Cupra Terramar Review & Prices

The Cupra Terramar is what you get when you send a Volkswagen Tiguan off on a Spanish holiday and it comes back with a suntan and a belly full of sangria. Though it’s based on the same underpinnings as the Tiguan - as well as the Skoda Kodiaq, and by extension a whole load of other cars within the Volkswagen Group brands - it’s quite a different car in many ways.

As a mid-sized family SUV, the Terramar can count among its alternatives some excellent vehicles such as the Kia Sportage, Nissan Qashqai, Citroen C5 Aircross and many others. Top-spec models, coming in at more than £50,000, even trouble cars from the size class above such as the Carwow Award-winning Hyundai Santa Fe.

Though it’s mechanically similar to the Tiguan, the Cupra Terramar is significantly lower-set, so it feels like a much smaller car. That suits Cupra’s modus operandi well - it’s meant to be Volkswagen and Skoda’s sporty sibling.

It certainly looks the part. It has very sculpted bodywork with a thrust-forward bonnet and distinctive, if not entirely handsome, triangular LED daytime running lights. You get alloy wheels of either 19- or 20-inch diameter, and at the rear there’s a full-width LED lightbar. It makes the conservatively-styled Tiguan look quite boring, especially if you opt for the eye-catching ‘Cosmos Blue’ or fantastic ‘Dark Void’ purple shades.

Inside, it’s a bit more restrained, but there’s evidence of Cupra’s sporty intentions here too. The seats are very sculpted, and the starter button is positioned on the steering wheel - just like an Audi R8. There’s also copper detailing on surfaces like the air vents and door cards - a Cupra hallmark.

Practicality isn’t quite up to the standards of the Tiguan, a consequence of the Terramar’s smaller dimensions. The sliding rear seat allows you to balance rear legroom and luggage space, but in its rearmost position - where it’ll have to be to accommodate adults - you get 540 litres of boot space. That’s still good, but a Tiguan or Sportage are both larger. Capacity drops if you go for one of the plug-in hybrid engines, too, as the large battery sits under the boot floor.

Speaking of engines, there are five to choose from. The basic version, and the only one that costs less than £40,000 and so avoids the expensive car supplement on road tax, is a 1.5-litre mild hybrid petrol, but there are two much juicier 2.0-litre petrols available as well as a 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid with two choices of power output.

Regardless of which one you opt for, you’ll get a sportier feeling behind the wheel than you would in most alternatives. Quick steering and firm suspension make the Terramar a comparative pleasure to drive down a twisty road, though the payoff is that it’s a bit less soft and forgiving over bumps in town and not as relaxing on a long motorway drive either.

If this blend of sporty and stylish sounds like your cup of tea, check out all the Cupra Terramar deals here on Carwow. You can also see our best Cupra Terramar leasing deals. Check out used Cupras for sale and remember that Carwow can even help you to sell your old car when the time comes.

The entry-level Cupra Terramar dips below £40,000, with a starting price of just under £38,000 - so it avoids the expensive car tax supplement in years two to five of ownership. However, that only gets you the 1.5-litre mild-hybrid petrol in V1 trim - choose a different spec or engine and you’ll pay more than £40,000.

All models get plenty of kit - full LED lights, 18-inch alloy wheels, sports seats, tinted windows and a 12.9-inch touchscreen display with wireless smartphone connectivity. If you step up to V2 trim, you can add a 360-degree camera, 19-inch alloys and a head-up display.

From there, you can opt for a sportier-looking VZ1 or VZ2 model - confusingly, the VZ1 is higher-up in the trim structure than the V2. Both of these get flashier alloys, different seat designs, Matrix LED lights and dynamic chassis control, or a pair of rather pricey special editions - First Edition or America’s Cup.

Though the starting price is more than a Tiguan, if you match the specs then the Cupra does work out cheaper. Next to the more budget-friendly Kia Sportage, it looks quite pricey, though.

Sportier to drive than a Tiguan, but less comfortable over bumps

In town

Every Cupra Terramar has an automatic gearbox, so driving in town is nice and easy - though the dual-clutch ‘box can occasionally be a bit dim-witted at roundabouts or junctions, scrambling for the right ratio.

The Terramar has a firmer suspension set-up than the mechanically similar Volkswagen Tiguan or Skoda Kodiaq, so it feels a bit harsher over bumps and potholes than those cars. You can mitigate this somewhat by going for a VZ1 model or above, as these get dynamic chassis control - adjustable suspension that allows you to choose how firm or soft the dampers are. With the setting slid all the way into comfort, the Terramar is a bit more forgiving.

You’ll also notice bumps more if you go for the heavy e-Hybrid model, rather than one of the regular petrol engines. However, these hybrids do have the trump card of a really long electric range, allowing you to do most of your town driving in serene silence without ever having to trouble the petrol engine.

On the motorway

Not much to report here - the Cupra Terramar is a perfectly fine motorway car. None of the engine options feel gutless when you’re getting up to speed, and when you’re at the legal limit wind and road noise are well-contained.

You’ll only really notice the firmer suspension setup over expansion joints or rumble strips, and for the most part the Terramar is comfortable enough even on the UK’s pockmarked major roads. The assisted driving tech works well, too, especially Travel Assist - Cupra’s name for the bundle of adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist and lane-change functions. And the plug-in hybrid Terramar is clever enough to reserve its electric charge for low-speed driving, so you don’t waste it all as soon as you get on the motorway.

