CUPRA FORMENTOR FROM $51,990

The badge resembles an alien and some of the styling appears to be inspired by Lamborghini.

- 

Meet Cupra, the performance offshoot of Volkswagen-owned Spanish brand Seat. Like another VW-owned brand, Skoda, the Cupra range is underpinned by VW platforms and mechanicals, including drivetrains.

However Cupra is pitched as a much sportier brand than the relatively prosaic Skoda. You just have to look at the different styling to work that out. In many ways it's a case of same chocolates, but in very different boxes.

You'll also find a lot of VW bits under the bonnet of an Audi, but that’s something VW — and certainly Audi — don't advertise.

Formentor is a midsize SUV that, like VW's Tiguan, uses Golf underpinnings.

Formentor V, with a 140kW 2.0-litre turbopetrol/seven-speed dual clutch automatic/all-wheel drivetrain, is $51,990. VZ, with the 2.0-litre chipped for 180kW, is $56,990 and VZe, a plugin hybrid with a 1.4-litre turbopetrol/12.8kWh battery that’s good for around 50km of EV driving, is $64,990.

The model tested here is the performance flagship VZx, at $65,790. It uses the drivetrain from the Golf R/Tiguan R, with the EA888 2.0-litre turbo tuned for 228kW and 400Nm.

As a new brand that needs to work hard to hook customers, Cupra is sweetening the deal, on all its models, until the end of the year with the first three services included in the purchase price.

Formentor is slightly smaller than a Toyota RAV, and a lot less practical.