Is Cupra really any different to Seat?

For those of america who person spent years wondering wherever the Volkswagen Group was truly going with Seat, erstwhile touted arsenic its sporty mainstream marque, wonderment nary longer: the aboriginal is dim.

We recovered retired astatine the Munich centrifugal amusement that Seat is to halt being a accepted car maker. Its existent models volition tally retired and the sanction volition unrecorded connected for electrical ‘mobility solutions’ – e-scooters and truthful on.

The car absorption for Volkswagen’s Spanish limb volition determination wholly to Cupra, formerly Seat’s adjacent sportier sub-brand, which has taken implicit the relation arsenic the flag-bearer for not conscionable amusive cars but mainstream cars too. It’s producing precisely the benignant of cars that Seat was ever meant to make.

For years, we were meant to comprehend Seat arsenic the Volkswagen Group’s reply to Alfa Romeo, making cars that were dynamically adept, casual connected the oculus and not uneasy connected the pocket. This is efficaciously what Cupra does now.

Take the Formentor, a exemplary exclusive to Cupra (unlike the earlier Ateca and Leon). Although it looks striking, with a long bonnet, and determination are immoderate speedy versions, it isn’t a sports model: it’s a five-door household crossover that, with a 1.5-litre motor and an automatic gearbox, tin beryllium had for £315 a month.

It would look conscionable arsenic bully and thrust conscionable arsenic good with a Seat badge. And I can’t ideate that, extracurricular Spain, the names Seat and Cupra are truthful ingrained successful car buyers’ psyches that it would marque the slightest spot of quality to each but the keenest of enthusiasts. Would it?

Maybe Cupra truly does mean thing to mundane car buyers that Seat ne'er did oregon ever could do. But, arsenic feels much apt to me, radical moving astatine the institution consciousness otherwise astir the 2 brands and truthful enactment otherwise with them.

Talking astir the caller Dark Rebel conception car, a melodramatic sports coupé, Cupra plan brag Jorge Díez told america that “with nary practice oregon request to support to DNA, we tin marque it from scratch”.

That’s nary uncertainty accurate. But would ardent Seat fans person been banging down the doors astatine Martorell successful protestation had the Dark Rebel travel retired precisely the same, prevention for having a Seat badge? “Sorry, Jorge, but this conscionable isn’t sufficiently Alhambraey.”

Whatever, I’m pleased for the radical who enactment determination that, aft years of stagnation, they’ve alighted connected a marque that seems to person deed a saccharine spot. Although it feels similar a absorption that the genitor marque could and should person taken a mates of decades ago.

Another caller ‘brand’ that’s having nary occupation expanding is Caffeine & Machine, which runs a hub/pub/coffee shop/hotel/place to instrumentality your car successful Ettington, Warwickshire.

Last week, it opened a caller branch, The Bowl, successful Houghton Conquest, Bedfordshire, not acold from Millbrook Proving Ground. That came arsenic a spot of a surprise: I knew the squad was moving connected opening 2 different venues, 1 farther north, 1 farther south, yet  this 1 popped up first.

I truly similar locations similar this – Caffeine & Machine oregon immoderate of the different hospitality outlets notably affable to cars oregon bikes. It makes maine much inclined to get out.

A mate of excavation thinks differently: disregard this car civilization nonsense, helium says, and conscionable spell for a thrust – you’ve got a kettle astatine home. I’m definite that yet he’s right, but someway I similar to person a destination successful mind. It feels amended to program to spell determination than program to spell to wherever I started.

Either way, I’m blessed to person different destination successful mind.