• Racy design feels quite cosy on the inside
• But there is plenty of space for four adults
• Boot is bigger than many in this class 

How much space is there? 

Despite knowing full well that the Cupra Terramar is closely related to the Volkswagen Tiguan, we almost didn’t believe it at first. With a roof height some 7.6cm lower, even walking up to the Terramar it seems like a significantly smaller car. This is an impression that continues on the inside, due perhaps to the more angular dashboard design and chunky front seats as well as the narrower window openings.

It’s fundamentally fine once you’re in, though we did have to do some fiddling about with the front seat in order to feel there was enough space around the child seats we fitted in the back. The position of the rear seats can also be adjusted slightly by sliding them forward and adjusting the angle of the backrest. But even at their most passenger-friendly it definitely feels a little tighter in the rear than it does in the VW, and it’s more difficult to get the child seats through the door opening, too.

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Boot space and storage 

Speaking of things being a little tighter, the Terramar also has a slightly smaller boot than the Tiguan. However, with the rear seats as upright and as far forward as they’ll go you will be able to squeeze 642 litres of essentials into the Cupra, compared with 652 litres in the Tiguan. That’s measured up to the parcel shelf, so there’s some wiggle room, too.

When maximising passenger space, luggage volume drops to 540 litres – this is still at least 30 litres more than you get in the Cupra Ateca, which competes in roughly the same area of the market. With a rear seat back that’s split 40:20:40 for further versatility and an adjustable-height boot floor, the Terramar is very competitive with the rest of the class – the boot is bigger here than in the Hyundai Tucson and Nissan Qashqai, for instance. 

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With the rear seats fully folded, you get 1,544 litres of haulage space when loaded to the roof – that’s 106 litres less than the Tiguan can cram in. Also note that all figures drop substantially for the plug-in hybrid models because their large electric drive batteries take up space that would otherwise be available to suitcases and shopping. With the seats up you get 400-490 litres of room, increasing to a max of 1,404 litres when they’re folded. 

In-car storage is acceptable rather than overwhelmingly generous. There’s a useful central cubby with a lid, but the door pockets are somewhat awkwardly shaped, in keeping with the rest of the heavily styled interior. 

Is it easy to park? 

The view out of the back of the Terramar isn’t brilliant due to the slot-like rear windscreen, but the ridged front wings make the front easy enough to judge. Neither matters particularly, as front and rear parking sensors are standard on every model, as is a rear parking camera.

Higher specification models – V2 and VZ2 upwards – also get a 360-degree camera system that gives you a top-down view of the surroundings, making it even easier to avoiding accidentally kerbing one of the intricate alloy wheels. They also come with Intelligent Park Assist, which is an automatic parking system that includes a memory function to record tricky manoeuvres so you don’t have to repeat them. 

Safety 

• No Euro NCAP crash test data yet
• Closely related cars and other Cupras have five stars
• Plenty of active driver assistance as standard – some of it can be annoying 

The Cupra Terramar has not yet been crash-tested by safety body Euro NCAP – but the closely related VW Tiguan was awarded five stars in 2024 and other recent Cupra models have similarly received the maximum five-star rating. 

It’s certainly not short of safety kit. All models get Front Assist to reduce the likelihood of frontal collisions, a Driver Alert System, road-sign recognition, lane keeping assistance, and Emergency Steering Support with turn assist, which will do it’s best to help you avoid a crash. There are also multiple airbags, including one to stop the front passengers banging together during an impact. 

As with most current VW Group cars, we found the Front Assist a little too keen to falsely flag parked cars and slowing traffic as a hazard – but it’s probably better to be too alert than not alert enough. The dynamic lane-keeping assist will also corrupt the feel through the steering on country roads and sometimes insists on turning too early on motorway curves; you can switch this off with a few taps of the central touchscreen.