• Stylish and well-made interior
• Attractive but slow infotainment system
• Frustrating climate control panel

How is the quality and layout?

Good. We’ve tested several different examples of the Formentor and are pleased to report that material quality has been great across the board. It’s a premium-feeling yet accessible product.

The Formentor shares its dashboard with the latest SEAT Leon, meaning it inherits the same sleek, buttonless styling. It’s great to look at, but the lack of physical controls can make the system frustrating to use on the move. Features, like the heated seats, are operated from the touchscreen, while the climate controls are adjusted using touch-sensitive sliders under the infotainment screen.

The touchscreen icons for the heated seats are quite small, which makes them hard to hit on bumpy roads. The climate control sliders aren’t backlit, either, which means you can’t see them at night. We’re sure you’d learn where they are after a few months with the car, but we can’t help but think that traditional buttons and dials would have been better. Volkswagen has changed these on the facelifted ID.3, so it’s a safe bet the same tweaks will appear at some point on the Formentor.

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However, we really like the LED light strip that runs across the leading edge of the dashboard. You can change the colour it displays using the infotainment screen and, if you have the upgraded Safety and Driving Pack, it glows more intensely under the side mirrors to let you know about vehicles in your blind spot.

Another plus point for the Formentor is its driving position. Unlike a lot of SUVs, its driver’s seat has loads of vertical adjustment. You can almost get the seat base on the floorboards, which goes a long way to making the car feel less like a towering off-road behemoth and more like a hot hatch.

Infotainment and tech

The Formentor comes as standard with two screens. There’s 10.0-inch digital gauge cluster and a 12.0-inch infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Every version of the car also comes with a wireless smartphone charger, which is great. It’s a feature that should be standard in every car fitted with wireless smartphone mirroring. The only fault with the technology is that can make your phone overheat if left charging for too long.

The infotainment screen isn’t the slickest system we’ve used. Everything (the climate controls, audio functions, navigation and even the drive mode settings) can be controlled using the panel, so there’s a slightly overwhelming number of menus to sift through. We also experienced some lag when switching between functions, which makes it tricky to pull off quick adjustments on the move.

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The only physical buttons in the cabin are attached the steering wheel – and, thankfully, Cupra had the common sense to fix a drive mode selector button to one of its spokes. That means, if you want a burst of performance to overtake a lorry, you can quickly cycle through to ‘Cupra’ mode with your thumb. If you were forced to use the touchscreen, your opportunity would pass before you found the setting.

Is it comfortable?

• Figure-hugging seats
• Reasonably quiet cabin
• Firm ride in Sport mode

Comfort levels in the Formentor are largely dictated by the drive mode you’re using. VZ1 models and up come with adaptive dampers that allow the driver to choose how firm they want the ride to be. In its most aggressive setting, the Formentor is about as stiff as a touring car, thudding loudly over bumps and passing every contour in the road through the seat and into your posterior.

Dial the suspension back to its softest setting, though, and comfort levels improve dramatically. The ride is still a little on the firm side, but its perfectly acceptable for everyday use. The suspension settles down well once you’re out of the town and the motorway, too – it’s a surprisingly capable long-distance cruiser.

This is helped by the seats. They’re also quite firm, but they’re very supportive with lots of bolstering for your sides and plenty of space for your shoulders. Unlike the seats you get in the Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Tucson, the Formentor’s headrests don’t push your head forwards and force your chin into your chest. That means its easier to check your blind spots.

Engine noise is well-suppressed on all models, with little more than a distant hum permeating the firewall when you’re cruising along at normal speeds. There’s a bit of tyre roar, but that’s to be expected with a tall car riding on 19-inch alloy wheels and thin tyres.

If you’re smitten with the Formentor but value a quiet interior, perhaps consider the plug-in hybrid model. Be gentle with the throttle, and you can potter around on silent electric power for around 30 miles. However, if comfort and refinement are of paramount importance to you, you’d probably be better served by the likes of the Skoda Karoq or the equally stylish Citroen C5 X.