\u2019ve found one really big issue that\u2019s put it into the danger zone \u2013 for me, at least.<\/p>\n
Maybe it\u2019s due to the hoops Euro NCAP makes manufacturers jump through to get the highest safety ratings, but the Formentor\u2019s assistance systems always default to on once you restart the car. This means I have to do my best fighter-pilot impression and go through a number of pre-flight checks before I feel ready to take off in the Cupra.<\/p>\n
Firstly, I have to push the end of the indicator stalk to pull up the driver-assist menu. Then I have to deselect the lane assist, because on the country roads to my golf club (not very Top Gun, I know) it\u2019s forever pushing me towards the verge on the narrow lanes of my route. Then I have to opt for the speed limiter instead of the adaptive cruise because I like the hard deck limit to make sure I stick to the right speed in towns and villages.<\/p>\n
After this, I have to then toggle back to my chosen view on the digital dash by pushing the \u2018View\u2019 button three times to return to the layout with the rev counter in the centre. At least all of this tech and info on show makes you feel just a little bit like you\u2019re in a fighter jet, but the problems are just another extension of the poor user interface in this generation of VW Group cars. With VW rectifying these problems with its new ID.3 (and others), I\u2019m hoping that Cupra\u2019s facelift for its Formentor will help too.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been really enjoying the car\u2019s sportiness recently, though \u2013 so much so that, just like Maverick, I often feel the need for speed. As with the F-14 Tomcat that starred in the film, the Cupra is agile for its size, and threading it through some tight bends I sometimes forget that this is a family SUV, it\u2019s that much fun to drive. But the ride is also great in Comfort mode \u2013 in fact, I had my dad in the car the other day and he commented on the Formentor\u2019s refined feel when it comes to how it deals with bumps.<\/p>\n
However, it\u2019s hasn\u2019t all been clear skies for the Cupra. I\u2019ve struggled with the remote boot release on the keyfob. Maybe it\u2019s me double locking the car when I leave it parked up, but returning to it with armfuls of bags and other items \u2013 when you need the convenience of the remotely-operated and powered tailgate the most \u2013 it seems hit and miss as to whether it will work. As I say, it\u2019s probably user error, so I\u2019ll investigate further.<\/p>\n
Another problem presented itself just the other day, when the Formentor was subject to a strike by some Foreign Object Debris, as they say in the aviation world. In other words, a stray nut on the M25 was flicked up by a car in the middle lane. It then bounced up and smacked into the Cupra\u2019s windscreen as I was cruising in the inside lane. It made the most almighty crack \u2013 not just when it came to the sound, but also the damage to the windscreen, which I will have to get sorted quickly.<\/p>\n
Cupra Formentor VZN: first report<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n
The Cupra Formentor has joined our fleet and is full of bright ideas<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Mileage: <\/strong>1,659<\/li>\n
- Economy: <\/strong>30.1mpg<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Sometimes a second chance can be a brilliant opportunity. I remember the first Cupra Formentor Auto Express ran on its fleet some 18 months ago: a 1.5 TSI 150 in a lower-spec trim level. I liked it, but there was something missing for me.<\/p>\n
As good as it looked, as nice as it was to drive and as well as it covered all the bases a family SUV needs to, it never quite wowed me. Not so with this new Formentor that\u2019s just pulled into the office car park.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not because it has more power, even though the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine\u2019s 306bhp means the Cupra lives up to its sporty billing in terms of performance. No, this time the Cupra has grabbed my attention with its near-premium level of quality and some cool features \u2013 and on the latter point, the use of light is a big one.<\/p>\n
I like the LED lighting signature at the front and rear of the car. The thin strips of bright white and glowing red at either end of the Formentor give a hi-tech look. I also like the puddle lights from the door mirrors, even if I still can\u2019t quite work out what the depiction of the Cupra logo picked out on the pavement is meant to represent? To me, the brand\u2019s badge looks like either an action hero\u2019s helmet-clad head (think Wolverine from X-Men) or one of those dead animal skulls people sometimes put in glass cases.<\/p>\n
