PART 1
I do not regret my purshahse however I was aware of the risks of buying a first gen car... from a new brand..but I also know 4 year warranty will most likely cover most of the problems that comes up.
I am still in love with the looks of the car...it does really stand out...and I guess you either love or hate it but most will love it... I was very lucky to get my car already in october the first 5 people in Sweden who have got it.. and the dealer did make a misstake to sell the car too me that early and they had to pay a fine for it afterwards I heard... I was just happy to buy the car and I had not even test drived the car before I bought it...I had however test drived the Cupra Ateca...
The First drive from Dealer to home was about 1 hour and it was an Euphoric experience... I was also driving it very careful... the seller told me to take it easy the first 3000 km to drive in the engine.
First thing I noticed was how flexible the suspension was I could change soft to hard I did like it. I was of course in love with the look, and inside it feels almost like a lamborgini in some ways...
I have got a lot of comments for the car... For me I bought it mostly as a winter car but right now I will drive it all year round unitl I can afford a more fun sport car at summer like Nissan GTR or something or Nissan 400Z Nismo (when it comes out).
Road Noise on the Bridgestones are not that impressive, but fully acceptable... I changed to Michilin Pilot Sport 4 ( A in GRIP ) C in in fuel efficiency). As always... when you buy a new tier they can differ a lot depending on what you choose.. they also exist in B in grip and A in fuel efficiency.
So yes I am not sure it was worth to change it... I would recommend to pay little bit extra for the Piltor sport 4S they are a lot more silent... noise level is about the same with the bridgestones and Piltor Sport 4...but yeah when you drive the car hard the PS4 is probably better. I am just saying... it is not worth the extra money if you don't buy the 4S... I deeply regret it now ofc... but too late now...
I have tried Lauch control one time... and it was very euphoric it felt like I was driving a different car almost... unfortunately.. you do not get the same push with launch control... without ESP you will get more torque...but easy to forget to disable it...
I would love to compare the torque curve with the Ateca... but you can also see it on youtube.. people who drive the Cupra Ateca seem to have more fun then in the Formentor not sure... it could be the engine noise...
Engine/exaust noise is the biggets disspointing thing with this car... Listen to Cupra Ateca you hear more engine and exaust... the pop and bangs on Formentor are most pathetic.. but sometimes if you are "lucky" you can get some pop/bang that people around you will actually take notice of....
I think most owners of the VZ want to modify the sound in some way... there is no option right now to upgrade exaust thru dealer... this is disspointing...
It is a total lack of bass frequencies in the engine sound... it is just very very boring...and there is many example of lower HP cars that will sound more brutal... the skoda octavia at work sounds almost more sporty... (if you do not use the fake engine sound).
It is possible the engine will start to sound louder with more miles when it gets older.. but yeah I think the lack of engine and exaust noise make this car less fun to drive compared to Ateca... I understand.. they want to have a good balance.. Formentor is however superior on the highway... where you do not want a droney sound... but if you buy a VZ you want certainly more sporty sound....
And the 6 Cylinder engine is going extinct... in EU... so on more sporty 4 cylinder car you really need to put more effort to make it sound more sporty... and fun... and I am sorry to sake.. the Fake engine sound... is not forfilling this need...at all.. it can do to some extent at low speed.. at higher RPM the fake sound sound very bad....and not very trusthworthy..
You can turn it off in individual setting... which is not satisfying at all..give us a big button on the first screen to turn it off...despite what mode you use... do not make it mode dependable.. a lot people want Cupra mode without the fake sound... especially if they have upgraded the exaust..
personally I will unplug the fuse to the fake sound speakers when I upgrade my exaust...also... look into more ways to make more sound in cabin... Lexus have this way that they let sound in thru some piple..you can open and close the valve.. I like this...idea...cause on longer trips I want a silent car actually.
I know there is a 5 Cylinder version (limited to 7000 cars)....do I reget I did not wait for it... probably not...cause... you will enter a new price range where maybe other cars area more interesting maybe... and...I also know that the car I have I can chip tune to atleast 380-450 HP and up to 600 HP with hardware mods. So for a long term perspective I am sure... it will keep me entertained... the 5 Cylinder Version you can probably get even more HP out of ...but 600 HP is fine with me...until I buy a faster car ofc...
Software is kind of glitchy... it has crashed a few times...and some things are bugging out... heat seater for right chair did not work one time until the day after it worked again...
Software in general need to be updated and faster... biggest and most noticeable problem is that sometime when I start the car I do not have the fake sound...despite what mode I select... if you select individual mode and use the mode selector on the steering wheel you can actually see that exact parameters for every mode... when this happen it does not change... when I use the mode selector it happens time to time...
Many people complain about the climate control... to them I say one thing... do not use slide use tap... tap works good..slide works not....
