Three all-new cars are set to land mid-year, plus an updated Ateca arriving next month.

PRICING and arrival timing for the next crop of cars from Cupra, the performance arm of Volkswagen Group’s Spanish brand element, SEAT, has been announced. 

An update of the Ateca sports utility that has been flying the flag for Cupra for more than a year will be a pathfinder for the main group, with expectation of release next month. 

Three all-new models – the Formentor, the Leon hatch and Leon Sportstourer – are schedule to arrive in June, though that timing is dependent on ongoing effects of the coronavirus on car making and shipping.  

When notifying intention for Cupra today, local brand boss James Yates also reminded that Germany has just gone into a hard lockdown, not expected to lift until early January.

As is, Covid-19 has already caused the distributor, part of Giltrap Group, to delay these announcements for a marque that is intended become the lead product type for private buyers while SEAT product will be presented more toward fleet and rental use.

Whatever challenges lay ahead, thanks to the imprint made by the Ateca in its current form, Cupra is resonating with New Zealanders at a level that leaves Yates confident is a brand that will achieve more focus once the family enlarges. 

“If these three new models replicate the Cupra Ateca’s success, we’ll be seeing a lot of car buyers in New Zealand re-thinking their badge allegiances.” 

A striking sports utility coupe, Formentor is the first Cupra car designed exclusively for that make – the others being re-engineered and style editions of VW cars – and is expected to become the volume king.

It will stand to offer a point of difference on more than just the impressive looks: By late next year there’ll be a hybrid version with front-wheel drive that uses a 1.4-litre petrol engine and an electric motor to produce 150kW.

In June, however, the focus is on two all-wheel-drive (4Drive in Cupra-speak) models with orthodox petrol drivetrains, in 140kW and 228kW formats, for $54,900 and $68,900 respectively, precluding on-roads. No pricing has been set for the e-Hybrid yet.

The Formentor is based on VW Group’s MQB Evo platform. Yates proposes that styling resembles that of a rugged all-terrain vehicle, but the car’s exterior design features bring a lighter contrast to the vehicle’s silhouette. A striking ingredient of the interior is a panoramic 12-inch floating infotainment screen.

The Formentor has recently entered production for European markets, and it is made at the brand’s facilities in Martorell, on the outskirts of Barcelona.

Yates also believes the Leon models – $59,900 in hatch and $6000 more as a Sportstourer - might also deliver decent penetration, pointing out that sporty station wagons are rare fare. The Sportstourer has no direct equal among other Group brand represented here.

“New Zealand’s growing affection for SUV’s, means there is a distinct shortage of exciting station-wagon models available … those priced well under $100,000 any way.”

He says this model’s 228kW 4Drive setup will catapult the car safely from standstill to 100 kmh in less than five seconds and cites that, as result of being more hunkered than an SUV, it will offer a more dynamic driving experience.

The Leon comes with Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) with four different pre-sets (Comfort, Normal, Sport and CUPRA) and the Sportstourer’s 620 litre cargo space is considerably larger than those offered by the Ateca (485 litres) and the Formentor (420 litres).

Meantime, the updated Ateca can be identified by styling revisions inside and out. The $66,900 model retains the current car’s 221kW/400Nm turbocharged four-cylinder 2.0-litre petrol and seven-speed auto. It will achieve 100kmh in 4.9s from a standing start. 

Meantime, Cupra’s first electric car, the el-Born, seems still likely to release here in 2022. Based on the same underpinnings as Volkswagen’s ID.3 hatchback and ID.4 SUV, the model has an official range of 498km on the WLTP test cycle.