On a twisty road

Here you’ll find that the Cupra Terramar’s quick steering and firmer suspension setup make it one of the more enjoyable family SUVs to drive on a twisting road. It certainly has the Volkswagen Tiguan beaten here, as well as the Kia Sportage or Nissan Qashqai.

In fact, the Terramar is up there with the Mazda CX-5 for being just very pleasant to drive on a good road. You don’t get much feedback through the steering wheel, but there’s loads of grip - aided by four-wheel drive on the top two petrol engines. The steering wheel is nice and slim (take note, BMW X3) and feels precise and accurate.

A reasonable boot, but the Cupra Terramar suffers in the practicality stakes for being smaller than most alternatives

Front-seat passengers in the Cupra Terramar won’t find too much to complain about. The seats are a highlight - they’re nice and supportive without being too narrow or restrictive, so slimmer drivers won’t slide about in the corners while those more generously proportioned won’t feel hemmed in. There’s also lots of adjustment in the seat and steering column.

Door bins will comfortably accommodate a large bottle of water, as will the glovebox, but the centre console is a bit limited for cubby spaces. There’s a wireless phone charger as standard on all models, and a pair of cupholders, but nowhere really easy to sling keys or wallets except under the central armrest or on top of your phone.

Space in the back seats

The rear seats in the Cupra Terramar are notably more cramped than they are in the Volkswagen Tiguan. The front seat backrests are quite large and thick, and the roofline is quite low, so passengers don’t get a huge amount of leg- or headroom. A six-foot passenger can sit behind a driver of the same size, but they’d be more comfortable in a Nissan Qashqai.

The central passenger will also have to contend with a high, firm seat and a large transmission tunnel running down the middle, making the Terramar a better four-seater than it is five. The rear seats slide forward if you want to increase your luggage space, but this limits rear legroom even further.

There’s a nice wide central armrest and door bins in the rear that can hold a decent-sized bottle of water, and ISOFIX points in the outer seats with easy-to-find anchor points.

Boot space

With the back seats in their rearmost position - which is where you’ll want them if you intend on carrying adults - the petrol Terramar has a useful 540 litres of boot space - better than the 520-litre Peugeot 3008 or 504-litre Nissan Qashqai. That’s nowhere near the 591 litres of the Kia Sportage or the colossal 652-litre Volkswagen Tiguan, though.

Opt for the plug-in hybrid model and boot space tumbles to 490 litres, though, which is less useful - and you lose the underfloor storage compartment which would have been such a useful place to keep your charging cables.

More conservatively styled than some Cupra models, but still stylish and well-built - if not the easiest to use

The Cupra Terramar’s interior isn’t quite as wacky as other Cupra models such as the Tavascan - it’s more restrained, but still looks good with its high-set centre console, the infotainment screen angled towards the driver and plenty of copper-coloured trim pieces.

That screen measures 12.9 inches on the diagonal - there’s no option for a larger 15.0-inch screen like you get in the Tiguan, but you truly don’t need it - and is bright, clear and responsive. The interface isn’t quite as simple as it is in the Volkswagen or equivalent Skoda, though, and it takes a couple more presses to alter functions such as the speed limit warnings. And during a week with the car, we couldn’t find a brightness control…

Physical switchgear is at a premium and limited to a couple of controls on the centre console as well as a button-laden steering wheel.

Build quality feels good - most of the materials are plush and there are no rattles or shonky joints. Top-spec models also get a seriously powerful Sennheiser stereo, which is a nice touch if you’re into your choonz.

Wireless smartphone charging is included as standard and joins wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for a seamless connection - no need to have cables trailing over the interior.

Cupra Terramar running costs very much depend on which engine you select. The 1.5-litre petrol claims to return 46.3mpg - expect around 40mpg in the real world. For the more powerful 2.0-litre petrols with four-wheel drive, a figure closer to 30mpg is more likely.

The plug-in hybrid versions have the potential for seriously low running costs. On a full charge, Cupra says you’ll be able to do more than 70 miles of pure-electric running - we saw around 55 miles during our time with the car. That’s a seriously useful figure, suitable for all but the most taxing commutes - if you spend most of your time in town, it’s likely you’ll hardly have to use the petrol engine at all. When the battery is depleted, you’ll see about 40mpg from the Terramar e-Hybrid.

The plug-in hybrids have the lowest CO2 emissions, making them the best choice for company car users. All but the entry-level 1.5-litre petrol cost over £40,000, though, so if you’re a private buyer you will be liable for the expensive car supplement on years two-five of your road tax.

The Terramar is based on the same underpinnings as the Volkswagen Tiguan, so it’s no surprise it scores a Tiguan-matching five-star rating from Euro NCAP. That makes Cupra one of very few brands with a full roster of five-star scores.

All models come with the full suite of safety equipment, as well as the extra niceties of blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

Cupra offers a longer warranty than its Volkswagen or Skoda alternatives - the Terramar gets five years and 90,000 miles of coverage, which almost matches the five years and 100,000 miles that Hyundai offers on its Tucson. The Kia Sportage has seven years of cover, though, while the Toyota RAV4 gets up to ten years.

Cupra came a fairly disappointing 18th in the 2024 Driver Power survey, but that’s the highest of any Volkswagen Group brand - Skoda came 23rd, SEAT 24th and Volkswagen 29th.