Looks like a rally machine with all these blows. Ground clearance of 17 cm helps the paths (Photo: Walla! system, Udi Etzion)
Price:246,4 NIS
Competitors: DS3, Audi A118, BMW 3008i, Kia Sportage and Peugeot 8 Plug-in
We liked: Design, fittings, performance, fuel consumption when the battery is charged
We didn't like: Less sporty than it looks, the base version is better value for money
Score:10/38
In less than two years, Cupra managed to overtake luxury brands such as Volvo and Lexus in the Israeli deliveries chart. He finished the first third of the year with a 942% jump in deliveries to 1 vehicles, mostly thanks to this model: the Formentor. A muscular-looking crossover that manages to attract customers who would have previously purchased a BMW 2 Series, Honda Civic, as well as Audi Q3 and Q245.
Cupra's success is not unique to Israel, and has already led to a strategic decision at Volkswagen: what is currently defined as a luxury brand owned by SEAT will take over the company in the coming years. Seat models will disappear from the market and the company will expand the range of Cupra models at their expense, mainly in the direction of electric models.
The plug-in hybrid Formentor is a step in that direction. With 1 hp it is significantly more powerful than the base version, a 500,150cc turbo petrol with 310 hp, and closer to the sporty VZ version, with 54 hp. Still, it promises an electric range of <> km, which should be enough for daily commutes.
More like the powerful VZ than the basic Cupra (Photo: Walla! system, Udi Etzion)
Design:Apart from a charging port on the left wing, the Formentor Plug-in is almost identical to the powerful VZ version. A handsome and muscular crossover, turning heads, that only when parked next to a real Jeep on one side or a compact family on the other, can you see how much it is not really an SUV and as tall as the optical illusion that the awning strips are trying to create. The aggressive front and swollen shoulders at the back create very sporty expectations. The shaped tail is identical to that of the Cupra Leon.
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The attractive cockpit familiar from the other Cupra models, with the same tendency to overoperate from the screen (Photo: Walla! system, Udi Etzion)
Interior: The cockpit is similar to that of the Cupra Leon, with a modern combination of a 12-inch multimedia screen and a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster. The seat adjustment is electric, but the position is sporty-low, not high jeepney. While there are buttons at the bottom of the screen to change the temperature and air conditioning intensity, most activities require traveling between screens.
The sporty bucket seats at the front are good and spacious. The rear bench is spacious, with an air conditioner port and USB sockets, including temperature control, but a third passenger will suffer from the drive tunnel in the center.
Passengers in the rear have control over the temperature of the air conditioner, but a high drive tunnel will disturb the middle passenger (Photo: Walla! system, Udi Etzion)
The luggage compartmentin the rechargeable version suffers from the position of the battery at the bottom, which raises the spare wheel and 100 litres from the charging capacity of the base version, putting its volume at just 345 litres. Less than what the current Seat Ibiza offers. At least there is lighting and tying rings.
Only 345 liters in the luggage compartment, less than in Seat Ibiza (Photo: Walla! system, Udi Etzion)
High-end equipment: lightweight 19-inch wheels, full LED lighting, BZ Sport trim bumpers, panoramic sunwindow, electric tailgate, mood lighting, wireless mobile charger, keyless drive and more. But the seats are worn in fabric, and in order to turn them into leather seats that were more suitable for a car at this price level, you will have to add about NIS 10,000.
Safety: Along with a score of 5 out of 5 stars in the European crash test and 10 airbags, the Formentor is equipped with an automatic emergency braking system, adaptive cruise control, lane departure correction, blind-spot and cross-traffic vehicle warning, a rear camera, and front and rear sensors.
The Formentor is easy to drive fast, the steering wheel is precise, but the behavior is not sporty (Photo: Walla! system, Udi Etzion)
Performance: A turbocharged 1,400cc engine with 150 hp and an electric motor with 107 hp provide a combined 245 hp and 40.8 kgm. Drive is front-wheel drive and power passes through a 6-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Performance is very good, and there is manual gear control from levers behind the wheel, although the box is a bit slow.
Range and charging: According to the manufacturer, a 12.8 kWh battery should provide an electric range of 54 km and pollution-free driving up to a speed of 135 km/h. In the test drive, we achieved 43 electric kilometers in suburban driving, which included driving traffic jams and cruising at 100 km/h. There is no option to drive with one pedal, only two levels of regeneration that are also controlled from the multimedia and operation screen. With a 3.6 kW internal charger, the Formentor needed 3.5 hours to fill an empty battery.
Fuel consumption: In plug cars, this is deceptive. It can stand at zero km/l in electric driving alone. And it changes a lot once the gasoline engine integrates. In a combined drive with gasoline electricity on a route of 120 km, the Formentor achieved 18 km/l, after about 80 km of gasoline driving. Relaxed intercity cruising and intercity driving. Driving separately with an uncharged battery required 14 km/l, which is low for a hybrid vehicle.
Comfort and handling: Weighing 1.7 tonnes, about 250 km more than the 1,500 version, the rechargeable Formentor is a heavy vehicle. The steering wheel is fast, the grip is high, and adaptive brakes allow the driver to decide when he prefers ride comfort and when he behaves more sporty. The steering wheel is fast and the angle of inclination in the turns is well controlled, which is good handling for a crossover, but not really sporty. 19-inch tires allow for reasonable comfort even in the city. Ground clearance of 17 cm compared to about 15 cm in luxury privacy models allows for trail travel with less heart palpitations than underbelly damage.
The tail is very similar to that of Leon Cupra (Photo: Walla! Editorial Board, Udi Etzion)
Bottom Line: The plug-in Formentor also competes with the higher, more expensive and all-wheel-drive plug-in versions of the higher, more expensive Kia Sportage and Peugeot 3008. At the same time, in terms of semi-prestigious positioning, the entry-level models of luxury brands are also available, mainly the BMW 118i and Audi A3 and Q2, which at a similar level of equipment are about NIS 20,<> cheaper, but weaker and do not offer plug-in capability.
At this price, the emphasis is on the driving experience, and this is what the Formentor delivers well, both in visibility, performance, equipment and partial electric driving capability. It's not as sporty as it looks, and it's good if the importer and manufacturer improve the offer in terms of service, with a fixed warranty of at least three years, rather than two years with an additional year of payment, inheritance from SEAT.
In this version, the Formentor is a business card and a taste of the electric future of Cupra. It's good to already have a Cupra with a charging socket in the local offering, now bring the real thing, the Born.
On the technical side: Cupra Formentor VZe
Engine, Power:Plug-in Hybrid, Turbo Petrol + Electric Motor, front-wheel
drive Displacement:1,395 cc
Power/Torque: 245 hp, 40.8 kg
Battery:12.8 kWh
Transmission:Robotic dual-clutch, 6 gears
Dimensions:Length (m):4.45
Width (m):1.84
Height (m):
1.51
Wheelbase ( m):2.68
Trunk (liter):345
Performance:Acceleration 0-100 (sec):7 Maximum speed (km/h):210 Electric range Manufacturer:54 km Test electric range:43 km Fuel consumption (manufacturer):66 km per liter Fuel consumption (test):18 km per liter
Safety:
European crash test score: 5 out of 5 stars
Active safety: automatic braking, lane departure correction, blind-spot vehicle warning, adaptive
cruise control Air pollution:Group 2 of 15
Warranty:
100 years or 8,160 km, third year paid. Battery warranty: <> years or <>,<> km
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