Styling
We'll not get into a debate about the fact we preferred the look of the pre-facelift Formentor, with its handsome radiator grille, to this beaky aesthetic update foisted on the coupe-SUV in 2024, and instead will focus on what makes the VZ5 look different to, say, the
333 TSI 4Drive VZ that's the next model down the, um, Formen-tree. Ahem.
Anyway, copper; copper, copper, copper (and some carbon-fibre too). Cupra's corporate colour adorns much of the exterior detailing of the VZ5, including being visible on a quite exquisite set of bespoke 20-inch alloys (all other models sit on either 18s or 19s) that give this five-pot Formentor plenty of stance. Helps that the VZ5 also sits 10mm closer to the deck than any other variant, so it's all squat and hench before you've so much as turned a wheel in anger in it, and then there are also other subtle signifiers that mark out the 2.5-litre model, such as an aggressive front bumper and splitter arrangement, discreetly flared-out wheelarches, and that small alphanumeric boot badge to denote its top-dog status.
About the most defining exterior feature is those quad exhausts at the back; not, in number, anything unique to the VZ5 (the 333 TSI also has four exit pipes), but the arrangement of them - they're stacked diagonally, not unlike the same layout seen on the old Lexus IS F and
GS F models.
Interior
Cupra addressed a few human-machine interface shortcomings with the Formentor with its 2024 update of the wider range, so the VZ5 benefits from those improvements. The 10.25-inch digital instrument and 12.9-inch central infotainment display both look great and work reasonably well, with a few VZ5-specific graphics smattered among their screens to mention as the changes here. The best thing in the five-cylinder Formentor, though, are the magnificent Cup bucket seats up front, which not only look sensational but also provide a near-perfect driving position with loads of lateral support. Big tick for the VZ5 here.
Practicality
The VZ5 is no less practical than any other four-wheel-drive Formentor, which means it has 420 litres of boot space with all seats in use, and the same amount of cabin stowage and practicality solutions. Front-driven Formentors have more boot space than this (450 litres), but the PHEV models are savaged down to 345 litres, so maybe the VZ5 isn't the worst Cupra for families to choose.
Performance
Aside from its brief sojourn into the pre-facelift Cupra Formentor four years ago, the only other cars this 2.5-litre, five-cylinder turbo petrol engine has been seen in aside from the RS 3 are other Audis: namely, the
RS Q3 and the
TT RS. There's supposedly a five-pot version of the Mk8
Volkswagen Golf R on the way, so it would seem the VW Group is doing its best to squeeze life out of this iconic five-cylinder motor before emissions legislation kills it off for good.
In the Formentor VZ5, the powertrain is detuned slightly from its ultimate application in the RS 3, where it makes 400hp and 500Nm. Here, it has lost 10hp and 20Nm overall, but that's still enough for the VZ5 to outstrip the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder 333 TSI by 57hp and 60Nm. This means that, driving all four wheels through a seven-speed DSG transmission, the VZ5 takes six-tenths off the 0-62mph sprint of the 333, to stand at 4.2 seconds all-in. It's also treated to a limiter raise to 174mph, instead of the gentleman's agreement expected V-max of 155mph.
It's not so much the speed of the Formentor VZ5 which defines this car, however, but the noise. In all honesty, even being ragged to the limit up a closed road near Barcelona for this test, the 390hp Formentor doesn't subjectively feel an awful lot quicker than the 333hp TSI relation - mainly because the 2.5 adds 44kg to the SUV's kerb weight. But the sound of it... oh! The sound! Noise and emissions laws have sapped the five-cylinder unit of the loudest howlings it used to make as it closed in on the redline, yet that mournful, off-key, hollow baying this Formentor emits as it revs right out is simply magical.
The symphony of the VZ5 is almost worth the entry fee alone, then, but as we'll see in the next section this Formentor is not just all about searing straight-line pace. A quick word to the stoppers, too, as the VZ5 has excellent Akebono six-piston front brakes with mammoth 345mm discs at the nose, and you may now all insert your own references to the
McLaren P1 into the piece at this point.
Ride & Handling
Cupra has tuned the already-talented suspension of the Formentor to better suit the increased muscle of the VZ5, as well as its larger contact patches afforded by the 20-inch rims, while the SUV is also fitted with the clever torque-splitting, multiclutch rear diff we've seen on the RS 3. This aims to make the VZ5 less of a foursquare, all-grip performance machine, and something which is a little happier to have its cornering line adjusted on the throttle, as much as the steering.
The resulting dynamic performance the Formentor VZ5 serves up is, as you might expect, wonderful, although we'd stop short of saying it's the greatest-ever performance SUV we've ever sampled (that signal honour remains with the quite outrageous old Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT, before Stuttgart appended that hallowed badge to a
plug-in-hybrid version instead).
Nevertheless, weighty, informative and enjoyable steering couples to absolute rock-solid body and wheel control from the Formentor's 15-setting Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) adjustable dampers, while that rear differential does allow for some movement of the Cupra's rear axle when the suspension is already loaded up and you decide to provoke the car with a hefty input of throttle. You can have a lot of fun at the wheel of this marvellous SUV, there's no doubt about that at all.
If we're being hyper-critical, it's still a little
too capable and grippy for its own good, with the feeling that anyone could get the best from the VZ5 within minutes of settling down behind its copper-clad steering wheel, and occasional dim-wittedness from the seven-speed DSG does just make us yearn for a H-pattern manual - which would've given this Formentor a bonkers, leftfield appeal that would've been unmatched in the SUV world. But in general this is still a crossover that handles far better than many of its contemporaries. If anything, this five-cylinder Formentor feels more like a big ultra-performance hatch than anything else.
It is, of course, not the greatest thing for ride comfort, as its toughened-up suspension and low-profile tyres on the massive 20-inch rims do make it a little abrupt in its responses (certainly, for vertical movements of the body in the wake of big compressions), while road noise on the motorway is a tad intrusive as well. But the sheer quality of the damping shines through with the VZ5, so while it is always firm and busy when it's on the move, it never quite descends into the realms of crashy, uncomfortable road manners. You could happily live with and daily it, we reckon.
Value
Those of you who are incredulously crying '60 grand? For a poshed-up SEAT?!' ought to perhaps bear in mind that a VZ3-grade Cupra Formentor 333 TSI 4Drive already costs £55,090 anyway. So a five-grand price walk for the extra benefits the VZ5 brings to the party, plus the highly restricted nature of it here in the UK (even at 400 units, this thing would be mighty rare), doesn't seem that daft to us. Furthermore, if you wanted to easily outperform the Cupra with a performance SUV from any other manufacturer, you'd be dropping
a lot more than £60,000 in order to do so.
Verdict
While not quite the seminal SUV driving experience we were hoping for, the Cupra Formentor VZ5 is - regardless - a most welcome addition to the UK price lists. Aside from its strange front-end looks, its stiff ride, a few rolling refinement issues and a nagging thought that it could maybe have been set up to be even more lairy in the corners than it actually is, in every other respect this five-cylinder firecracker is as thoroughly special and desirable as you could possibly wish for. Grab one of the confirmed 250 examples of the exceptional VZ5 now, while you still can.
