Cupra Terramar review

Cupra has turned out some good electric cars lately: the Tavascan fastback crossover, and Born VZ hottish RWD hatch. But the Tarramar is a powertrain bet-hedge, powered by petrol. It's a mainstream-sized family crossover, Cupra's roomiest car yet. Roomier than the lower-slung Formentor.

In other words, the sort of car legions of families flock to. Either those who buy privately, or, because of the PHEV options, people who drive company cars and want to save tax. Inevitably as it's jumping into a busy pool of buyers, the Terramar has to fight off a seething crowd of rivals.

If you go fishing where the shoals are, you'll be competing with lots of other nets…

Quite. Under the skin it shares pretty well everything with the Skoda Kodiaq and VW Tiguan, so they're obvious functional competitors. But it feels and looks more extravert than that. It also wants to get more attention than the Nissan Qashqai, Kia Sportage, Ford Kuga, Honda ZR-V, Vauxhall's new Grandland or the Volvo XC40.

The Cupra wants you to think it's more of a party animal in a loud shirt. If that's not a total contradiction in a family crossover. Maybe think more of the Peugeot 3008, Alfa Romeo Tonale or even BMW X1.

How flash is it in the metal?

There's certainly lots going on in the nose, with the multiple lit triangles, shark-nose metalwork and layers of grillage. Same round the back, thanks again to busy illumination and a quasi-diffuser with vortex generators which we don't expect make any real difference to airflow. And Cupra has done its usual baroque job with the wheels.

But between those ends, the side elevation and glazing are curiously conservative.

And inside?

The dash and materials choice are pretty funky. The screen systems make good sense. There's plenty of equipment. The seats are fine. So for the people in the front, life's good.

Out back, the tombstone seats in the VZ steal a bit of legroom and light, making it feel more cramped than it is. But actually space is acceptable.

More of an issue in a family car, the boot in the hybrid version is small because the battery's under the back seat, evicting the fuel tank to a position under the boot (protected from a rear-ender by the silencer).

So how about the drive?

Very satisfactory. The eHybrid system works quietly and responsively, and has a good range; 45 to 50 real suburban miles, then handing the baton to and from the petrol with nary a fumble.

Even on winding roads you can take control with paddles, so the full power of 272bhp is there when you want it. Not that this is rabid fast, as the hybrid system adds a quarter tonne to the base version's kerb weight, taking it to 1,900kg.

It doesn't feel too lardy in bends mind, steering fluently and riding bumps well. The suspension is a well-worked compromise, helped on the VZ trim by adaptive dampers that have a broad scope.

The plug-in hybrid powertrain works well: good range in electric mode, seamless in hybrid mode and quite fun in manual mode. Otherwise we know from other VW Group cars that the low-power petrols are decent and the high-power AWD is effective.

The interior is distinctive in design and materials, and Cupra has improved the interface over VW's standard by judiciously adding some switches. If the busy looks and cabin decor are up your alley, this is a strong contender in a crowded class.