Cupra: Australian range preview

Australia will welcome its newest car brand in the second quarter of next year with the arrival of Cupra, the offshoot of the Volkswagen Group’s Spanish brand SEAT.

As revealed exclusively by carsales in March, before it was announced by Volkswagen Group Australia two weeks ago, the Cupra assault will be led by a trio of models: the VW Golf-size Leon hatchback, the well-rounded Ateca small SUV and the critically acclaimed Formentor coupe-crossover.

Further afield, the all-new Cupra Born electric hatch and a second EV, which is yet to be revealed but will be an SUV, could join the local range.

From launch, all three Cupra models will hit the ground with 180kW plug-in hybrid powertrains – making them the first electrified vehicles from Volkswagen Group Australia (VGA) – as well as 140kW, 180kW and hot 221kW-plus turbo-petrol engines and the option of all-wheel drive.

All Cupras will be sold here with a five-year factory warranty and prices will range from around $40,000 to $60,000.

Without a stand-alone dealer network Down Under, Cupra vehicles will be sold online, through pop-up stores and shops in retail centres and via agencies in established VGA dealerships, where they will also be serviced.

VGA hasn’t yet locked down brand positioning (at least for public consumption), but Cupra regards itself as “not exclusive, but rare”.

If Cupra follows the path of its arms-length parent company in Australia, that “rare” would be the wrong kind of rare, with SEAT’s four-year effort here ending with an ignominious withdrawal in 1999.

Cupra, though, is arriving with the full backing of VGA (SEAT was previously imported here by independent distributor Ateco Automotive) and the new brand is being managed from within VGA’s head office in Sydney.

“The presence of Cupra within VGA perfectly complements the diverse offerings of Volkswagen, Audi and Skoda,” said VGA managing director Michael Bartsch.

Cupra (short for Cup Racing) began life as Seat Sport, but switched to its new branding in 2018 under the management of now-Renault CEO Luca de Meo.

Cupra is on an upward trend from a very low base, selling only 27,400 cars in 2020, though it’s sold that many already this year in Europe alone.

While we will receive all three Cupras, we won’t be getting the best car the brand makes.

The Cupra Formentor VZ5 is effectively a cut-price Audi RS Q3, complete with the trick new Torque Splitter differential from the RS 3 hatch and sedan, in a slightly high-rise crossover body.

It’s demonically quick, with its five-cylinder turbo motor delivering 287kW of power and 480Nm, shoving it to 100km/h in 4.2 seconds.

It also has a drift mode for its AWD system and rides on 20-inch wheels, with big Akebono brake callipers to stop it all.

But only 7000 of them are being made and Cupra’s Australian launch will come too late for it. Instead, here’s what we will get.

After driving all three models back to back, we reckon the Cupra Ateco will be the best all-rounder in the range.

The compromise between its ride and handling is so well balanced that it makes Volkswagen’s efforts with this package seem rather desultory.

The small SUV will offer up to 221kW of power and 400Nm of torque from its 2.0-litre Volkswagen Group turbo-petrol four-cylinder.

So the Ateca is more spritely than its looks, but only because it looks like the most staid of the three Australian-bound Cupras.

It’s all-wheel drive, too, with a 4.9-second sprint to 100km/h and a 247km/h top speed. And it will come standard with 245/40 R19 rubber on 19-inch alloys.

Compared to the Seat Ateca, the Cupra version is far more dynamically engaging, with adaptive chassis control and the option of proper Brembo front brakes.

There is pre-crash assist, predictive adaptive cruise control and a bunch of other things from the Volkswagen Group catalogue.

It’s a mighty practical compact SUV, too, despite measuring just 4.38 metres long, 1.6 metres high and 1.84 metres wide.

Inside, there are Alcantara-clad sports seats, multiple USB ports, a start/stop button and a 9.2-inch digital cockpit as standard, plus voice activation for all of the touch controls.

