Cupra Formentor VZ TSI Review: Quick, Capable, But Lacking Emotion

Volkswagen’s 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged EA888 engine is a bit like Anthony Hopkins. Even many years into its career, it seems to keep popping up in more things and just gets better and better at what it does.

Right now, in its hottest guise alone, it can be found in the VW Golf R, Audi S3, Cupra Leon VZ Estate, and this, the Cupra Formentor VZ. The engine, that is, not Anthony Hopkins.

This quartet all share the same fundamentals, which made their way into the Formentor with its mid-life facelift in 2024: 328bhp, 310lb ft of torque, a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, and an all-wheel drive system with a diff that can juggle torque between the rear wheels. We’ve sampled the setup already in the Golf and Audi, and come away suitably impressed with both.

They’re both hatchbacks, though. The Formentor – named after a peninsula on the island of Mallorca and nothing to do with the production of beer or sourdough bread – is a crossover. That extra weight blunts its numbers a little – 0-62mph takes a quoted 4.8 seconds, for instance, compared to 4.6 in the Golf R. Top speed is, predictably, 155mph.

The thing is, people who want a hatch will buy a hatch, and people who want a crossover will buy a crossover. The Formentor is currently the only jacked-up car you can get with this powertrain, so it needs to be viewed on its own terms.

Any concerns that the higher centre of gravity might dull its agility quickly prove unfounded. Sure, if you drive it straight after a Golf R, you might notice a tiny bit less crispness to its movements, but in isolation, you may as well be driving a weird, high-riding sports car.

The steering is quick and direct, and despite the extra ride height, body roll is pretty much non-existent. Pile a bit of power on in a corner and you can feel the torque-splitting rear axle working, helping keep everything tidier than a Norwegian hotel room in the corners.

It covers ground with real composure. You’ll feel a big thunk through potholes or sunken drain covers, but the Dynamic Chassis Control system (read: adaptive damping) that the VZ gets as standard does an exceptional job of keeping everything well-controlled. The extra suspension travel over an equivalent hatch probably doesn’t hurt in these situations, either. The range-topping VZ3 gets Akebono performance brakes, and they’re excellent, with lots of bite and a nice, firm pedal.

As we’ve already discussed, the Anthony Hopkins engine is in everything these days, and in this ‘Evo 4’ guise, it’s really at the top of its game: strong and torquey throughout the entire powerband and almost completely devoid of turbo lag. Is it the most emotion-stirring engine out there? No, but it is deeply effective, as is the quick-shifting seven-speed DSG gearbox.

If anything, that’s kind of the Formentor’s biggest problem – it’s almost too effective, to the point that it’s hard to bond with. You point it at a corner of any radius at speeds that teeter on the edge of social acceptability, and it just turns in and goes around them. It’s deeply impressive to begin with, but you soon find yourself wanting to get stuck into the process of driving a bit more.

Don’t get us wrong – there’s still plenty of fun to be had; it’s just that, unlike in the very best hot hatches and sports cars, you get the sense the Formentor would be just as happy without you in it.

If you’re not barrelling along, it becomes as effortless and refined as any other small, automatic VW Group product. The only real marks against it here are the sometimes thumpy ride and the noise the 19-inch wheels can kick up. Cupra quotes a combined 32.5mpg and while this is a little optimistic if you’re using its prodigious performance, its thirst is far from terrifying.

Much like its Leon stablemate, the Formentor’s cabin is a nice place to sit. The Sabelt bucket seats – again, exclusive to the top VZ3 version and shared with the equivalent-spec Leon and Born – are top-notch, and the materials feel a cut above the compact crossover crop.

Luckily, our test car had the optional panoramic sunroof, otherwise, Cupra’s black-and-copper aesthetic could have made everything feel a bit dark and brooding, especially for those in the back, thanks to the Formentor’s sloping roofline.

The infotainment is fundamentally a Cupra-fied version of VW’s latest, complete with the same 12.9-inch touchscreen. Like in the facelifted Golf, it’s a lot better than the total mess it was a few years ago, but still not perfect. You can control the stereo volume with proper buttons on the steering wheel, for instance, but the temperature still has to be changed with hateful touch-sensitive panels underneath the screen.

Every car review boils down to the question, ‘Should you buy this car?’ And the answer with the Formentor VZ is… I don’t know, maybe? If all you want is a car with 328bhp, all-wheel drive and a DSG gearbox, then we’d still be tempted to go for the Golf R. Better yet, get the Cupra Leon VZ estate. Then you get the same sharky looks and nice interior as the Formentor, but in a more practical and slightly cheaper package. And cooler, because estate car.

If you want a small, fast crossover, though, then yeah, you can’t go far wrong with the Formentor. You can pretty much rule out its platform-mates, the Audi SQ2 and VW T-Roc R, because both get an older version of this powertrain and less chassis kit, and both are on their last legs anyway.

Mercedes-AMG GLA35? The interior’s a bit posher, but it’s not as quick as the Cupra, and it’s a lot costlier: while £52,900 will get you into the top-spec Formentor VZ3, you’ll need at least £55,570 for the Merc. The BMW X2 M35i has similar shortfalls, plus it looks, erm, the way it looks.

Among this sort of car, then, the Formentor is absolutely a class leader. Would we have it over a Golf R, or an S3, or a Leon Estate? No, but that’s the great thing about this engine – just like Anthony Hopkins, you can probably find it in something that’s to your taste. If crossovers are your thing, then you won’t be disappointed.