Cupra Terramar review

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Cupra completes its model range with a big sibling to the Ateca

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Cupra describes its new car, the Cupra Terramar, as a sporty SUV with a bold and confident look and a new generation of hybrid engines. See the issue here? That could potentially describe a lot of new cars and, looking at it, it’s not immediately clear where it sits in Cupra’s range.

The Cupra Ateca and Seat Ateca are getting pretty old now, and compared with stuff like the Kia Sportage, Peugeot 3008 and Renault Austral, it’s pretty small. So the Terramar has all the latest powertrains and digital tech and is a size bigger to accommodate those growing families. Viewed another, less charitable way, it’s an angry-looking Volkswagen Tiguan. So the question is: is that something the new car market was missing?

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DESIGN & STYLING

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02 Cupra Terramar PHEV 2024 review front driving

To start with the basics, the Terramar uses the latest iteration of the MQB Evo platform, which means it’s powered by a range of familiar powertrains.

There are three options that don’t need plugging in: a 1.5-litre mild-hybrid four-cylinder with 148bhp driving the front wheels, and a four-wheel-drive 2.0-litre with either 201bhp or 262bhp.

Then there’s a 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid with either 201bhp or 268bhp. Both have the same big battery as the latest VW Golf and Tiguan, Skoda Superb etc, so they’re all rated for more than 70 miles on a charge, which is pretty impressive. They’re also capable of 50kW rapid charging.

Cupra's naming system is a tad confusing, because it rolls the engine version and trim level into one. The 1.5-litre mild hybrid, and the 201bhp versions of the 2.0-litre petrol and the PHEV are badged 'V', with a number indicating how posh the trim level is (so, V1, V2 and V3). Meanwhile, the more powerful 2.0-litre and PHEV are badged 'VZ' (for 'veloz', which means 'fast' in Spanish), again with a number for the trim level.

This is all packaged in a body that, at 4.5m in length, is bigger than a Skoda Karoq and Seat/Cupra Ateca, but smaller than a Skoda Kodiaq (which is a seven-seat SUV). Like the facelifted Formentor and Leon, it uses Cupra’s new front light signature of three triangles, while at the rear, there’s a light bar that incorporates the Cupra badge.

As with all Seats and Cupras, the Terramar is named after a place in Spain, in this case the Autódromo de Sitges-Terramar, a historic racing oval near Barcelona.

INTERIOR

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08 Cupra Terramar PHEV 2024 review IV driving

If the exterior looks slightly 'generic angry crossover', the interior is a bit more distinctive. The cockpit is fairly driver-oriented and has a couple neat details, such as the copper-coloured accents and technical textiles made from recycled plastics. It feels inviting and high-quality, and gives you a fairly low driving position for something that is supposed to be an SUV. The sports seats are nicely supportive, with plenty of adjustment, and there’s a reasonable amount of storage.

The rear seats slide, recline and fold in a 40/20/40 pattern and offer a competitive amount of leg room for the class. The boot is less impressive, at 400 litres for the PHEVs and 508 litres for the other models, but it's decent enough and the floor remains flat, even in the PHEVs (where you simply lose the lower setting for the variable-height boot floor).

Almost everything is controlled through the centre screen, which has had a significant update compared with previous generations of Cupras, but still has room for improvement. The dreaded touch bar remains and looks a bit cheap compared with the rest of the interior, but the main screen interface is fairly logical.

A bar at the bottom gives you instant access to the climate controls and heated seats, and a permanent bar at the top lets you choose up to three shortcuts. Swiping down reveals even more customisable shortcuts. Some of the menus (particularly the one for the plug-in hybrid drivetrain) are too complex, but most frequently used functions are easily accessible, including the ADAS controls.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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16 Cupra Terramar PHEV 2024 review engine

Cupra tries to profile itself as the sporty brand of the VW Group. It has managed that fairly well with the Cupra Born but it's much harder to do with a front-wheel-drive hybrid crossover, as the Terramar demonstrates. So far, we've driven both VZ versions – the 262bhp 2.0-litre petrol and the 268bhp plug-in hybrid, and they alter the character of the Terramar quite noticeably.

The PHEV really struggles to cash the sporty cheques that Cupra's marketing is writing. A power output of 268bhp would lead you to expect a quicker 0-62mph time than 7.3sec. Then again, it’s not exactly slow. Worse, though, is its character, which runs Toyota’s hybrids close for sucking out the remaining whisper of fun.

There’s a plethora of drive modes and a Sport mode for the gearbox and shifter paddles but, in the end, the car will ignore them and decide to do what it reckons is right. That might be to shut off the engine when you’re braking into a corner, or to loudly fire it up when you think you’re accelerating gently enough on electric power. It just keeps you at arm’s length from what the car is doing, making you very disinclined to drive this supposedly sporty car anything other than gently.

