Cupra Formentor VZ5: The fury of the five potentiometers has never been so practical

We said in our Audi RS3 road test last year that this five-cylinder unit may be one of the last great conventional engines, and that remains true. Its sinister howl is an event every time you evoke it. Sure, it’s no different to the sound of Volvo T5s and Audi Quattros, but it’s not something you get with any other current production engine. You have to look for a Porsche GT3 to find a modern engine that sings as much as the EA855.

Its power delivery is also noticeably old school and a far cry from today’s typical hybrid performance engine. You want at least 3000 rpm on the tachometer before it really starts pulling. Note the leisurely acceleration times in the lower speed increments and the large disparity between the total 30-70 mph time and that of fourth gear.

It adds a bit of texture and character, and if you’re looking for full performance, you can easily access it by simply lowering the speed. Fortunately, it doesn’t suffer too much from turbo lag; That is, the throttle response is quite immediate.

If you rev ​​this engine, the performance it evokes will be powerful. Frustratingly, our car’s launch control was a little unreliable. Normally, engaging Cupra mode, setting the ESC to Sport, and putting your left foot on the brake while hitting the accelerator should set you up, but our car wasn’t always willing to pick up enough revs. In those cases it got stuck on the line and left about a second on the table. However, when everything is working correctly, the systems ensure that there is only a minimal amount of wheel spin and that the dual-clutch gearbox moves efficiently through the gears.

The result is that this transverse-engined crossover can stay ahead of an Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio up to 130 km/h (although that car was tested in the wet). From then on, the Alfa’s 503 HP V6 is more powerful, but only a little.

On the road, the five-cylinder is always an event. Exhaust noise is relatively subdued even in the racier modes, which we think is appropriate since racer kids will probably put an aftermarket exhaust on it anyway.

However, the seven-speed dual-clutch DSG automatic feels its age. It’s effective at maximum attack and responds well to paddles, but in everyday use it moves, makes noise, and wobbles when you don’t give it enough time to think. We couldn’t help but imagine this car with a six-speed manual transmission, even if that was a niche proposition.

It’s a similar story with the brakes, which hold up well during track use, with short stopping distances in both dry and wet conditions and no fade. However, the pedal is frustratingly inconsistent: there’s dead travel at the top, after which the brakes suddenly grab and it’s hard to predict when exactly they’ll come on. In stop-and-go traffic, you simply have to accept that perfectly smooth stops will be the exception rather than the rule.