Fleet World Fleet: Cupra Formentor V2 1.5TSi 150ps DSG

We have a brush with a shifty character and test the Formentor’s load carrying for the holiday season. By Luke Wikner.

P11d £33,185 BiK: 36% Economy 41.3mpg CO2 emissions 155g/km On Fleet 43.4mpg

Report 5:

Everything in the Cupra feels well made, while its looks continue to garner attention

A strange thing happened the other week. I was parking the Formentor on the street in central London and noticed a suspicious-looking character wandering around with an electronic device… somewhere between a phone and a tablet in size. I didn’t think too much about it until I then noticed him seemingly following me, still holding said device, and trying to stand near me while pretending to cross the road, but not actually crossing the road himself. Basically, loitering near me.

Fleets will no doubt have read a reasonable amount in the last few years about vehicles with keyless entry (such as our Cupra) and recommendations to place their keys – when not in use – in a ‘Faraday pouch’ so signals from the keys can’t be relayed or amplified by the more nefarious members of society. So, after parking the car in a different location, and being glad to find it still there, present, correct and locked upon my return, I resolved to get a Faraday pouch for the key to make the car as secure as possible.

Using the Formentor on an everyday basis, keyless entry definitely makes it more user-friendly, and I’ve lost count of the number of times this has been beneficial while carrying either shopping or work paraphernalia. The boot isn’t electronically operated though… for that, another £3k would be needed to upgrade to the VZ1, which would seem a little extravagant just to save your shoulder a bit of exercise.

That said, the VZ1 trim is only available starting at 245bhp so this could have some appeal given that it only adds 1% to the BiK tax band figure. For the record, and as we’ve said before, our model commands a just-below-the-top-rate 36%.

The boot has proved a very useable size and shape too. As holiday season has been upon us, various airport runs filled to the gunwales or a very occasional trip with two or three sets of golf clubs have been dispatched with relative ease.

Driving the Formentor everyday, you tend to forget that those 19-inch ‘Exclusive’ machined sport matt black and silver alloy wheels confer a somewhat firm ride and this is probably less noticeable in the Cupra too as the seats are brilliant and everything feels so well made and devoid of squeaks. I should qualify this by saying that I haven’t driven a Cupra Formentor on the smaller and slightly less dramatic looking 18-inch ‘Performance’ wheels back-to-back but I imagine they would prove slightly more compliant. Also, while recently driving a 2016 Honda Civic i-DTEC with 90,000 miles on the clock, back-to-back with the Cupra, it struck me how much softer the Honda felt, despite a few unwelcome cabin squeaks. In contrast, the only chirp from the Formentor in the last few weeks has been the over-zealous tyre pressure monitoring system, which proved to be a false alarm, and was easily reset.

The Formentor’s voice assist proves less distracting when activated from the steering wheel controls

Report 4:

Another 800 miles in Cupra’s is-it-a-coupe-is-it-an-SUV-is-it-a-crossover? Formentor over the last few weeks and I have finally relented and switched off the incredibly sensitive voice assist! I don’t mind a little intervention from modern cars – as editor John Challen referenced in the latest issue of Fleet World (July 2023) – but this was just getting too much.

If I’m having a conversation with a passenger, I don’t normally expect every other sentence to be interrupted with “What would you like to do?” or some such pleasantries. Singing along to a particular song, heading to a supplier recently on the motorway, seemed to have the same effect. Possibly because a line in it sounded similar to the “Hola, hola” prompt to wake up the voice assist. However, the function can still be accessed via the multi-function steering wheel, which is much better for my concentration (read, sanity) and overall safety.

Why am I dwelling on an issue that might seem trivial to some? Well, the Formentor is just so able in every other respect that I’ve resorted to nit-picking in an effort to provide some balance. The reality is, it’s hard to fault as an ICE-powered company car. It may not be able to provide the ultra-low Benefit-in-Kind tax that the latest PHEVs and BEVs offer (£199 per month in BiK vs £13 per month for our previous Cupra Born, for a 20% taxpayer) but it is on a par with rival ICE vehicles in this respect.

By way of further comparison, Formentor in plug-in hybrid guise commands a 12% BiK tax rate (against 36% for our 1.5 TSI 150ps DSG model and 34% for the manual version) and would save a company car driver around £130 per month in BiK, despite a P11D price north of £40k. There are also 2.0 TSI 190hp, 245hp and 310hp versions, all with DSG only. In short, fleets have several options in the Cupra range to choose from to suit their individual requirements (and tax liabilities).

