Cupra Formentor- things I hate!
Discussion
We swapped my wife’s BMW 430d Gran Coupe x-drive for a 5 month old Formentor V2 2.0TSI 4WD. Mainly because she has joint problems so had difficulty accessing the Beemer especially in tight spaces
Firstly the positives:-
1) Nice styling although there are shades of MG ZS!! and Nissan Qashqai in there
2) Comfortable seats
Now here goes the things I hate:-
1) Tiny fuel tank and rubbish economy - constantly filling up and struggle to get more than 35mpg (and sometimes a lot less)
2) Infotainment - yes I’d read all about it but thought surely it can’t be that bad. Well I can confirm it’s crap and revert to CarPlay when I can. We regularly would get interrupted by the voice assistant while we were having a conversation in the car (eventually managed to work out how to switch it off).
There are no buttons (apart from those on the steering wheel which do help a bit) - can’t see the volume control for radio or heating controls at night as not illuminated - crazy!
Try switching the heated seats on or more likely off whilst driving - almost impossible as you have to use the screen - bloody dangerous.
3) Overly complicated dashboard displays - far too many options and I still haven’t worked out how to zero the trip every time we fill up
4) “Safety” systems (eg engine stop/start, lane keeping assistant) - an absolute load of rubbish. Why on Earth can’t you permanently disable them rather than have to go into the menu every time you start the engine. What a pain in the arse! Another one; whilst reversing, the brakes just slam on for no reason but assume it has something to do with the reverse “assistant” even though I’m nowhere near an obstacle.
5) Dim witted DSG gearbox - if you lose speed due to someone braking or pulling out in front of you, the gearbox has to have a debate as to which gear it should be in before it eventually changes down. Yes you can use the paddles but to be honest they’re not much better. I don’t remember this being an issue on her Octavia VRS TDI so maybe it’s better suited to the Diesel engine.
6) Handling - yes I know it’s an SUV so expect it not to handle like a normal car but although it’s reasonably tidy, I wouldn’t want to throw it around. If you look at the gap between the top of the tyres and the wheel arch, there lies the main issue (it’s massive). Our niece has just bought a Cupra Ateca and that handles so much better as it sits much lower.
I did test drive an exact same Formentor model but I hardly consider a 4 mile test drive to be a true indicator of how the car would be. I suppose that’s my fault.
Needless to say though, I (we) won’t be buying another!!
Firstly the positives:-
1) Nice styling although there are shades of MG ZS!! and Nissan Qashqai in there
2) Comfortable seats
Now here goes the things I hate:-
1) Tiny fuel tank and rubbish economy - constantly filling up and struggle to get more than 35mpg (and sometimes a lot less)
2) Infotainment - yes I’d read all about it but thought surely it can’t be that bad. Well I can confirm it’s crap and revert to CarPlay when I can. We regularly would get interrupted by the voice assistant while we were having a conversation in the car (eventually managed to work out how to switch it off).
There are no buttons (apart from those on the steering wheel which do help a bit) - can’t see the volume control for radio or heating controls at night as not illuminated - crazy!
Try switching the heated seats on or more likely off whilst driving - almost impossible as you have to use the screen - bloody dangerous.
3) Overly complicated dashboard displays - far too many options and I still haven’t worked out how to zero the trip every time we fill up
4) “Safety” systems (eg engine stop/start, lane keeping assistant) - an absolute load of rubbish. Why on Earth can’t you permanently disable them rather than have to go into the menu every time you start the engine. What a pain in the arse! Another one; whilst reversing, the brakes just slam on for no reason but assume it has something to do with the reverse “assistant” even though I’m nowhere near an obstacle.
5) Dim witted DSG gearbox - if you lose speed due to someone braking or pulling out in front of you, the gearbox has to have a debate as to which gear it should be in before it eventually changes down. Yes you can use the paddles but to be honest they’re not much better. I don’t remember this being an issue on her Octavia VRS TDI so maybe it’s better suited to the Diesel engine.
6) Handling - yes I know it’s an SUV so expect it not to handle like a normal car but although it’s reasonably tidy, I wouldn’t want to throw it around. If you look at the gap between the top of the tyres and the wheel arch, there lies the main issue (it’s massive). Our niece has just bought a Cupra Ateca and that handles so much better as it sits much lower.
I did test drive an exact same Formentor model but I hardly consider a 4 mile test drive to be a true indicator of how the car would be. I suppose that’s my fault.
Needless to say though, I (we) won’t be buying another!!
Don Veloci said:
Does the Ateca do any better with points 1-5?
Considering Cupra in the future but this ain't selling it. 1-5 would drive me insane, and not handling - just poor!
Honestly no. My niece likes the Ateca but fuel consumption is poor bearing in mind that has the 300hp 2 litre engine and she is pretty tight! She now has a Fiat 500 for nipping around so the Ateca is kept for “best”!Considering Cupra in the future but this ain't selling it. 1-5 would drive me insane, and not handling - just poor!
The biggest shortcomings for me are the crap infotainment and fuel economy.
