It’s not a seat. Not now, never before. Formentor is only badged as Cupra, the sporty and electrified offshoot mark of Seat. So, if you thought all the cupra were just rebadged seats, this terrible “coupe-SUV” was trampled everywhere in your discussion.

Obviously, it’s not a completely bespoke machine from scratch. It’s not the way the Volkswagen Group set out to take over the planet car. Under its crisp, wrinkled skin, the Formentor is based on the same raw materials as the rounded seat Ateca, or, for that matter, the VW Golf: the same basic chassis, shared gearbox, and brand new (and pretty good). ) Leon hatchback.

However, to give the formentor a butch stance, it is longer and lower than the school’s practice-specific Ateka. In metal it’s a handsome beast, and one Top Gear staff wonders how Cupra can sneak out a design with a much better resolution than the Lamborghini Urus. In this class, it looks good and it helps Cupra find a foothold. And to help the pedigree, for the time being, the only engine option is pure hot hatch feed.

Choose from two engines that currently share with the Cupra Leon hot hatchback. In short, this is a new plug-in hybrid setup with a 306bhp 2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbo unit that drives all four wheels (the powertrain you’re familiar with, such as the VW Golf R and Audi S3) or a 1.4-liter turbo engine. With an electric motor to develop 242bhp. The eHybrid version can claim 31 miles on electricity alone.

There are 6 trim lines: I tested the range topper with a 306bhp engine-certainly the most cupra-ish of all formentors.

Oh, that name? Apparently it has nothing to do with the horrifying soul-sucking villains of the Harry Potter universe, nor with the characteristics of the yeast that brews your own beer. The “formenter” is actually a beautiful peninsula on Mallorca, in favor of Cupra’s Spanish roots. Oddly enough, the word “formenter” doesn’t actually appear anywhere in the car, so keep it in mind when your peers ask for the name of your car.