On the infortainment screen...I wish we could have more sensor data just like Nissan GTR..in fact Cupra Ateca have more Sensor data on the screen...
we have such big screen on the formentor... yet it full useless most of the time... cause.. I would want to have more real time data... which I do not see on the drivers screen...
Maps are what they are... they are not better or worse then other brands... it is just that.. if it is not google maps or waze they are not trustable or dependable... I have been using waze and the formentor satelite nav... and cupra nav would try to make very strange suggestions when it comes to roads... so yeah.. make sure you get the Seat uplink... so you can install android auto or Apple Carlplay... unfortunately it seem like you will not get to use the full screen... which is really bad... I hope it something they can fix...
Drivers screen.... it is kind of noticable that the quality of the LCD is not the best... black level is not on par with cupra Ateca... but.. it still works... it is certainly not the worse..but it is nothing near as good the infotainment screen.....On the driver screen... I wish I could see more info... not much to customize..also I wish to get better info how the power is distrubted thru all wheels... if the 4W is active or not..
Climate sytem in winter...is ok.. does not get warm super fast... however in summer it gets cold very fast...
I bought this car first of all to have the ultimate winter car...which is sexy sporty fun but also safe because of the 4WD system...
I have tested the car in a lot of snowy condition and the 4WD system would help me a lot when I was driving by long trucks on highway in snow storm...
during this snow storm which was 120 km/h road people was driving in in 70 km/g because of the snowstorm only right lane was plowed the left lane had snow maybe.. 4-5 centimeters..
Here it was very clear who was the king of the road...you would see all AWD car drive without any problem in the right lane...
And the Formentor VZ because of the 4WD system could also help me pass the trucks in the left lane... with snow...Problem is that the 4WD is not predicable... there is no way for you to set that you want power into all wheels.. this only happens as it seem when the car lose grip... so you actualy seem to make the tires lose grip for the 4WD to kick in...this make it a lot less safe.. I was passing the trucks..but with the car going as a snake back and forth... if I would had been able to set the car to put all power into all 4 wheels always... the car would had been soo much stable.. this is one more thing I hope Cupra add in the software updates if it is possible...
So is it the ultimate winter car... I would say no cause even though the 4WD kick off in a extreme scenario and helps... it usually little bit too late and you will get some uncofortable slide of the car where you feel that the car is out of control... the 4WD will kick in fast and stablize the car..but I wish I could make it set so if it is very snowy or icey that that it always push the powers too all wheels,.. cause... then I would not need to worry about the dealy of the 4WD system to kick in,..this could really change things between life and death..
I do not regret my purshahse however I was aware of the risks of buying a first gen car... from a new brand..but I also know 4 year warranty will most likely cover most of the problems that comes up.
I am still in love with the looks of the car...it does really stand out...and I guess you either love or hate it but most will love it... I was very lucky to get my car already in october the first 5 people in Sweden who have got it.. and the dealer did make a misstake to sell the car too me that early and they had to pay a fine for it afterwards I heard... I was just happy to buy the car and I had not even test drived the car before I bought it...I had however test drived the Cupra Ateca...
The First drive from Dealer to home was about 1 hour and it was an Euphoric experience... I was also driving it very careful... the seller told me to take it easy the first 3000 km to drive in the engine.
First thing I noticed was how flexible the suspension was I could change soft to hard I did like it. I was of course in love with the look, and inside it feels almost like a lamborgini in some ways...
I have got a lot of comments for the car... For me I bought it mostly as a winter car but right now I will drive it all year round unitl I can afford a more fun sport car at summer like Nissan GTR or something or Nissan 400Z Nismo (when it comes out).
Road Noise on the Bridgestones are not that impressive, but fully acceptable... I changed to Michilin Pilot Sport 4 ( A in GRIP ) C in in fuel efficiency). As always... when you buy a new tier they can differ a lot depending on what you choose.. they also exist in B in grip and A in fuel efficiency.
So yes I am not sure it was worth to change it... I would recommend to pay little bit extra for the Piltor sport 4S they are a lot more silent... noise level is about the same with the bridgestones and Piltor Sport 4...but yeah when you drive the car hard the PS4 is probably better. I am just saying... it is not worth the extra money if you don't buy the 4S... I deeply regret it now ofc... but too late now...
I have tried Lauch control one time... and it was very euphoric it felt like I was driving a different car almost... unfortunately.. you do not get the same push with launch control... without ESP you will get more torque...but easy to forget to disable it...
I would love to compare the torque curve with the Ateca... but you can also see it on youtube.. people who drive the Cupra Ateca seem to have more fun then in the Formentor not sure... it could be the engine noise...
Engine/exaust noise is the biggets disspointing thing with this car... Listen to Cupra Ateca you hear more engine and exaust... the pop and bangs on Formentor are most pathetic.. but sometimes if you are "lucky" you can get some pop/bang that people around you will actually take notice of....
I think most owners of the VZ want to modify the sound in some way... there is no option right now to upgrade exaust thru dealer... this is disspointing...
