Cupra Formentor, Ateca and Leon launch locked in

Volkswagen Group’s Cupra brand has officially announced its Australian launch line-up that will arrive in the second quarter of 2022 with three models – the Leon small hatch, Ateca small-medium SUV and the flagship Formentor coupe-style mid-size SUV.

The first wave of models from the Spanish performance car brand will each include petrol engines with more than 220kW of power and, for the Cupra Leon and Formentor, 180kW plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variants.

These are on track to be the first electrified vehicles from the Volkswagen Group Australia stable – not including its premium Audi subsidiary – as the Volkswagen and Skoda brands remain without PHEVs or electric cars for the time being.

In the 2022 Cupra Leon (pronounced lay-on), the combustion-engine range will be headlined by a 221kW/400Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch auto.

Driving the front wheels, the hot hatch can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 5.7 seconds, on its way to a 250km/h top speed.

Lower-output 180kW and 140kW variants will also be available, while the plug-in hybrid combines a 110kW/250Nm 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine with an 85kW/330Nm lithium-ion battery for a combined 180kW/400Nm.

Using a six-speed dual-clutch auto, the PHEV will reach 100km/h in a claimed 6.7sec, has a 225km/h V-max, offers a circa-50km electric range and fuel economy as low as 1.2L/100km on the combined cycle (WLTP).

The 2022 Cupra Ateca will be offered with a single model variant with all-wheel drive and the 221kW 2.0-litre turbo/seven-speed DSG combo.

The 2022 Cupra Formentor, meanwhile, is tipped to be the brand’s best-seller here (as is the case in Europe) and, like the Leon, will launch with three petrol and one PHEV powertrain option.

These include a 228kW/400Nm version of the 2.0-litre turbo with seven-speed DSG and AWD – good for a 4.9sec 0-100km/h dash – as well as a 180kW front-drive version and a 140kW AWD opener.

The Formentor PHEV powertrain is the same as that used in the Leon, with a combined 180kW/400Nm, but the bigger, heavier body blunts its performance slightly.

Local pricing and specs for the Cupra line-up are still to be announced, however Volkswagen Group Australia confirmed that “it is envisaged that the Cupra range’s recommended retail pricing will start just north of $40,000 and finish just above $60,000”.

Every Cupra is tipped to be a proper performance-flavoured model, with equipment such as Brembo brakes, sports bucket seats and powertrain-specific exhaust systems, as well as ‘signature features’ that include copper highlights and slick matte-finish paint as an option.

The wagon variant of the Leon sold in New Zealand and the UK will not form part of the Australian launch line-up, while the fully-electric Cupra Born hatchback remains under consideration.

A spokesperson said discussions were underway to get the Cupra Born to Australia.

“Electric vehicles will form an important part of the Cupra range in the future,” he said.

Volkswagen Group Australia is also using the launch of Cupra to begin using an agency sales model, as seen with Honda and Mercedes-Benz.

You won’t find Cupra models in Volkswagen dealerships, nor will you find dedicated Cupra dealerships popping up around town.

Instead, the Spanish brand will sell its vehicles online and via “highly visible pop-up sales points and outlets”, such as shopping centres and retail strips.

“There will be dedicated Cupra outlets, so we’re looking at a slightly different model,” said Cupra Australia’s newly-appointed brand director Ben Wilks.

“We’ll talk more about that going forward, but it’s not necessarily the traditional dealership model.

“We want to find best and most convenient way to reach the customer, so if that’s closer to where they are or if that means accessing the customer by going to them directly from a store, all of that is what we’re looking at.”

Dedicated team members, known as ‘Cupra Masters’, will represent the brand as a single point of contact for customers throughout the purchasing process.

When it comes to vehicle servicing for Cupra models, however, Wilks says that’s something that’ll “definitely” be done through the Volkswagen Group network. 

All Cupra models will be covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre factory warranty.

According to Wilks, the youthful car-maker’s target market is broad – somewhere in the “space between mass and premium” markets.

It’s a sentiment shared by VGA communications chief Paul Pottinger, who says cannibalisation “isn’t a concern” and that Cupra, while it’ll be priced similarly to Volkswagen models, is a completely separate brand and not designed to be positioned above or below.

“We’ve done our homework – there’s plenty of room to move,” Pottinger said of Cupra potentially stealing sales from other the VGA brands.

“I actually think [Cupra customers] will be people coming from more interesting Japanese brands and also coming from the European prestige brands.

“Between those price parameters, there’s not a lot that’s really interesting – and there’s certainly not a lot of performance SUVs. We’re bringing a bunch of them.”