We’ve already written about the strengths of the heavy-hitting Cupra Formentor 228TSI DSG 4Drive, so here we’re covering the 180kW Formentor VZ e-Hybrid PHEV.

The Formentor is Cupra’s first stand-alone design (although it’s based on the Audi Q3) and it not only brings all of the Spanish brand’s tech goodies but also VGA’s first PHEV powertrain.

Similar to the one available in the Leon, it’s good but a little underwhelming in performance – and not a patch on the five-pot turbo engine in the VZ5.

It combines a 110kW version of VW’s 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, an 85kW electric motor, a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and a 13kWh lithium-ion battery.

Yes, Cupra says the Formentor PHEV runs to 100km/h in seven seconds, but the key claim is that it will deliver up to 55km of pure EV range.

Those figures sound about right based on our testing and, even though it’s front-wheel drive, its handling is easily manageable and it is sharp-ish in its steering.

But there is a bit of torque steer as the electric motor kicks in from rest in the hybrid mode.

The issue is that for all the cool, purposeful looks of the Formentor, the hybrid doesn’t punch as hard as it looks, and that may lead to some disappointment.

The upside to the relative mediocrity of the hybrid powertrain’s straight-line performance (compared to the rest of the Cupra Formentor range) is that it only uses 1.4L/100km of fuel. Assuming, of course, that people recharge the battery frequently.

The interior package is strong, too, and there is plenty of interior space and style, though Cupra has somehow taken the Volkswagen multimedia touch-screen and made it inexplicably more complicated, with more layers and unique symbols.

The issue for the Cupra Formentor on Australian roads may be as per the Leon. Its body is very sternly tied down and ride quality is quite firm.

There will be parts of Australia where the roads won’t feel too compatible with that philosophy, but the Volkswagen monolith has other cars in the arsenal for people who worry about ride comfort.

Still, the Formentor PHEV has plenty of steering bite, corners faithfully and the transmission works smoothly and reliably.

Again, we covered the Cupra Leon 221TSI here, but we haven’t tested the Leon E-Hybrid.

Australia had the option of a 150kW hybrid as well, but will only take the 180kW version, which combines a 110kW 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine with a disc-shaped electric motor and drives the front wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch auto.

It’s also available as a wagon in Europe, but Australia will only get the five-door hatchback, which is based heavily on the Volkswagen Golf Mk8, as is its powertrain.

There’s a 13kWh lithium-ion battery in the rear of the boot floor, delivering 50km/h of claimed EV range, and it charges at just 3.6kW, which means a full charge takes close to four hours via a wallbox, or six hours from a household plug.

The Cupra Leon has different front and rear styling to the Seat version, which Australia doesn’t get so forget we mentioned it. It’s worth saying, though, that it’s 25mm lower at the front and 20mm lower at the rear than the model it’s based on.

The beauty of the plug-in powertrain is that it all works rather invisibly, and it’s frankly impossible to note where the petrol motor stops and the electric motor begins – just like in the Golf hybrid not sold Down Under.

The difference is that the Cupra rides more firmly and corners with more enthusiasm, with a more accurate and communicative steering system.

Whatever the powertrain, though, the Cupra Leon is a very impressive machine and the PHEV’s economy is worth talking about, too.

With between 52km and 55km of EV range (on the WLTP test), it makes the Leon a more than adequate electric car for urban commuting, and it consumes only 1.3L/100km.

That equates to just 29g/km of CO2, but it has the capability of running to 100km/h in 6.7 seconds and all the way out to 225km/h.

Standard equipment includes 19-inch wheels, a 10-inch infotainment system, wireless phone charging and even Nappa leather.

The Cupra Leon PHEV will have hatchback foes aplenty in Australia, but few plug-in rivals and none from sister brands Volkswagen or Skoda.

Related: Cupra Ateca 2022 Review
Related: Cupra Leon 2021 Review
Related: Cupra Formentor 2022 Review