Personally I wouldn’t have got rid of the BMW 4 series as it was just so much better in all respects but my wife needed something higher up.
For No 3 this should do the trick
Stop / Start can easily be permanently disabled with VAG-COM or a Carista dongle as well if it bothers you too much.
As for the rest, it's a bit of a bloated car and the engine / box combo you have 35mpg is ok. Maybe up to 40 on a very long motorway run. Over 50k miles in my Golf R which spends around 80% of the time in traffic I've averaged 32mpg.
Lastly, Carplay is ace I've no idea why anyone used built in infotainment or nav any more on any car.
[/quote]
Cheers for that - to be honest I really don’t like SUV’s (we had a brand new Porsche Macan which only lasted 8 months - beautifully built and good to drive but by heck it was wide as demonstrated by driving down narrow Cornish lanes whilst on holiday) - swapped back to a Boxster (I’ve had 4) & bought an Octavia VRS for my wife. Ironic thing is my 718 Boxster is more economical than the Formentor (37mpg on a 200 mile site visit trip this week) but yes you’re right the 4WD definitely screws the economy.
Stop / Start can easily be permanently disabled with VAG-COM or a Carista dongle as well if it bothers you too much.
As for the rest, it's a bit of a bloated car and the engine / box combo you have 35mpg is ok. Maybe up to 40 on a very long motorway run. Over 50k miles in my Golf R which spends around 80% of the time in traffic I've averaged 32mpg.
Lastly, Carplay is ace I've no idea why anyone used built in infotainment or nav any more on any car.
Edited by LivLL on Thursday 19th October 15:52
[/quote]
Cheers for that - to be honest I really don’t like SUV’s (we had a brand new Porsche Macan which only lasted 8 months - beautifully built and good to drive but by heck it was wide as demonstrated by driving down narrow Cornish lanes whilst on holiday) - swapped back to a Boxster (I’ve had 4) & bought an Octavia VRS for my wife. Ironic thing is my 718 Boxster is more economical than the Formentor (37mpg on a 200 mile site visit trip this week) but yes you’re right the 4WD definitely screws the economy.
Don Veloci said:
Oh well. Dunno why I'd expect them to tweak the infotainment or take a different direction on ergonomics over VW.
Other than that I'm used to around 300 mile fill ups. I get the impression weight and 4wd makes that much worse.
Definitely 4WD doesn’t help. Other than that I'm used to around 300 mile fill ups. I get the impression weight and 4wd makes that much worse.
The fuel tank must be only 50 litres which definitely doesn’t help. I can’t remember ever having to fill up so frequently- it’s not as if it’s even fast!
FMOB said:
All standard VAG problems, the design of their cars across all brands is horrendous.
It is so bad the Head of VW has publically acknowledged their designs are rubbish.
Just get rid of it and replace with something older without the computerised nightmare built in.
Thing is it’s my wife’s car although I do the majority of the driving and she actually likes it. Having said that she also hates the big infotainment screen which is downright dangerous - impossible to operate whilst driving. Yes some things can be done with voice control but overall it’s pants.It is so bad the Head of VW has publically acknowledged their designs are rubbish.
Just get rid of it and replace with something older without the computerised nightmare built in.
Edited by FMOB on Saturday 21st October 16:31
Well an update is needed.
The Cupra is going tomorrow - we got totally fed up with the nanny systems (yes I know that’s the EU behind that) and the crap infotainment.
The seat bolsters have been replaced under warranty due to creasing on the side bolsters and I can’t see them lasting any length of time.
I would never buy a VW Group product again as the quality has plummeted in my opinion - they used to be really well built a while back (OK perhaps 20 years ago)
So what have we replaced it with?
Surprisingly a 2018 Macan…..with lots of buttons on the transmission tunnel and limited touchscreen commands and it has CarPlay.
Having had 5 Porsches, you realise that they are supremely built and wear the miles well so no other brand came close really.
OK the fuel economy won’t be great as it’s a heavy car (my 718 will be more economical!!) but at least it has a 75 litre tank and running costs will be higher but for the added luxury, it’s a relatively small price to pay!
Let’s hope I don’t regret this one.
The Cupra is going tomorrow - we got totally fed up with the nanny systems (yes I know that’s the EU behind that) and the crap infotainment.
The seat bolsters have been replaced under warranty due to creasing on the side bolsters and I can’t see them lasting any length of time.
I would never buy a VW Group product again as the quality has plummeted in my opinion - they used to be really well built a while back (OK perhaps 20 years ago)
So what have we replaced it with?
Surprisingly a 2018 Macan…..with lots of buttons on the transmission tunnel and limited touchscreen commands and it has CarPlay.
Having had 5 Porsches, you realise that they are supremely built and wear the miles well so no other brand came close really.
OK the fuel economy won’t be great as it’s a heavy car (my 718 will be more economical!!) but at least it has a 75 litre tank and running costs will be higher but for the added luxury, it’s a relatively small price to pay!
Let’s hope I don’t regret this one.
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