Cupra Terramar Test Drive: Spanish Crossover Blends Sporty Style with Practicality
Volkswagen's restructuring plans cast doubt on SEAT's future, but the Cupra brand thrives with the new Terramar crossover. Tested with a 1.5-liter turbo engine, it offers sporty design, solid handling, and practical family utility.
The automotive media in Spain was recently shaken when the Volkswagen Group published its restructuring plan through 2030. The plan includes a dramatic cut in the number of models, factories, and production volume in the coming years, and commentators quickly singled out the SEAT brand as one of the first to pay the price. Although SEAT has long ceased to be produced exclusively in Spain, it remains a national symbol close to the hearts of many Spaniards.
Volkswagen management quickly published a clarification on the matter, but it failed to calm the waters: "As things stand today," the clarification read, "strict regulation, the transition to electric vehicles, and the investment required to develop a new generation of models make it increasingly difficult to justify further investment in the SEAT brand... There are several scenarios beyond 2030 depending on the development of regulation, consumer demand, and market conditions, including phasing out the production of the brand. No final decision has been made yet."
The only remaining comfort for Spaniards is the impressive success of the Cupra brand, which started as a sporty-luxury sub-brand of SEAT and now serves as a focal point of sales and profitability for the entire group. Cupra's unique positioning is well illustrated by the Terramar family crossover, which steps into the slot vacated by the modest SEAT Ateca.
Exterior Design
The square, forgettable lines of the SEAT are now replaced by sharp, aggressive, and unapologetic lines that somewhat resemble the best-selling Cupra Formentor.
The front features the brand's familiar slanted headlights, but above them now sits a high, solid, muscle-bound hood with the brand's famous illuminated logo at night. At the bottom is a huge and menacing grille-bumper unit.
The side profile is dominated by a rather high roof that flows backward at a moderate slope, giving the car a dynamic look. There are also large wheel arches and large titanium-colored sport wheels, as customary for the brand.
The rear is muscular with continuous end-to-end lighting, a narrow rear window, and an accentuated spoiler that meets the roof slope for a dramatic look. One marketing "bug" is the rear bumper that completely conceals the exhaust pipes. This is a desirable design for environmentally conscious European audiences, but it may challenge many of the brand's customers in Israel, for whom large and noisy exhaust pipes are an integral part of the package. But overall, it is definitely a design with presence.
Interior and Ergonomics
The floor of the passenger compartment is positioned quite high, as is the roof frame, making entry and exit much easier than in the sister Formentor. The front sport seats are positioned quite high and are comfortable, hugging the body well in turns without sacrificing comfort on long trips.
Headroom is respectable in the front and rear, and the rear seat provides reasonable shoulder and legroom for two adults plus a teenager. With a wheelbase of 2.67 meters, there are roomier tools in the segment, but the rear seat here slides backward on a rail to increase legroom for tall passengers. The trunk is wide and deep, and with a volume of 508 liters before moving the rear seats, there is no problem hauling any common leisure cargo.
The interior design maintains the brand's unique character with plenty of sharp angles, styled upholstery surfaces, a steering wheel with a muscular bulge in the center, copper-matte accents, unconventional air vents, and interior lighting that would not shame Barcelona's nightclub scene.
Human engineering maintains the familiar format of the Volkswagen Group's new generation models, centered around a recessed and handsome digital instrument cluster and a large, sharp multimedia screen, although not the thinnest. The operating interface is organized to perfection with large, clear menus and a good division of information on the screen, but most physical control switches are located on the steering wheel.
The short and rotary gear shifter located on the steering column is an acquired taste, as is the gimmick of the ignition switch located on the steering wheel rim.
The upholstery colors tend toward the dark side, but the finish and assembly quality are very good, with plenty of soft trim surfaces, doors that slam with a massive sound, and successful sound insulation.
In the equipment department, it seems the German group has learned a thing or two from the Chinese, and the car is generously equipped even in the base versions. This includes a panoramic sunroof, electric seats, an impressive sound system, three-zone climate control, 18-inch wheels, an electric tailgate, and a long list of other features.
Engine and Fuel Consumption
The Terramar arrives in Israel with turbo-gasoline engines in three power versions, including a powerful and expensive sports version. We tested the basic propulsion system, which includes the familiar 1.5-liter turbo engine from the Volkswagen Group, aided by mild hybrid assistance and paired with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission.
This is a friendly and pleasant engine for daily use, except for a somewhat nervous accelerator pedal when exiting a parking lot. With zero-to-100 acceleration in 9.3 seconds, it will meet the needs of most family drivers in Israel, downshifting swiftly during spirited overtaking and having no trouble climbing to and maintaining cruising speeds on the highway. It is also the most economical option among the three powertrain versions, and calm drivers will easily achieve 15 kilometers per liter.
The only problem is that family performance and uninspired sound do not match the "aggressive" look. Even the traditional "Cupra" button on the steering wheel, which is supposed to be a shortcut to the engine and transmission's sportiest mode, only slightly sharpens the accelerator pedal response and revs the gears to a higher, noisier rpm. On the other hand, this is Cupra Formentor's best-selling engine version in Israel, so apparently most of the brand's customers in the country have no problem with the contradiction between aggressive design and family performance.
On the Road
On the road, the Cupra maintains the tight and sporty tuning that characterizes the brand. The steering feels sharp, fast, and heavy in the sporty programming mode; body roll in tight turns is minimal, road grip is high, and despite a not particularly modest curb weight of 1.72 tons, an ambitious driver can make the car dance gracefully on winding roads. However, the meticulous chassis engineering only highlights the need for another 30-40 horsepower under the hood.
Ride comfort leans toward the stiff side yet still provides mature, restrained absorption over bumpy urban asphalt. One bonus of this version is a relatively reasonable ground clearance of about 18 centimeters, allowing the car to lightly skip over high curbs and conquer paved dirt roads.
Price and Competitors
The 1.5-liter turbo version of the Terramar costs 226,000 shekels in Israel. This is not a rock-bottom price as the Chinese have accustomed us to, but neither is it an unusual price for a Western brand with a high positioning from the Volkswagen Group. Either way, the car appeals to an audience wanting a practical family crossover with the added value of a sporty image and a polished level of road handling that is hard to find in Chinese production.
Among its competitors are the Toyota RAV4, priced between 210,000 and 240,000 shekels for the hybrid version with a 2.5-liter engine producing 185 horsepower and consuming about 19.8 kilometers per liter, and the Peugeot 3008, priced at 297,000 shekels for the GT version, featuring a 1.2-liter turbo engine producing 145 horsepower.