It is a total lack of bass frequencies in the engine sound... it is just very very boring...and there is many example of lower HP cars that will sound more brutal... the skoda octavia at work sounds almost more sporty... (if you do not use the fake engine sound).
It is possible the engine will start to sound louder with more miles when it gets older.. but yeah I think the lack of engine and exaust noise make this car less fun to drive compared to Ateca... I understand.. they want to have a good balance.. Formentor is however superior on the highway... where you do not want a droney sound... but if you buy a VZ you want certainly more sporty sound....
And the 6 Cylinder engine is going extinct... in EU... so on more sporty 4 cylinder car you really need to put more effort to make it sound more sporty... and fun... and I am sorry to sake.. the Fake engine sound... is not forfilling this need...at all.. it can do to some extent at low speed.. at higher RPM the fake sound sound very bad....and not very trusthworthy..
You can turn it off in individual setting... which is not satisfying at all..give us a big button on the first screen to turn it off...despite what mode you use... do not make it mode dependable.. a lot people want Cupra mode without the fake sound... especially if they have upgraded the exaust..
personally I will unplug the fuse to the fake sound speakers when I upgrade my exaust...also... look into more ways to make more sound in cabin... Lexus have this way that they let sound in thru some piple..you can open and close the valve.. I like this...idea...cause on longer trips I want a silent car actually.
I know there is a 5 Cylinder version (limited to 7000 cars)....do I reget I did not wait for it... probably not...cause... you will enter a new price range where maybe other cars area more interesting maybe... and...I also know that the car I have I can chip tune to atleast 380-450 HP and up to 600 HP with hardware mods. So for a long term perspective I am sure... it will keep me entertained... the 5 Cylinder Version you can probably get even more HP out of ...but 600 HP is fine with me...until I buy a faster car ofc...
Software is kind of glitchy... it has crashed a few times...and some things are bugging out... heat seater for right chair did not work one time until the day after it worked again...
Software in general need to be updated and faster... biggest and most noticeable problem is that sometime when I start the car I do not have the fake sound...despite what mode I select... if you select individual mode and use the mode selector on the steering wheel you can actually see that exact parameters for every mode... when this happen it does not change... when I use the mode selector it happens time to time...
Many people complain about the climate control... to them I say one thing... do not use slide use tap... tap works good..slide works not....
On the infortainment screen...I wish we could have more sensor data just like Nissan GTR..in fact Cupra Ateca have more Sensor data on the screen...
we have such big screen on the formentor... yet it full useless most of the time... cause.. I would want to have more real time data... which I do not see on the drivers screen...
Maps are what they are... they are not better or worse then other brands... it is just that.. if it is not google maps or waze they are not trustable or dependable... I have been using waze and the formentor satelite nav... and cupra nav would try to make very strange suggestions when it comes to roads... so yeah.. make sure you get the Seat uplink... so you can install android auto or Apple Carlplay... unfortunately it seem like you will not get to use the full screen... which is really bad... I hope it something they can fix...
Drivers screen.... it is kind of noticable that the quality of the LCD is not the best... black level is not on par with cupra Ateca... but.. it still works... it is certainly not the worse..but it is nothing near as good the infotainment screen.....On the driver screen... I wish I could see more info... not much to customize..also I wish to get better info how the power is distrubted thru all wheels... if the 4W is active or not..
Climate sytem in winter...is ok.. does not get warm super fast... however in summer it gets cold very fast...
I bought this car first of all to have the ultimate winter car...which is sexy sporty fun but also safe because of the 4WD system...
I have tested the car in a lot of snowy condition and the 4WD system would help me a lot when I was driving by long trucks on highway in snow storm...
during this snow storm which was 120 km/h road people was driving in in 70 km/g because of the snowstorm only right lane was plowed the left lane had snow maybe.. 4-5 centimeters..
Here it was very clear who was the king of the road...you would see all AWD car drive without any problem in the right lane...
And the Formentor VZ because of the 4WD system could also help me pass the trucks in the left lane... with snow...Problem is that the 4WD is not predicable... there is no way for you to set that you want power into all wheels.. this only happens as it seem when the car lose grip... so you actualy seem to make the tires lose grip for the 4WD to kick in...this make it a lot less safe.. I was passing the trucks..but with the car going as a snake back and forth... if I would had been able to set the car to put all power into all 4 wheels always... the car would had been soo much stable.. this is one more thing I hope Cupra add in the software updates if it is possible...
So is it the ultimate winter car... I would say no cause even though the 4WD kick off in a extreme scenario and helps... it usually little bit too late and you will get some uncofortable slide of the car where you feel that the car is out of control... the 4WD will kick in fast and stablize the car..but I wish I could make it set so if it is very snowy or icey that that it always push the powers too all wheels,.. cause... then I would not need to worry about the dealy of the 4WD system to kick in,..this could really change things between life and death..