Cupra Formentor VZ5 | PH Fleet
Can a nine-time winner of the International Engine of the Year award finally make us learn to love a crossover?
Crossovers. What exactly are they good for? Absolutely everything, according to OEMs, which have been turning them out in earnest for the last 20 years in Europe. In 2026, fully seven of the top ten best-selling cars in the UK fit the broader description (i.e. high-riding, five-door pseudo-hatchbacks), and given the advantages of packaging EV batteries under raised floors, their popularity is unlikely to wane as we head towards 2035.
Now, it goes without saying that PH would be the first in line to support the principle of unfettered customer choice: if you want to own a V8-powered off-roader or V12-powered sports car or anything else that inhales flammable liquids like Kimi Raikkonen on holiday, then you should absolutely do that no matter what anyone else thinks. Which, by extension, means that we would ostensibly endorse anyone’s choice to buy a crossover, too. Different strokes, etc.
The difference, of course, is that crossovers have traditionally left a bad taste in the enthusiast mouth owing to a) the detrimental effect of raising the ride height of a car intended to work primarily on the road, b) the realisation among manufacturers that customers would pay more for a crossover than a B or C segment hatchback, c) the subsequent winding down of both alternatives, leading to the near extinction of hot hatches, d) the grinding, middle-of-the-road worthiness of crossovers in general.
This does not necessarily make crossovers bad to drive or own per se - indeed, lavish investment in their development has made them perfectly adequate family cars - but the contention that they are no more practical than hatchbacks (save perhaps for the appeal of a slightly higher hip point when getting in or out), while being more costly to buy and marginally more expensive to run, generally holds true. Meanwhile, sporadic attempts to make them a more interesting and enlivening steer have too often fallen embarrassingly flat (Juke Nismo, anyone?).
Which brings us, predictably enough, to the Cupra Formentor. Or more specifically, the Cupra Formentor VZ5. The ‘5’ is significant because it signifies the installation of Audi’s 2.5-litre inline five, here outputting 390hp - satisfyingly more than you get in the 2.0-litre 333hp VZ3. This engine, you’ll hardly need reminding, is among the key reasons why the RS3 has spent the last 15 years being lauded as a mega-hatch worth buying. Unsurprisingly, it is also the key reason why we’ve agreed to make space for the Formentor on the PH Fleet.
As you might expect, this is partly about saying a long goodbye to the turbocharged five-pot itself, which is very much in the twilight of its long-running life cycle. On the other hand, it’s about seeing if the introduction of an unarguably great engine can compensate for a crossover's lack of charm more generally. Large SUVs, after all, became much more palatable after Porsche and BMW and the rest figured out how to make them work with racy V8s - is it possible, over time, that we'll come to appreciate the Formentor on a deeper, more meaningful level? It would be no mean feat: it definitely didn’t work when Audi tried it with the RS Q3.
For now, first marks go in the plus column. The arrival of the VZ5 overlapped with a loan of the current Leon Estate in its lesser-seen VZ3 4Drive 333 format. By any traditional PH measure, this is precisely the sort of car Cupra ought to be spending its time on - yet I can’t remember ever seeing one in the wild. It is mostly everything you’d expect from a Golf R clone: quick to turn, quick to get going and more than £10k cheaper to buy than the bigger-engined VZ5.
But it is also quickly forgotten. Cupra’s failure to make a bigger fuss of this generation of hot Leon is maddening in a market otherwise devoid of alternatives to the Mk8 Golf, yet it has given itself precious little to work with: ultimately, the Leon is neither as good to drive, nor as handsome as the current Golf, and the front-drive VZ3 hatch is priced from an eye-popping £50k. Hardly compelling reasons for a buyer renaissance.
Additionally, when parked side by side, you’re reminded of the canny positioning of the Formentor. Cupra’s first in-house model was always intended to stylistically bridge the gap between hatchback and conventional compact crossover, meaning the height difference is actually fairly minimal. In return for its smaller boot, you also get a more cohesive designed rear end. And while the stacked exhausts and copper-effect 20-inch alloys aren’t going to be for everyone, the VZ5 does not flagrantly boast about its five-pot status.
It does make you pay for it, mind. In the UK, the model starts at £64,495, for which you get a healthy amount of kit - matrix LED headlights, three-zone climate control, heated front ‘Cup’ bucket seats, Dynamic chassis control and uprated Akebono brakes are all among the standard equipment - but once the £2,095 matte paint and £1,015 panoramic sunroof are factored in, our car’s as tested price came to £67,605. More than you’d pay for a BMW M340i xDrive Touring, in other words.
If that sounds like an uphill struggle for Cupra's flagship, you’re not far wrong - although it’s perhaps worth remembering that the VZ5 was not brought to the UK as a volume seller or even a regular constituent of the Formentor lineup. It stands apart from its siblings in the configurator for good reason: the prospect of a 390hp halo model is meant to rubber-stamp the idea that Cupra is a legitimately upmarket, performance-oriented brand. Less a rival to Volkswagen, in fact, and more an alternative to the kind of design-led, aspirational buy-in that made Audi so successful. The Formentor has arguably always featured the right look - and now it has the engine. Time will tell if it’s finally a crossover to be reckoned with…
FACT SHEET
Car: 2026 Cupra Formentor VZ5 4Drive DSG
Run by: PH Staff
On fleet since: July 2026
Price as tested: £67,605 (including Matte Paint, £2,095; Panoramic Sunroof, £1,015)
Last month at a glance: Hello!
A lot of crossover prejudice in the article - I get it, but tell us about the car or at least reserve judgement.
To be worth it over the 2 litre it would need to have a bit more noise and drama but I fear they will have toned it down, and if you don't get the full character of the engine it probably isn't worth it.
It was £34k new in 2023.
They are decent enough to drive, performance is as you would expect, but its less stodgy to drive than similar Kia Sportages and the like.
I can see that the drivetrain is a bit more complex, 4wd and a special engine, but £67k for a Formentor?
Cupra dealers can be pretty thin on the ground and for our SEAT, the dealer we used, who were spectacularly useless, don’t do Cupra.
Ours had an issue that I got VW Assist out for - they couldn’t come until next day and then told me of the two nearest dealers they could only take me to one of them as the other didn’t have any SEAT technicians.
Cupra dealers can be pretty thin on the ground and for our SEAT, the dealer we used, who were spectacularly useless, don t do Cupra.
Ours had an issue that I got VW Assist out for - they couldn t come until next day and then told me of the two nearest dealers they could only take me to one of them as the other didn t have any SEAT technicians.
They seem generally good, although parking there is a clusterfang.
It was £34k new in 2023.
They are decent enough to drive, performance is as you would expect, but its less stodgy to drive than similar Kia Sportages and the like.
I can see that the drivetrain is a bit more complex, 4wd and a special engine, but £67k for a Formentor?
TX.
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