Long-term report: Is Cupra’s Formentor the car to set this Spanish brand apart from Seat?

There certainly aren’t many £30,000 crossovers that have the ability to make heads turn, but after a month or so in ‘my’ new Cupra Formentor, that’s what I’m noticing.

I’d like to say that they are all admiring glances – and in many cases they probably are – but it’s the Cupra badge that seems to make people pay attention. Whether it’s the familiarity of a Volkswagen logo that means just about anybody could identify a Golf, the Cupra attracts puzzled looks as people can’t work out what on Earth it is. I’ve even had a few people come up to me in a car park and ask what the Formentor is.

Though I’ve already established that ‘Cupra’ means little to many, for quite a few you get the response ‘isn’t that just a sporty Seat?’. For a time, it was, and it wasn’t helped by Cupra – at its original launch and split from sibling Spanish brand in 2018 – largely just rebadging Seats and giving them more potent engines.

But the Formentor is of note because it’s the first bespoke model to come from Cupra. There’s no such thing as a Seat Formentor, though plenty of the technology – such as the large touchscreen and full-width LED light bar – is borrowed. Understandably so, too.

It’s why I’m keen to be running a Formentor for the next six months, as I find out if it’s the car to give Cupra that credibility to stand on its own two feet. So far, and also on the basis of how many Formentors there seems to be on the road already (it was launched less than a year ago), I reckon it is.

Cupra had its foundations set on performance, but what makes the Formentor different is that it’s not all about performance. Sure, you can get it with a 306bhp engine from the Audi S3 and VW Golf R, but it’s also available with non ‘sporty’ options – including plug-in hybrids and the standard petrol option that’s in this test car.

It’s a 148bhp 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol that’s widely found in other Volkswagen Group cars, and here comes with a seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox, though a six-speed manual is available too, and is the only Cupra to come with a conventional gearstick.

My Formentor also comes in the mid-range V2 trim, which essentially makes it look like the quickest Formentor, but without any of the – ahem – performance. It means you get smart 19-inch matte black and silver alloy wheels that mirror those in the 300bhp version, and even the same black leather bucket seats.

The list of other equipment it gets as standard is generous too, and includes a large 12-inch touchscreen, digital dials, an electric driver’s seat and a reversing camera. I could go on. In fact, the only option here is the paint colour – the £575 Magnetic Tech Grey shade that brings this Formentor’s price up to £32,980.

The Cupra has already clocked up plenty of miles as well. I got the keys to it at the start of February with a few hundred miles on it, and it’s already up to more than 3,000. I’m based near York and it’s been to Glasgow, Heathrow a few times and also Portsmouth. So quite literally up and down the country.

That many miles can easily show up a car’s negative points, but I’m pleased to say things are largely very positive. Even the ride is proving surprisingly comfortable – something I was slightly concerned about considering the Cupra’s large alloys with such little tyre sidewall.

With plenty more trips planned for the Formentor in the coming weeks, and much of its tech still to explore, let’s see if the Cupra can continue its initial winning streak…