Model Year 24/25 Buying a new Formentor

[SRGTD]

Even though I am pretty satisfied with my Leon and wouldn't swap it for other car

BUT

I would not buy a car of brand that has dealership so far away.

I bought my Cupra in a dealership 200 km away from home (Cupra was not there yet), but I already knew that I will be able to service it at a local Seat dealership in my hometown.

Distance to the nearest dealership is certainly something to consider - especially if there’s not an nearby dealership and there are subsequent issues with the car that might involve more than one visit to the dealer before the issue(s) are resolved.

Dealership customer service is another important consideration for me. IMHO it’s always worth a new prospective buyer doing some research on the dealership they’re intending to use, in addition to researching the car they’re planning on buying. I can remember reading posts on the forum where customers have experienced extremely long (unacceptable?) wait times to get their cars booked into some dealerships for servicing and warranty work - not ideal if the owner is dependent on their car and they don’t have access to another. Availability of courtesy cars might also be an issue at some dealerships too.

 

[DaveSmith]

I have a 73 plate 190 2.0L FSI petrol V2 in Mag Tech Grey, which I bought used at 10 months old with 6000 miles showing. I love mine. Having come off the back of 2 BMW 320d M Sport coupes, the handling is not that far behind these, but the ride is far better. The quality of the interior is not quite up to BMW levels, but not far behind and perfectly acceptable. The equipment levels leave the BMW on the start line. My last BMW was a 2010 and £38k as it was fully loaded and the spec is far behind what the Formentor has as standard. I love driving the thing, and it's pretty quick for a 190. I'm getting high 30's to low 40's MPG and that is mixed driving whilst occasionally "enjoying" the car officer. It is a lot more practical than the BMW coupe too. Plus it looks rather nice too IMHO, and this is what first attracted me to it. It is certainly very distinctive and different and attracts admiring looks and comments, the latter mostly being asked "What is it?". Reliability wise, I've had the odd electrical gremlin moments with certain features being temporarily unavailable (e.g. high beam assist, front assist, road sign display, false warnings of turn signal fault (once only)). However, these generally clear after a few miles of driving and are generally worse in cold weather, and linked to fogged / iced up windscreen I believe. The only permanent fault I had was the dreaded SOS fault (search this forum for it as it is quite common). This resulted in SOS warning and lost GPS location with associated related effects. This was fixed under warranty by changing the antenna control module. The infotainment in mine was a bit slow, but after I did my own software update, which was pretty easy TBF, it is now quite a bit better. The non backlit touch sensitive heater / volume controls are in bit of a fiddle, especially on the move, but I never use the volume control as I use the steering wheel controls instead, and the heater hardly ever gets adjusted as that is what climate control is for. I leave it set to my desired temp and let the car do its stuff. Plus you can use the voice control function to adjust things and it works fine (e.g. "sync climate to 19 degrees"). The wireless charging I don't use as it overheats the phone. I continually suffer sporadic, but temporary, android auto disconnects, which is a tad annoying, but not a show stopper. In summary, I really like the car. It looks fantastic, drives great, is really practical, and being a tech savvy engineer type, I love all the gadgets.

 

[Andy.M]

From my experience with the formentor

I would not recommend one with a sunroof, especially if your dealer is that far away!

I had so many issues with mine, constantly phoning breakdown or customer care, turning interior lights on and off, sunroof gettin stuck open because the control panel stopped responding
I had the panel replaced 3 times, but it made no difference. Every time the weather got a bit cold, it would cause havoc.

Not had a single problem with my pan roof. I bet thats jinxed it now !!!!

 

[Wolfie54]

Even though I am pretty satisfied with my Leon and wouldn't swap it for other car

BUT

I would not buy a car of brand that has dealership so far away.

I bought my Cupra in a dealership 200 km away from home (Cupra was not there yet), but I already knew that I will be able to service it at a local Seat dealership in my hometown.

I know that you are right, really!

