New Cupra Formentor teased ahead of 29 April reveal
The popular Formentor will soon gain a mid-life refresh with new LED lights and an illuminated badge
The Formentor is Cupra’s best-selling car and the Spanish brand is clearly keen to keep it fresh with a new facelift on the way. The maker has now confirmed the revised Cupra Formentor will be revealed alongside an updated Cupra Leon on 29 April – issuing a single teaser image in the process.
We’d already spotted the revised compact SUV out testing on the road, but this picture gives us our first official look at the updated car. Limited only to the rear lighting signature, it shows a distinctive new design and an illuminated Cupra badge. We can also pick out illuminated Cupra lettering on the side of the light cluster, but the rest of the car remains under wraps.
Initially arriving in late 2020, the Formentor is a sporty coupe-SUV that sits on the same MQB evo platform as the SEAT Leon and Volkswagen Golf. A whopping 63.8 per cent of Cupra sales were accounted for by the Formentor in 2022, with Cupra as a brand steadily closing the sales gap to SEAT.
While the lone darkened teaser picture largely keeps us guessing, a series of previous spy images give more away. First spotted almost a year ago, the car in question looks to sport a completely new grille and new LED headlights that mimic those on the forthcoming Cupra Tavascan SUV. The Formentor’s lower front bumper will also be revised with new air intakes.
The side of the car is undisguised, showing no changes. We could potentially see the Formentor given some new alloy wheel choices, however, along with some new paint colours. The rear on this prototype has been given camouflage to hide what looks like a new rear diffuser and side air vents.
The overall layout of the interior shouldn’t change too much. A 12-inch central touchscreen should still be available on every Formentor model, fitted with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. We hope to see the touch-sensitive climate control slider become backlit to make it easier to use at night; the infotainment itself will most likely gain similar updates to those seen on the VW Golf last year.
These latest spy shots were taken at the Nurburgring, where we’ve also spotted Cupra’s Leon Estate testing. Both the hatchback and more practical wagon will be revealed alongside the Formentor next week.
Prices for the current Formentor start from £32,580 for the 148bhp 1.5-litre four-cylinder V1 and we expect a slight increase across the range with the coming facelift. The 306bhp 2.0-litre range-topping model may also get a bump in power to match the 316bhp Golf R Estate, which uses the same engine.
Now read more about the upcoming Cupra Tavascan...
