Cupra Formentor VZe 2023 Review

Pricing for the Cupra range has gone up and down several times since launch, but at the time of writing the 2023 Cupra Formentor VZe is listed at $64,990 plus on-road costs, with driveaway pricing quoted at between $67,990 (ACT) and $70,990 (WA) and other states sitting in between.

This puts it at a significant premium over the mid-spec Formentor VZ (from $56,990 plus ORCs) and virtually lineball with the flagship, performance-oriented 228kW/400Nm Formentor VZx (from $65,790).

With its elevated pricing, there’s little question that the Cupra Formentor, whatever guise it comes in, has a whiff of premium about it. It nudges rather than directly challenges $60,000-plus mid-sizers such as the upper-end Lexus UX models, Audi Q5 and even the Volvo XC60.

The 2023 Cupra Formentor VZe, whatever its aspirations, suffers a few hits and misses in its standard equipment.

The front seats are unheated and lack electric adjustment, the trim is cloth, not leather, and if you thought a sunroof would be de rigueur in a near-$70,000 SUV, the Formentor’s product planners obviously wouldn’t agree with you.

As it stands, a panoramic sunroof is available as a $2150 option, while leather trim, a 360-degree camera and heated front seats with position memory for the driver (and power adjustment only on the driver’s side too) are included in a $2800 option package.

Not that Cupra has been stingy with the Formentor VZe’s creature comforts. All models across the Formentor range include self-parking capability, a 12-inch infotainment touch-screen, three-zone climate control, heated and folding power mirrors, a heated and leather-clad steering wheel and, for MY24 models, an electric tailgate.

Consistent with the Volkswagen Group, the Cupra Formentor is covered by a five year/unlimited-kilometre warranty but goes a step further by adding a full five years of roadside assistance.

Although Cupra offered three years of free servicing for the Formentor at launch, normality resumed in March 2023 and buyers are now charged fixed-price servicing fees of $990 for three years or $1990 for five years (for petrol-engined models).

The 2023 Cupra Formentor VZe is well covered by a long list of safety technology which includes the usual autonomous emergency braking (AEB), operational at high and low speeds, pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, driver attention detection and tyre pressure monitoring.

There’s also exit assist to warn passengers stepping out of the vehicle of oncoming traffic from behind, as well as the self-parking capability mentioned earlier.

See-around-the-corner fog lamps are also built in, as are self-dipping headlights.

The 10-airbag count is among the highest in the industry and includes the increasingly common front centre airbag as well as a driver’s knee airbag.

The Cupra Formentor scored a full five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2021.

There’s not much missing from the 2023 Cupra Formentor VZe’s collection of cabin technology.

There’s a totality about its equipment list that includes four USB-C ports, wireless smartphone mirroring and charging, Bluetooth, a multifunction steering wheel, customisable 10.25-inch digital cockpit, inbuilt sat-nav on a respectable-size 12.0-inch touch-screen and variable-colour ambient lighting.

The 2023 Cupra Formentor VZe is a plug-in hybrid, supplementing the 110kW/250Nm provided by the 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine – familiar from the Volkswagen Golf, T-Roc and Tiguan – with an 85kW/300Nm electric motor for its 180W/400Nm combined totals.

Drive is sent to the front wheels only through a six-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

Electric power for the 2023 Cupra Formentor VZe is stored in a 12.8kWh lithium-ion battery which, according to the car-maker, is enough to drive the PHEV, emissions-free, for 58km.

Both this and the claimed 1.9L/100km combined-cycle fuel consumption are optimistic figures which we’ll discuss in a moment. Premium 95 RON fuel is also required.

Although the road performance of the 2023 Cupra Formentor VZe is a mere shadow of the VZx with its 4.9sec 0-100km/h sprint, the extra torque fed in by the electric motor means it’s more than just a brisk drive.

With the help of the six-speed dual-clutch automatic – rather than the more common CVT transmissions seen in hybrids – it feels faster than the quoted 7.0sec 0-100km/h time and, although the paddle shifters seem a bit redundant, it continues to feel eager and responsive as speeds rise.

