It’s fairly doable that the most recent addition to the Volkswagen Group’s community of automobile manufacturers, Cupra, has but to seize your consideration.
In that case, which may be as a result of – till this week’s street take a look at topic was launched, at the least – it hasn’t completed a lot otherwise from when Seat was deploying its Cupra branding. Till very lately, Cupra’s mannequin vary consisted of go-faster variations of mother-brand Seat’s Ateca and Leon series-production fashions, which, color and trim aside, might simply have been Seat Ateca and Seat Leon Cupras with out anybody noticing.
However with the Formentor – a biggish, high-rised, high-design hatchback that comes with each 4 wheel-drive efficiency and front-driven plug-in hybrid powertrains – Cupra is lastly bringing one thing a bit completely different and all of its personal. That is its first brand-exclusive mannequin, and though it’s based mostly on a standard VW Group platform, it feels very very similar to a brand new and notably distinctive and completely different sort of crossover hatchback.
The explanations for which might be ones we’ll element sooner or later, however suffice to say for now that few instruments obtainable both to the designer or the engineer have been left unused to be able to give substance to the to this point unproven notion that the Cupra model is lastly prepared to offer us genuinely contemporary, interesting and different new automobiles.
Technical specs
Mannequin examined: Formentor
Value: £39,830
Engine: 4cyls, 1984cc, turbocharged, petrol
Transmission: 7-spd dual-clutch computerized
Engine
4cyls, 1984cc, turbocharged, petrol
View all specs and rivals
Transmission
7-spd dual-clutch computerized
Energy
306bhp at 5450-6000rpm
Torque
249lb ft at 2000-5450rpm
Driveline structure
front-engine, front-wheel drive
Energy
306bhp at 5450-6000rpm
Torque
249lb ft at 2000-5450rpm
Driveline structure
front-engine, front-wheel drive
The Formentor line-up at a look
The Formentor mannequin vary might be fleshed out this spring. As these phrases have been written, solely the bottom-rung 1.5-litre and top-level 2.0-litre turbo variations have been obtainable, however they’ll be joined by two lesser-powered 2.0-litre 4Drive derivatives, in addition to two additional front-drive 1.4-litre plug-in hybrids.
