Cupra Terramar a delectable drive

The Spanish compact SUV is more interesting than the usual German suspects

- Lee Nian Tjoe

Experiencing a car like the Cupra Terramar is like tasting wok hei in a simple plate of egg fried rice.

Here is the Cupra's take on the compact sport utility vehicle (SUV), cooked up with key ingredients that are also found in the likes of the Volkswagen Tiguan and Audi Q3. The Terramar is even made in Audi's factory in Hungary.

Somehow, the Terramar manages to be more delectable than the two German models. Like a skilled chef, Cupra took the familiar bowl of rice, cooking oil and eggs to create something that is better than the sum of its parts.

It starts with the way the car looks. This is consistent with the idea behind spinning off Cupra from Volkswagen-owned Seat in 2018 to be a performance brand. The Terramar certainly looks sporty with a mix of crisp lines and muscular curves.

The brand's stylised X logo, formed by two intersecting triangles, is echoed on the light clusters and the vents on the bumpers.

The window line rises towards the rear, while the roof seems to arc slightly as it stretches to the rear windscreen.

This makes the car look a bit more coupe-like than it actually is. In reality, the Cupra's body is still a usefully tall box with enough headroom for lankier adults and reasonably large windows.

The bonnet is exaggeratedly sculpted, with pronounced wings on the sides, which are visible from the driver's seat, like in the Porsche 911.

Continuing the sporty theme, the cabin features dark grey and black tones, with splashes of copper-coloured detailing and some interesting textures.

Elements like the infotainment touchscreen and the centre console, which houses the wireless phone charging pad and USB-C jacks, are angled towards the driver like in a supercar.