The Renault 5 winning Car of the Year was no shock. That its victory wasn’t a total wipeout perhaps invoked at least a little surprise, however. Here’s a car that’s swiping just about every piece of silverware it’s eligible for, yet it didn’t completely run away with Europe’s biggest gong.
Among the cars snipping points from its (still impressive) lead was this, the new Cupra Terramar. It’s an interesting member of the seven COTY ’25 finalists for a couple of reasons; chiefly, it appears a very conventional, ICE-led crossover with no great innovation to its name. It’s also a performance car, at least in terms of the brand that has designed and engineered it. Such things are a relative rarity on the COTY shortlists and even rarer winners – ignoring the Alpine A290 sharing the R5’s spoils this year.
Since the Porsche 928’s victory in 1978, we’ve seen a bronze for the ND MX-5 (in 2016) and silver for the Toyota GT86/Subaru BRZ (2013) and Alpine A110 (2019), the latter joint-first on points but losing a tie-break to the Jaguar I-Pace. Car of the Year is broadly a competition of worthiness, the now iconic BMW Mini even ceding a place on the podium to the Fiat Stilo back in the early '00s. Yes, really.
Seven judges put this latest Cupra top of the pile, though, two of them awarding it the full ten points. Which is a match for the R5. The COTY website is something of a rabbit hole; reading each judge’s comments an oddly enthralling activity. And the signpost of a refreshingly open organisation in an age of conspiracy and misinformation. One Belgian journalist recollects an amusing drive in the Terramar on a snowy circuit, while an Austrian describes its mixture of performance and practicality as “a surf’n’turf of desires a la Cupra”.
So perhaps this is more than ‘yet another SUV’ in Cupra’s line-up, the Terramar a startling fourth crossover to sit – or rather stand – beside the Born EV and Leon hatch and estate. Its surf’n’turf approach means a broad mix of powertrains: mild-hybrid 1.5s, pure-petrol 2.0s and a 1.5-litre PHEV that offers around 70 miles of electric-only range if you’re light-footed. The one that pings loudest on the PHometer is this: a 265hp 2.0-litre TSI allied exclusively to 4WD and a DSG ‘box (in fact, like the Tiguan it shares its engines with, the Terramar range is a manual-free zone).
With 1,750 kilos to shift, it’s no outright performance car. But the stats are decent: 0-62mph in 5.9 seconds, a 151mph top speed and 33mpg economy. Someway off the plug-in car’s 565mpg claims, but significantly easier to achieve in the real world. DCC adaptive damping is standard with this engine, too, going at least some of the way to justifying a stocky £45,095 starting price – or over fifty grand in the America’s Cup edition trim we’ve tried. Inevitably some of the COTY judges’ criticism related to its pricing, but then the latest Skodiaq vRS, near-as-dammit the same car in a different suit, is more expensive still…
And this really does feel like a premium object. Comfort and luxury are where it makes its big first impression. The dashboard materials feel plusher than the Group crossover norm, despite the Volkswagen ID-esque gear selector stalk. Dwindling automatic gear selector diversity is a surprisingly sad industry trend, but here it at least clears up space for cupholders and charging pads. Tantalisingly ahead of them is the ‘ESC off’ button, pride of place by the hazard warning lights and an actual physical prod rather than the sub-menu treasure hunt of its numerous cousins.
The overall cabin aesthetic exudes some welcome quirkiness too, with artistic twists and turns that bring a much more interesting vibe than a Formentor or Leon even if some of the copper detailing and the holiday-tattoo badge are arguably OTT. Crucially it doesn't feel anything like a Seat in here.
There’s plentiful room, with rear seats that slide, recline and fold and a boot unimpeded by battery gubbins. Its 642 litres of overall volume whups the PHEV’s 490 and pips a Leon Estate, too. While it carries a much boxier silhouette than a Formentor, I rather like that it’s not ashamed of being an SUV, no superfluous attempt to coupéfy its roof line. It cuts a handsomely pragmatic shape in profile, one elevated by smart creases and just enough tension to look sporty without overdoing it. It's just a shame the day-glo greens, yellows, and oranges worn by Cupras of yore have been replaced by half a dozen shades of grey. A clear reflection that its buyers are more mature and familial than the Club 18-30 audience of an old Ibiza hot hatch…
If that feels like a lot of design chat, it’s with reason. This is a smart handling, brisk accelerating SUV with enough driver nous to elevate it above a good portion of its rivals. But it’s also very ‘quick MQB by numbers’. Which is much more praise than it is criticism, this being a car that scythes through turns tidily enough for its size and shape. It just springs no surprises dynamically and doesn’t demonstrate a notably different character to its platform-mates.
While you’ll sense its mass in corners, it turns in sharply and intuitively and you can get back on the power immediately, the Terramar scurrying smartly and obediently forwards. Its 4Drive system is safely set up even with the ESC loosened, but it’s as dynamic as a 1.7-ton family car ever needs to be and understeer will be clumsily sought out.
It rides very competently too, at least on Spanish roads, its pleasingly standard DCC offering plenty of breadth. Comfort mode is precisely that, with real sophistication to its damping. The tension cranks up accordingly through its drive modes, although this is a car that remains satisfying to drive without a single button press. A neat trick pulled off by my own Hyundai i20N, in which I mostly bumble around without a single N-button press because it’s so sorted right out the box.
I don’t mind the augmented engine noise that comes with the Terramar’s racier modes, however, the bassy rumble adding some welcome depth below the TSI’s revs. While you’re not fully trusted with redline, manual-mode upchanges, this is an engine with a whopping great power band whose seven speeds are fun to take charge of. Its small, plasticky paddles may seem meek when the rest of the materials impress so much, but they’re the exact same ones used in Cupra’s latest TCR racecar. Should very geeky pub boasts be your thing.
More pertinently, an ever-so-slightly elongated hold of the downshift paddle drops you straight to the lowest possible gear. Not every performance car does this and it’s a nice, if slightly incongruous touch in a broadly sensible SUV. If people like us target a car like this to settle a marital feud or wring the most from a company car scheme, then such tantalising flourishes are exactly what we want. The Terramar’s overall impression is every bit as premium as an X1 or Q3 - if not more so - while it exhibits some of the handling chutzpah they lack. It would have made a controversial Car of the Year alongside the eminently more charming and innovative R5. But as a Car of Numerous Talents, it might just fulfil more PHers' criteria than you’d dare imagine.
SPECIFICATION | 2025 CUPRA TERRAMAR 2.0 TSI 265PS 4DRIVE
Engine: 1,984cc, four-cyl turbo
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 265@5,000-6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 295@1,650-6,500rpm
0-62mph: 5.9 seconds
Top speed: 151mph
Weight: 1,750kg
MPG: 32.1-33.2 (WLTP)
CO2: 193g/km (WLTP)
Price: from £45,095
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