Cupra Formentor e-Hybrid Review

Pricing

There’s no getting away from the fact that the Cupra is quite expensive. Even the cheapest Formentor PHEV costs many thousands more than Seat Leon e-Hybrid or Skoda Octavia iV, which use the same powertrain, offer better practicality and are also well equipped with similarly feature-filled infotainment. You can even get a top-spec Mercedes A-Class PHEV for the same price as the cheapest Cupra Formentor PHEV, which offers a longer electric range and falls into a lower company car tax band. 

In short, you are certainly paying for the style factor and SUV stance of the Cupra, but the flipside is that it’s comparably priced with non-electrified variants of the Audi Q3, BMW X2 and Mercedes GLA, although you can get the rather more premium-feeling (if less powerful) Volvo XC40 Recharge PHEV for the same price as a top-spec Formentor PHEV. 

Honestly, we reckon you’ll have just as much fun in one of the many more affordable alternative, but if the image is a big factor then the Cupra could be said to offer decent value next to premium alternatives. Mind you, given that the newly formed Cupra brand has less prestige, many buyers will baulk at the cost – especially since even monthly payments are fairly high. 

Even with a four year contract and £6,000 deposit, monthly payments come in at around £400 - £500 per month depending on which model you choose. Still, company car tax is very low for most plug-in hybrids, so while you can save a bit by going for any of those cheaper alternatives we’ve mentioned, the Cupra is a lot of car for the money if you’re lucky enough to be able to get it on a company car scheme. 

Running costs

You can save a lot of money by running a plug-in hybrid instead of a normal diesel or petrol car, provided you do mostly short journeys and can charge up regularly enough. Doing that means that you can maximise your time on pure electric power, which costs roughly 4p per mile (when charged on a domestic tariff) rather than the circa 10p per mile that you’ll be paying to fuel the petrol engine. 

Charge up at home using cheaper off-peak or EV-specific tariffs and you can even cut that electricity cost per mile to as little as 2p. Given the low tax costs afforded by CO2 emissions of 33g/km, the Cupra promises to be usefully cheaper to run than an equivalent non-electrified premium small SUV, even if conventional alternatives like the Mercedes A250e and Skoda Octavia iV promise cheaper running costs than the Cupra. 

Servicing is needed every year, and the car will warn you when maintenance is needed since it may vary depending on how you drive the car. SEAT is typically very competitive for servicing costs and routinely offers fixed price deals, so it’ll be cheaper to service the Formentor than it will an Audi or BMW, for instance. Given the way the Cupra likes to spin its wheels under moderately heavy acceleration, you’d be wise to budget for fresh front tyres fairly regularly.