Cupra Formentor long-term test

The car Cupra Formentor VZ First Edition 1.5 e-Hybrid DSG 272PS | Run by Darren Moss, deputy digital editor

Why it’s here To prove that plug-in hybrid technology can lead to driving fun, as well as efficiency

Needs to Be frugal, comfortable for long trips, practical for children and able to function as a mobile office

Mileage 2985 List price £51,790 Target Price £47,790 Price as tested £53,825 Test economy 58.5mpg Official economy 585mpg 

19 February 2025 – Bugged out

Let’s address the big grey thing in the room. No, not an elephant, but rather my Cupra Formentor. Or rather, the new Cupra Formentor I’ve got to replace my older model after it broke down.

You might remember that, in our 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey, the scores for Cupra (as well as those for its Volkswagen parent) were marred by a spate of electrical glitches on  a variety of models. Yet, in our 2024 survey, those scores were beginning to recover, suggesting that the worst was behind the sporty Spanish brand. When I took delivery of my plug-in hybrid Cupra Formentor, then, reliability concerns were far from my mind.

But then it happened. On leaving my partner’s house in Stoke-on-Trent for the long drive back to London, I was hit with an error message stating that there was a problem with the gearbox. The car wouldn’t go into gear, leaving me fearing that I’d be stranded.

Yet when I turned the car off and on again – a favourite trick of the What Car? IT department – the errors had disappeared.

I was able to drive home without issue, and to the What Car? office the following morning. But on arrival, it happened again. And this time, no amount of turning the car off and on again would fix the problem. Cupra was informed and, a few hours later, my car left on the back of a trailer. 

I’m still waiting for an official diagnosis of what happened, but thankfully I haven’t been left without a car, because a new Cupra Formentor is now sitting on my driveway.

This one isn’t a plug-in hybrid, and is instead powered purely by petrol. And that’s no bad thing, because while I originally opted for plug-in hybrid power because I’d soon be able to charge at home, the house move which will enable me to do that has been pushed back. 

This is actually the most powerful Formentor in the line-up, with a 328bhp 2.0-litre engine, and a 0-62mph sprint time which would leave even the sportiest BMW X2 – the M35i – for dust. And while it won’t be as efficient as the plug-in hybrid model I ran, it might prove to be a bit more entertaining on country roads. For one thing, it’s a fair bit lighter, not having a large battery to haul around. And that lower weight should make for extra agility.

Or it would be, if it hadn’t picked up a slow puncture from a rusty nail two days into my ownership. At least that fix is an easy one, and hardly one which could be blamed on the car.

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