Not so fast or furious, but Formentor V is fabulous

Cupra is Seat’s performance brand, so why has it done a non-performance version of the Formentor? Damien O’Carroll is not sure why, but finds it is rather good.

The entry-level Formentor drops a Z from its name, but it also drops the 228kW engine for a far more reserved 140kW one. Does a nonperformance version hurt the performance brand?

So wait. I thought Cupras were the hot versions of Seats? Shouldn’t this be a Seat then?

Well, in the accepted order of things, yes it probably should be. Early on, the company decided that the Formentor would be a Cupraexclusive model, without Seat versions. But then it slipped a very Seat-like version in under the hotter VZ model as an entry-level option.

So that’s how we get a sexylooking, small SUV with a 140kW/ 320Nm version of the VW Group’s venerable 2.0-litre turbo four, which is plenty for a small SUV, but almost instantly renders the establishment of Cupra as Seat’s performance sub-brand completely pointless.

Still, what it does is give you the sleek looks and quirky ‘‘what the hell is a Cupra Formentor?’’ charm of the thing without having to spend the extra $14k the hot 228kW VZ will cost you. You know, just in case you don’t care about searing performance.

Plus it also means Cupra gets to say that the Formentor range starts at $54,900. So there’s that.

Does it miss all that extra power?

Well, as mentioned, that really does depend on what you are wanting from your small SUV.

If you don’t crave all 228kW of the VZ’s output slamming you along at an exhilarating rate, then the V offers perfectly respectable performance, with the same delightful agility of the hotter Formentor.

The AWD drivetrain ensures you get all 140kW effortlessly down out of corners, and Cupra has nailed the perfect compromise between handling and comfort with its suspension settings.

Throw in some wonderfully calibrated steering with nice levels of feel and feedback, and you get a car that encourages and rewards the keen driver, even though it doesn’t have the outright grunt of its more expensive sibling.

And when it comes to pottering around town, the V is in its element, as is everything with the same engine in the vast VW Group. But as a caveat, there is also that usual VW Group hesitancy at take off due to the combination of the stop-start system and the dual clutch transmission’s uptake.

The biggest fly in the Formentor’s ointment remains the fiddly, unintuitive infotainment system, however and, although you would likely get used to it, it is a silly and unnecessary irritant.

But both these irritations also apply to the VZ, so if you fancy the Formentor looks, but don’t need the extra performance, then the V is almost a no-brainer – after all, the visual differences are limited to the exhaust pipes and wheels. And that last one is easy to change.

Any other cars to consider?

With good interior space and a decent boot, the Formentor V certainly ticks all the right boxes in the small SUV segment, but its price puts it smack bang up against a lot of other vehicles that do the same, including quite a few from within its own family that sit on the same underpinnings.

It is exactly the same price as the top-spec Volkswagen T-Roc with the same powertrain, the top-spec Skoda Karoq (likewise with the same powertrain) is just $2000 more, and the top-spec Seat Ateca FR (yep, you guessed it: same powertrain here too!) is $2000 less. If you wanted more space it also overlaps the lowerspec 2WD Tiguan and Kodiaq models as well.

And that is without mentioning anything from other brands, of which there are plenty of choices. Still, it’s those looks that will win you over.

Or put you off, depending on how you like your small SUVs.