 

[Wolfie54]

I have a 73 plate 190 2.0L FSI petrol V2 in Mag Tech Grey, which I bought used at 10 months old with 6000 miles showing. I love mine. Having come off the back of 2 BMW 320d M Sport coupes, the handling is not that far behind these, but the ride is far better. The quality of the interior is not quite up to BMW levels, but not far behind and perfectly acceptable. The equipment levels leave the BMW on the start line. My last BMW was a 2010 and £38k as it was fully loaded and the spec is far behind what the Formentor has as standard. I love driving the thing, and it's pretty quick for a 190. I'm getting high 30's to low 40's MPG and that is mixed driving whilst occasionally "enjoying" the car officer. It is a lot more practical than the BMW coupe too. Plus it looks rather nice too IMHO, and this is what first attracted me to it. It is certainly very distinctive and different and attracts admiring looks and comments, the latter mostly being asked "What is it?". Reliability wise, I've had the odd electrical gremlin moments with certain features being temporarily unavailable (e.g. high beam assist, front assist, road sign display, false warnings of turn signal fault (once only)). However, these generally clear after a few miles of driving and are generally worse in cold weather, and linked to fogged / iced up windscreen I believe. The only permanent fault I had was the dreaded SOS fault (search this forum for it as it is quite common). This resulted in SOS warning and lost GPS location with associated related effects. This was fixed under warranty by changing the antenna control module. The infotainment in mine was a bit slow, but after I did my own software update, which was pretty easy TBF, it is now quite a bit better. The non backlit touch sensitive heater / volume controls are in bit of a fiddle, especially on the move, but I never use the volume control as I use the steering wheel controls instead, and the heater hardly ever gets adjusted as that is what climate control is for. I leave it set to my desired temp and let the car do its stuff. Plus you can use the voice control function to adjust things and it works fine (e.g. "sync climate to 19 degrees"). The wireless charging I don't use as it overheats the phone. I continually suffer sporadic, but temporary, android auto disconnects, which is a tad annoying, but not a show stopper. In summary, I really like the car. It looks fantastic, drives great, is really practical, and being a tech savvy engineer type, I love all the gadgets.

Wow! Such a fantastic response. Lot's to think about.

 

[Cupra Jon]

2025 VZ3 333 Coming up to 8 weeks old, had an EML on for 3 days which then weirdly disappeared and hasnt come back, about once a week I get a few gremlins in the ignition stage one phase - car wont start and it throws up a few functions are unavailable but after turning the ignition off and then back on it seems to do the trick... Car doesnt like keys being anywhere near your phone - it can throw "key not present in car" warnings while driving...
Apart from small gremlins its been all good - although 8 weeks in I have just changed the wiper blades cos they are just crap.

 

[Bear]

Hi Wolfie! Dazed has pretty much hit the nail on the head regarding people posting without any negatives or issues - there isn't really much point in telling people your car is absolutely as it should be!
Fwiw, I got my Formentor VZ2 310 new in March 22 and the only issue I've had is when my driver alerts started going nuts (which seems to be a common issue here) and the steering wheel had to be changed which was all done under warranty with no fuss.
I bloody love my motor, as does my missus. It goes like the clappers, has a decent size boot for us two, and is basically pretty much the best car we've ever had.
On the VW better build quality issue, we had a Tiguan previously and can't say we've noticed the Cupra being less well put-together.
All the best mate.

 

[Joolstdi]

I ordered my formentor VZ2 272 plug 2 months ago and it will be ready to pick up on the 16th of June,
Car has already been built and I have the chassis number.

BUT I did not order the sunroof after seeing this on the forum.
I will let you know how it goes get on.

 

[WindyG]

Hi there

Please excuse me if I am repeating topics already raised but I am new to this forum and I am sure that you will redirect me if needed.

I am now ready to change my car (as well as the Yeti I driven Volvo's, Honda's as well as a number of VAG cars such as a Golf Mk2 G60 Edition One and a Lupo GTI. I am now slowing down a bit, hence the Yeti, but now looking to change my car and currently appreciating the handsome looks, etc. of a Formentor eTSI 150 in metallic graphene (with a sunrooof). However I live on the west coast of Wales (near Barmouth) and my nearest Cupra dealership is in Shrewsbury (over 70 miles away), although I would probably use either Stourbridge or Wolverhampton where my son and daughter live (separately!). For that reason I need a car that I know won't need to visit to dealership too often.
However, I have been reading some rather negative comments such as: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=86&t=2052289 (particularly Boxster5) and others. I know that there are always, for their own reasons, detractors on certains brands and models, but...I. was also surprised that few people come back to defend the brand, etc.

Please can you help, I don't want to resort to Transformer type SUVs or boring hatchbacks, so can you help with some balancing advice and comments, etc. ?

I don't know if you've bought your car yet, but after shockingly poor service from my local Cupra dealership, I went to a nearby SEAT dealer (Holders of Congresbury) and bought a 74 plate 6 month old Formentor from them - Excellent service from Holders. It came direct from CUPRA in Milton Keynes (ex company registered car). So if you're still looking and have a SEAT dealership closer than the CUPRA dealer, it might be worth a visit.