Road tested By Hugh Maguire.
Cupra stands out on its own with its own distinctive style and a very definite lean towards the type of buyer who wants a more involving and maybe sporty driving theme.
The formula seems to be working as their market share here in Ireland continues to grow.
Their model range offers traditional internal combustion engines, plug-in-hybrid, and BEV’s with a total of five models available, namely, Cupra Born VZ, Cupra Formentor, Cupra Leon, and the newest models the Cupra Tavascan an all electric SUV and Cupra Terramar available in petrol, mild hybrid and PHEV. This week I am road testing the Cupra Terramar mild hybrid version.
This model comes in one trim level and is in effect the least expensive version of he Terramar.
So how does it look?
I must say great credit must go to Cupra for producing very attractive and boldly styled cars. The Terramar is no different. Its sharp styling really makes it stand out from a population of rather bland SUV’s. The styling is distinctive with that crisp looking front end, cool light design both front and rear and plenty of sharp angles. In short it looks great!
So what’s it like inside?
Cupra’s designers kept the snazzy theme inside too with a sharply styled modern cabin that looks and feels very good indeed. I am a particular fan of their digital instrument cluster which can be configured to feature analogue style dials which looks much better than cheap digit only displays. Like most cars now the central touchscreen dominates the cabin and unfortunately there are no ‘real’ buttons so everything goes through the touchscreen. There are fiddly slider controls below the screen for adjusting the temperature or volume but that is it. Even more annoying is the constant “Bong” accompanied by a “keep your eyes on the road” message when you look to adjust something through the touchscreen. Don’t get me wrong here. You should be looking at the road ahead but then don’t keep giving us motorists ever more large and complex touchscreens through which we need to operate the cars main functions. What was wrong with buttons? Safer by being less distracting!
The sports bucket seats look and feel great though the drivers seat could do with more lumbar support. I like the gold accents on the interior trim and the quality of materials is beyond reproach. Standard kit is excellent with the usual safety (some what annoying) driver aids and plenty of comfort goodies including heated front seats.
The boot is a good size with underfloor storage for loose items.
What’s under the bonnet?
The Terramar mild hybrid never really runs on electric power rather the small battery assists the petrol drivetrain at startup and occasionally at very low speeds. However the Terramar is blessed with a very good 150 bhp 1.5 litre eTSI petrol turbo mated to a 7-speed DSG gearbox. Range from a full tank is about 900km which is excellent and I returned a fuel consumption of just 5.8 litre per 100km. Very impressive. A selection of drive modes allows for some customisation of the way it gets down the road too.
Will I enjoy the way it drives?
In short yes! Its no sports car of course but it does offer a more involving drive than its rivals. It feels agile and handles very well in all road conditions. Its so nice to drive a petrol powered car with good performance and something that lacks the weight penalty that blunts the handling of EV’s. I liked he Terramar. Pop it in Sport mode and its an enjoyable machine to whisk along a twisty road. Its quiet and refined on the motorway too. The only vice I could mention is the brake pedal lacks a progressive feel other than that this Terramar is a hit for drivers.
Hugh’s Verdict.
At €46,500 this is the least expensive car in the Terramar line up but it does not look or feel it. I really liked my time behind the wheel of the new Terramar. It looks great, is very well equipped and offers a somewhat more rewarding driving experience than most other SUV’s. This is the one I would choose over its EV, or PHEV siblings. The new Terramar eTSi should be on your shortlist.