Cupra Formentor 2020-2024 Reliability & Common Problems

Close

Find Used Cupra Formentor 2020-2024 review deals

Used car deals

From £12,995

Other Services

Sell your car

84% get more money with

Pros

Many happy owners out there

Cons

Plenty of issues to consider when buying used

Is the Cupra Formentor reliable?

The Formentor doesn't have a great reputation for reliability. In What Car?'s most recent reliability survey it finished in 25th place out of 33 cars with a score of 89.8% in the family SUV section, which is better than the Range Rover Evoque, but worse than the Audi Q3, Volvo XC40 and Jaguar E-Pace.

Cupra as a brand redeemed itself in our 2024 survey, finishing in 17th place out of 31 manufacturers – that's an improvement on 2023, where it finished in last place.

Plug-in hybrids seem to have suffered the most reliability glitches, although many owners are happy
Sam Phillips
Staff Writer

It should be noted that we had an issue with a 2024 plug-in hybrid example that we had for a Cupra Formentor long-term test. The car displayed a couple of error messages relating to the gearbox, with it leaving the car undriveable in one instance. This doesn't bode too well for reliability, especially considering the car's poor results in the past – it finished in 33rd place out of 34 cars in the family SUV section of the 2023 survey.

With that in mind, here are some things to watch out for:

Engine: Oil leaks, timing belt issues, overheating and a rough idle are known issues. Faulty sensors can flag erroneous warning lights on the dash.

Hybrid System: Cable can get stuck in the charging port even after it has been unlocked. Charging door actuators can fail, preventing it from locking and unlocking. Also watch out for the car getting stuck in its pure-EV mode.

Gearbox: Rough or jerky gearchanges, gear slippage or delayed shifting aren't uncommon with the DSG dual-clutch auto 'box. Faulty solenoid valves, mechatronic units or electrical components can be the culprits.

Air Conditioning: Air-con condensers behind the lower bumper are susceptible to damage from stones, causing them to leak refrigerant gas. It can cost up to £1000 in parts and labour to fix. Warm air from the vents, or a grinding noise when the air-con is turned on, could be an issue with the compressor. A replacement can cost between £200 and £600.

Infotainment: Software glitches can cause the infotainment screen to freeze. Issues connecting phones via Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and audio glitches are also common. Software updates help but aren't a concrete solution.

Driver Assistance: SOS and lane assistance issues can occur due to faulty modules in the steering assembly. The Formentor is also known to make unexpected calls to roadside assistance.

Also Worth Knowing

Cupra rolled out a more powerful version of the 1.4-litre PHEV, which makes 241bhp and can travel up to 34 electric miles on a charge. You could also get the Formentor with a tuning pack from German specialist Abt. The pack included lowered suspension, a 59bhp hike in power, to 365bhp, bespoke alloys, an Akrapovic exhaust system, carbonfibre bucket seats and Brembo brakes. Prices start from around £40,000.

An owner's view

Adam McCalden: "After three successive Fords, the wife and I decided to dive into the world of hybrid vehicles and bought a Formentor VZ21.4 eHybrid. We flew to Gatwick and drove it home to Northern Ireland, and we've never looked back.

"Having 25-35 miles of EV range is great, and our three-pin charger installed on the drive is enough to keep the battery charged. It only needs 10kW to boost the battery and it costs about £1.60 overnight. I like the look of the recent facelift, but for now we're staying put."

Sam Phillips

Title: Staff Writer

Sam joined the Autocar team in summer 2024 and has been a contributor since 2021. He is tasked with writing used reviews and first drives as well as updating top 10s and evergreen content on the Autocar website.

He previously led sister-title Move Electric, which covers the entire spectrum of electric vehicles, from cars to boats – and even trucks. He is an expert in new car news, used cars, electric cars, microbility, classic cars and motorsport.

Sam graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2021 with a BA in Journalism. In his final year he produced an in-depth feature on the automotive industry’s transition to electric cars and interviewed a number of leading experts to assess our readiness for the impending ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars.

Matt Saunders

Title: Road test editor

As Autocar’s chief car tester and reviewer, it’s Matt’s job to ensure the quality, objectivity, relevance and rigour of the entirety of Autocar’s reviews output, as well contributing a great many detailed road tests, group tests and drive reviews himself.

Matt has been an Autocar staffer since the autumn of 2003, and has been lucky enough to work alongside some of the magazine’s best-known writers and contributors over that time. He served as staff writer, features editor, assistant editor and digital editor, before joining the road test desk in 2011.

Since then he’s driven, measured, lap-timed, figured, and reported on cars as varied as the Bugatti Veyron, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Tesla Roadster, Ariel Hipercar, Tata Nano, McLaren Senna, Renault Twizy and Toyota Mirai. Among his wider personal highlights of the job have been covering Sebastien Loeb’s record-breaking run at Pikes Peak in 2013; doing 190mph on derestricted German autobahn in a Brabus Rocket; and driving McLaren’s legendary ‘XP5’ F1 prototype. His own car is a trusty Mazda CX-5.