It's a different story with the 262bhp 2.0 TSI. It's same engine as in a VW Golf GTI, albeit coupled to a four-wheel drive system in the Terramar. While it's not the most charismatic engine, and it relies on digital augmentation to sound good, it certainly gets the job done. Unlike the hybrid, it delivers its power in a predictable, linear way, with very little turbo lag.

It is worth noting that the Terramar is down on power compared to the BMW X1 M35i, Mercedes-AMG GLA 35 and Mini Countryman JCW, which are all in the 300bhp range. Does that matter when it does 0-62mph in a brisk 5.9sec? It's a personal preference whether those bragging rights are important to you, but they will be for some buyers.

The seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox can be a little clunky when you surprise it with a sudden stab of the throttle, but goes about its business smoothly and efficiently most of the time.

RIDE & HANDLING

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17 Cupra Terramar PHEV 2024 review front cornering

Driving gently is something the Terramar actually rather good at, at least in the posh spec of our test cars, with their adaptive dampers. As in other VW Group products, when you set the dampers to the softest setting, the car rides really nicely, dealing effortlessly with choppy roads and most rough surfaces, with only the worst potholes exposing some brittleness. Road noise is perhaps slightly elevated at motorway speeds, but that might have been the particular surface of the Danish motorway on our test route.

Driver assistance features are standard VW issue, so generally quite mature, and the annoying ones are easy to turn off with a couple of presses of the relevant hard keys on the steering wheel.

Handling, on the other hand, is somewhat lacklustre for something that’s billed as a sporty SUV. Again, this really depends on whether you go for the front-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid or the four-wheel drive 2.0 TSI.

The PHEV feels nose-heavy and very front-wheel drive. Mild understeer is the order of the day, with no hint of throttle-adjustability. Like other Cupras, it has pleasantly light steering that’s quick but not nervous, though it isn't bursting with feedback.

Despite its four-wheel drive system, the 2.0 TSI feels much lighter and more eager to dart in to corner. It doesn't get the torque-split device from the Cupra Leon Estate and Golf R, so when you get on the power out of a corner, it simply grips and goes, with little in the way of entertainment. In this spec, the Terramar just handles very competently and securely, but if you're looking for outright fun, you probably wouldn't be looking at an SUV anyway.

Cupra Terramar news

Cupra considers 'provocative bodystyles' in move away from SUVs
Cupra considers 'provocative bodystyles' in move away from SUVs
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MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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01 Cupra Terramar PHEV 2024 review lead cornering

Right-hand-drive Terramars will hit the UK in the early part of 2025, and the range starts with the 1.5 eTSI mild hybrid in V1 trim at £37,605, which is similar to a Volkswagen Tiguan with the same engine, or a BMW X1 sDrive20i.

The entry-level hybrid with 201bhp is priced from £44,055, which is slightly more than the BMW X1 xDrive25e, but then the Cupra is better equipped and has a much longer electric range. It's rated for 76 miles, which is really impressive. The more powerful hybrid is about £2500 more and is simply not worth the extra outlay.

The high-performance petrol with 262bhp is priced from £45,095, which is a bit cheaper than the BMW X1 M35i and Mercedes-AMG GLA 35, but then those are also more powerful. Meanwhile, the Mini Countryman JCW, which shares its mechanicals with the BMW, is slightly cheaper.

VERDICT

19 Cupra Terramar PHEV 2024 review static beach

Cupra's marketing positions the Terramar as a sporty, distinctive SUV, which is a tall order. The degree to which the car achieves that goal depends strongly on which version you pick.

In a segment as crowded as that of small SUVs, it's very hard to stand out and we're not sure the Terramar fully manages it. It looks good, has some neat touches in the interior and drives pretty well, but so do many of its rivals. And there are many of those: everything from the mechanically related VW Tiguan to the Kia Sportage and premium options like the BMW X1 and Mercedes-Benz GLA.

In the case of the plug-in hybrid Terramar, it does okay as a rational option, being plenty comfortable and practical, with a very long electric range (and accompanying low company car tax). The Volkswagen Tiguan and Skoda Kodiaq have the same, of course, but you might very well prefer the look of the Cupra. However, it wants to be a sports SUV, but simply isn't.

On that count, the pure-petrol 2.0 TSI with 262bhp does much better, with more natural and engaging handling. Meanwhile, it manages to maintain very creditable ride comfort. Its performance is more energetic too, if lagging behind rivals a little.

The Cupra Terramar ticks quite a lot of boxes, but risks getting lost in a sea of rivals.

Illya Verpraet

Illya Verpraet Road Tester Autocar
Title: Road Tester

As part of Autocar’s road test team, Illya drives everything from superminis to supercars, and writes reviews, comparison tests, as well as the odd feature and news story. 

Much of his time is spent wrangling the data logger and wielding the tape measure to gather the data for Autocar’s eight-page road tests, which are the most rigorous in the business thanks to independent performance, fuel consumption and noise figures.