One final point on the styling, which I referenced in our first report. A colleague’s 12-year-old vehicle-savvy son posed a question about our long-term test car, asking why all family cars sold today don’t look as ‘cool’ as the Cupra. I know styling and kerb-appeal is hugely subjective but I didn’t really have an answer for him. Perspectives like this bode well for the brand though, especially as there will be ICE-powered Formentors vying for user-chooser attention for a long time to come.

Cupra’s Formentor continues to impress

Report 3:

I said in my previous report that since hitting 2,000 miles in the Formentor, it had freed up noticeably – and so this continues, with that average mpg figure nudging even higher than the official WLTP benchmark.

A thousand miles on and my admiration for the Cupra as an all-rounder continues to grow. Familiarity is breeding content and I’m now used to the relatively firm ride and am still enjoying the terrifically supportive front seats.

In fact, the interior as a whole is an excellent place to be. Stylised, for sure, but ergonomically straightforward and everything is where it should be. As on other Cupras (and some rivals’ touchscreens) the lack of actual buttons for the infotainment will polarise opinion but once you get used to this, it becomes second nature.

I’m still not entirely convinced the sat-nav takes me the optimum route each time – frequently opting for the long route (because it’s a millisecond shorter in time) and occasionally getting confused by new road layouts too.

It sounds like a minor gripe but I think Google Maps on my phone does a better job, so I find myself sanity-checking there for unfamiliar journeys.
A couple of those trips recently have involved 6-footers in the back seats, where both head and legroom are as they should be. Another feather in the Formentor’s all-rounder cap.

Cupra’s distinctive badge is gaining recognition

Report 2:

Having driven Cupra models of one form or another for the last three years or so, it still surprises me, despite my best efforts, how uninitiated the general public are about the brand. Sure, there is a growing recognition, and the styling and in particular the distinctive Cupra logo almost always meet universal approval, but cars like the Formentor still seem a little under the radar. This is even more surprising given the increasing numbers I keep seeing on the roads.

That suits me fine, and represents a welcome departure from the more ubiquitous premium brands, and it most definitely feels premium. 2,000 miles into the Formentor’s time with us, it’s still great to drive and, if the upwardly-mobile mpg figure is anything to go by, the 1.5-litre engine is loosening up nicely. A recent journey saw nearly 60mpg which was pretty unexpected, but most drivers will likely return 35-40mpg on a daily mixed-usage basis.

The 150ps engine is a good match for the 7-speed DSG automatic gearbox, though with five-up and laden with kit, the Formentor can feel a little flat when accelerating near the motorway speed limit. It’s a minor point, and no doubt the extra oomph of the 190ps 4Drive model higher up the range would solve this issue, but then it should do for an extra £3k initial outlay.

And talking of issues, I’ve tried to subdue to the voice control that keeps joining in with my conversations, without success. More fine-tuning is required there, but no doubt it will turn out to be operator error. Much like when I recently parked under a tree full of birds, and realised that Nevada White looks a lot better when it’s clean.

The Formentor’s styling still looks as sharp as when it first arrived on UK roads.

Report 1:

After nine months behind the wheel of a fully electric Cupra, life with an ICE vehicle – even one as accomplished as the Formentor – take a little adjusting.

Gone are the absolutely silent early morning cold starts, while route planning around chargepoints has also temporarily been consigned to the history books. In their place, non-electronic fuel receipts, zero range anxiety and a significantly higher BiK tax proposition.

Having run a Formentor plug-in hybrid 18 months ago, I’m very familiar with Cupra’s first all-new model, and the styling, particularly in our test car’s ‘Nevada White’, still looks as crisp as when it first hit UK roads. And lots hits the road too, testament to genuine user-chooser appeal, strong practicality and excellent standard equipment for drivers.

In mid-range V2 trim here – and likely the most popular fleet-friendly spec – leather seats are standard, alongside a 12-inch infotainment system (whose voice control is somewhat over-eager to get involved), sat nav, reversing camera and a host of other active and passive safety systems.

V2 trim also means sharp-looking machine-cut 19-inch alloys as standard, which are a boon for the looks, but make the ride firmer than it probably needs to be.

The Formentor certainly feels taut and well-made though, giving it a genuinely premium feel.

For more of the latest industry news, click here.