Inside, the neat use of LEDs continues. The strip that encircles the front of the cabin on the dash is a nice feature. Depending on the mode, it changes colour (or you can set it to a preferred option in the menu), and it\u2019s a good visual clue as to which setting you\u2019re in if you\u2019ve been playing with the drive mode button on the steering wheel.<\/p>\n
In Cupra mode, the LED bar shines red and elongates from the centre towards each extreme of the dash panel, stretching further the more throttle you use. It is a bit of a gimmick, and I don\u2019t like the artificial engine note in Cupra, so I prefer the Individual setting with the \u201cPure\u201d exhaust note instead.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
I also like the way the LED bar turns orange on either the driver\u2019s or passenger\u2019s door to warn you of a car in your blind spot \u2013 it\u2019s a nice touch. However, despite the Formentor\u2019s rakish look, rear three-quarter visibility isn\u2019t actually that bad.<\/p>\n
When it comes to light, one area I\u2019m not so enamoured with is the glow from the infotainment screen in the evening. Even when dimmed it\u2019s too bright, and there doesn\u2019t seem to be a night mode for the display, which is annoying, because the bright white glow from the sat-nav\u2019s map can be very distracting. I\u2019ve already taken to using Android Auto anyway, because the Cupra\u2019s native system is far from the best.<\/p>\n
On the subject of tech, I also had to chuckle when I first hooked up my phone to the Formentor\u2019s Bluetooth. The system comes up as \u201cMy SEAT 9010\u201d, so as much as Cupra is a standalone brand, there are still clues as to its heritage.<\/p>\n
While I like the look of the headlight signature, and even though the high-spec VZN trim features matrix-LED units, they don\u2019t seem to be quite as bright or as powerful as those in the Audi that I ran previously. Still, being able to flick the left-
\nhand stalk on to full beam and let the car take care of the rest \u2013 not dazzling oncoming drivers but still keeping the road ahead illuminated \u2013 has been great, especially in the atrocious weather we faced in July.<\/p>\n
On another point of comparison with the Audi SQ5 I ran, it\u2019s easy to identify Cupra\u2019s positioning as somewhere between mainstream and genuinely premium. The Formentor feels much nicer than a VW Golf inside, for example, but it still can\ufffd\ufffd\ufffdt quite match up to Audi\u2019s standard when it comes to material quality in the cabin. Most of the plastics (such as the nice dash panel) are soft, and the seats are great, but there are a few areas where it feels like there\u2019s been some money saved in the Formentor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, even at \u00a346,210 for this VZN car (pricey, I know), which comes loaded with premium kit, there\u2019s a good 20 grand between it and the most affordable SQ 5 Sportback on sale. I don\u2019t think anyone would feel short changed by the Cupra when viewed like that.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n| Model:<\/td>\n | Cupra Formentor 2.0 TSI 310 4Drive VZN<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| On fleet since:<\/td>\n | July 2023<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Price new:<\/td>\n | \u00a348,270<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Engine:<\/td>\n | 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo petrol, 306bhp<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| CO2\/tax:<\/td>\n | 193g\/km\/\u00a3180<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Options:<\/td>\n | Mountain Green metallic paint (\u00a3270)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Insurance*:<\/td>\n | Group: 33\/Quote: \u00a3717<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Mileage:<\/td>\n | 4,985<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Economy:<\/td>\n | 30.9mpg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| Any problems?<\/td>\n | Cracked windscreen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n *Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.<\/em><\/p>\nSource: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Final report: did this hot SUV tempt our EV evangelist back to petrol power? 3.5 out of 5 How we<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n Cupra Formentor VZN long-term test: a fun but thirsty family car - AutoMotoBuzz.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automotobuzz.com\/car-reviews\/cupra-formentor-vzn-long-term-test-a-fun-but-thirsty-family-car\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cupra Formentor VZN long-term test: a fun but thirsty family car - AutoMotoBuzz.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Final report: did this hot SUV tempt our EV evangelist back to petrol power? 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<\/p>\n