Leaderboard

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. - - - - - PHOTOS FORTHCOMING

You have an AWD Long-Range, you have a lot more power than the RWD models.

Again, horsepower is nearly meaningless for EVs because it is a function of RPM. Spin it fast enough and the horsepower will keep climbing. An EV can have an RPM in the 30,000 rpm range while a DOHC V6 tops out somewhere around 7,000. As you correctly point out, it's the real world performance that matters, but even that is a matter of programming in an EV. They have to limit the output of the motors electronically so you're not draining the batteries in 100 miles. I routinely compare the EV9 to the Tahoe rather than the Telluride because while on the outside, the EV9 and Telluride fit the same silhouette, the EV9 feels a lot roomier and closer to the Tahoe in every dimension besides width. And the Tahoe 5.3 LT (not Z71) has a 0-60 of 7.5 seconds. The Tahoe with the 3.0 Diesel (let's call this the "long-range") is 7.8 seconds. People are still buying Tahoes like crazy, so none of those 0-60 numbers seem out of line for the EV9. Especially when the EV9 GT can do 4.5s, which is ridiculous for a family hauler. But in any case, these aren't drag-strip cars. The low-end torque of being an EV makes them feel effortless around town the same way my Avalanche feels effortless around town without even cresting 2,500 rpm.

If I could find a gently used one with the 2.0T, I think that might be a winner. Actual paint, not a decal or vinyl. In a British state of mind today...

Hahaha okay okay okay... I think they just have two engines, a 1.5T and a 2.0T. That 1.5T is a 3-banger though but the numbers seem "adequate", 181hp/190tq. I wouldn't want that engine, and I'd easily jump to the 2.0T. I had the 2.0T in my former Escape and I liked it a lot.

'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.