If there are any complaints about the dual-clutch auto it’s that there’s some audible driveline thumping at times, particularly when shifting between forward and reverse gears. There’s also a disconcerting tendency for the car to roll forward or backwards if the accelerator is backed off when moving slowly on even a mild gradient.

Dynamically, the Formentor VZe’s sportiness is unquestioned. The quick, well-weighted steering is supported by grippy 245/40R19 tyres and there’s a pleasingly flat cornering stance that contributes to a sense of security on tight and winding roads.

Here, the VZe Formentor feels like anything but the mid-size SUV it purports to be. It comes across more as a regular five-door hatch.

Although the ride finds a workable compromise between soft and firm there’s a bit of discomfort at times, particularly on broken surfaces where the grippy low-profile tyres fall a bit short trying to take the sting out of sharp-edged bumps.

In terms of fuel economy we found the Formentor VZe, like any PHEV, dependent on the state of battery charge. Although the claimed range, on electric power only, is 58km, we found the real-world figure was more like 30-40km after an all-night charge on mains power.

Our overall fuel consumption average with the review car was not the claimed 1.9L/100km, but a still-thrifty 5L/100km in a mix of EV and 95 RON petrol running. The experienced consumption obviously can vary wildly.

Cupra hasn’t held back on the architecture within the Formentor’s surprisingly spacious cabin. From the bronze steering wheel logo – that looks more Marvel’s Avengers than anything else – to the stylised but tastefully restrained dash/console layout, there’s the feeling that something special is at play in the 2023 Cupra Formentor VZe.

The centre screen is satisfyingly large, with clear, crisp graphics and the general functionality of the controls is easily learned. Generally. Although most drivers will quickly come to terms with the way the Formentor’s controls work, there are some elements that can, at first, be a bit of a pain.

There is, for example, some difficulty finding access to the base menu on the main screen – admittedly a not-uncommon shortfall today – while the digital readouts for minor functions (when setting cruise control speeds, for example) are too tiny to be of much use.

The touch-slide actions required to set the climate control are also a bit too clever in that they’re non-intuitive and hard to interpret.

But the Formentor’s general ambience is upmarket, with lots of character and style in the blending of materials and colours. The quality fabric seat covering is more appealing and comfortable than many of today’s popular faux-leather extravaganzas.

Legroom, front and rear, is more generous than you might expect and, though the front seats are manually controlled – as indeed they are in some lower-end luxury brands anyway – they are well-shaped and wonderfully comfortable. Headroom is fine, too.

Cupra doesn’t give any clear idea of how much cargo the Formentor is able to carry, quoting only the hybrid VZe’s boot capacity which, at 345 litres, is less than other variants and no doubt compromised by the hybrid battery. The overall seats-folded capacity is expandable via the 60/40-split folding rear seats but Cupra doesn’t say to what extent.

In the real world, the utility of the VZe Formentor won’t draw many complaints.

The 1.5-tonne towing capacity, though less than the Volkswagen Tiguan’s 2.5 tonnes, is competitive rather than generous, but you would hardly imagine a Cupra Formentor hauling around a heavy camper trailer.

If you are a car brand risk-taker seeking a premium mid-sizer and are attracted to the idea of something that’s a little outside the mainstream, then the 2023 Cupra Formentor is a good fit and has been warmly welcomed in Australia so far.

Ignoring the so-far unknown badge, there’s a lot to like. The Cupra Formentor VZe rates highly in terms of safety, is very attractive to look at, well-built, accommodating, practical, economical and has the road manners of a purebred European prestige car.

The Cupra Formentor has practically everything going for it and it’s little wonder it did so well in the carsales 2022 Car of the Year awards.

2023 Cupra Formentor VZe at a glance:
Price: $64,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol-electric
Output: 110kW/250Nm (electric motor: 85kW/300Nm)
Combined output: 180kW/400Nm
Transmission: Six-speed dual-clutch automatic
Battery: 12.8kWh lithium-ion
Electric range: 58km (ADR)
Energy consumption: 14.1kWh/100km (ADR)
Fuel: 1.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 43g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2021)