GRUNT OF THE LITTER

The sharp-styled Cupra Formentor plug-in hybrid delivers thrilling performance, everyday usability and (if you can tame its acceleration) surprising economy

- Sean O'Grady

Talk about torque.

I'm indebted, I should confess, to Google and AI for this working dedication of the term, tricky as it is to explain: “Think of it as the effort needed to start something rotating (like loosening a stubborn jar lid) versus horsepower, which is about the speed it can keep rotating”. Or “grunt” if you will. Anyway, my test car this week has it in superabundance. It is the thing I remember best about the Cupra Formentor 1.5 E-Hybrid VZ1 272PS DSG, to give it its full pedigree-dog-at-Crufts-style name, is how frisky it could be from rest with even the gentlest of encouragement. Although I don't make a habit of stamping my Dr Martens boot on the accelerator, I was actually frightened of giving the Formentor full welly when setting off from the lights.

There is so much power immediately available to the driver that the front wheels can’t quite cope with it, so they skid a little to get some grip, and then off we jolly well go. It’s because this relatively sporty Cupra, which you may think of as a posh Seat, has a combination of petrol and electric power, and the engineers haven’t quite blended the mix in such a way as to ensure a civilised takeoff.